Krysten Allbeck
California Baptist University, Riverside, CA
kallbeck@calbaptist.edu
Susan Duemer
California Baptist University, Riverside, CA
sduemer@calbaptist.edu
Keywords: aesthetics, sacred space, transcendence, phenomenology, workshop, worship
Introduction
The Pantheon stands as a stoic, ancient monument in the heart of Rome, Italy. It defines a processional, layered experience that begins at the Piazza della Rotunda through its portico and into the huge double doors where I have stepped into its spherical silence on numerous visits (Figure 1). Each visit has been a distinct occurrence resulting in an emotional response that poetically intertwines the imminent and the transcendent. It is a place where I have felt a connection to the divine that has been orchestrated by its use of physical construction, spatial geometries, and invisible qualities of light and shadow. These collected moments at the Pantheon are not isolated to me alone, many of which have been documented by architects and theologians. Architect and theorist, Steven Holl, describes similar collected moments with the Pantheon, living near it for a short time in the 1970’s, “each day, its appearance varied with the dramatically changing shaft of light that passed through its open oculus. Its silent clarity, ordered by light and darkness, embraced my imagination with its abstract inversion of interior and exterior space.”
Figure 1: Threshold of the Pantheon, Rome, Italy, photograph by Susan Duemer
Holl does not explicitly refer to the experience of the Pantheon as an intersection of the divine, but architect Julio Bermudez speculates that his explanation of these moments at the Pantheon, among several others, is consistent in describing testimonies that “defy our beliefs, ideas, and knowledge of architecture, self, and beyond.”
This layered experience, connected by a threshold, is common in iconic architectural monuments but can also be found in other three-dimensional and two-dimensional representations. Bernini’s Ecstasy of St. Teresa in the Cornaro Chapel within the Church of Santa Maria della Vittoria, a multitude of symbolic layers are at work to engage the viewer in the ancient vision of St. Teresa. Bernini has captured the intangible understanding of her experience that is defined by the dichotomy between pain and love, as she describes that there was a “sweetness of this excessive pain” consuming her with God’s great love. The marble figures of the sculpture are the threshold between heaven and earth, the angel wrapped in light-weight fabric and Teresa below him weighed down by a heavier draped fabric, both figures floating between a layer of shadow and immense light, accentuated by a window just out of sight. Bernini uses a multitude of techniques to involve the viewer in the miraculous moment. The illumination and framing of the event invite the viewer in but Bernini creates an experiential tension as the figures are raised above eye-level, and just out of reach making it a remarkable example of a threshold between heaven and earth.
Another example of a representational expression of heaven and earth is the Renaissance masterpiece by Botticelli, Annunciazione di Cestello. In this alter piece there is a blurring of heaven and earth as the angel Gabriel brings the breath of God to Mary, in a human space. Mary’s posture is awkward, not well balanced, suggesting she is submissive yet pulling away in hesitation. Gabriel and Mary’s hands may soon meet but are captured in a moment of pregnant pause suggesting a sacredness. Gabriel’s hand is aligned with that of the doorframe to the outside, a glimpse of heaven, blurring foreground and background in ambiguity.
Scope
As we learn and find inspiration from these historic precedents, we propose a workshop that will focus on the creative, expressive act of worship through representing the phenomenal experience within the confines of one of Chicago’s hidden architectural moments. The courtyard at Fourth Presbyterian Church is physically located adjacent to one of the noisiest and most heavily trafficked points on North Michigan Avenue in downtown Chicago, across from SOM’s iconic mid-century John Hancock Tower. Despite being located among this dense area of the city, its design, being embraced within the heavy cornerstone sanctuary and parish buildings, the courtyard is quiet, peaceful and serene once you pass through the open threshold of the arcade. As a young architectural student 20+ years ago this was one of my first encounters with architecture as a conduit for worship, experiencing a phenomenon and encounter with God through intentional design and intangible effects.
As designers, all that we create should serve as an act of worship, giving gratitude for the infinite goodness, beauty, and truth bestowed upon us by our Creator. If we begin our creative process by submitting ourselves to physical and psychological sanctuary, connecting with God, before we connect our hands to our work, we clear enough space in our mind to allow the illumination of true inspiration – as we, created in His image – create as He designed us to. True creativity is preceded by true surrender. With this understanding and within a space that has been designed to hold this kind of experience, the session will begin with a devotional, prayer, and a breathing exercise to prepare participant’s hearts and minds to be present, receptive, and engaged.
Method
The act of practicing art and architecture requires a nimble mind that can quickly navigate intersectionality between different tools and modalities of thinking and working to produce a cohesive idea that is clearly and simply represented. Often the most coherent and “simply” expressed designs belie a multitudinous and deeply complex process embedded with multiple rounds of editing and refining. The tools we use in this process create constraints to how we can initially craft but also define the parameters of how we might edit our ideas through each step of the process. The result is a multi-layered visual output communicating qualities of space both tangible and intangible, and sometimes, the earthly and the transcendent.
For this workshop, participants will gather just outside the arrival arcade of the Fourth Presbyterian Church and face eastward, viewing the John Hancock Tower on the opposite of Michigan Avenue. They will generate an image in three layers, physically transversing between each layer as they work, that attempts to capture the transcendence of God’s peace amid entropy.
Layer One: On watercolor paper using watercolor paints, participants will paint their interpretation of the “entropic” layer – all that is happening at the street, on the sidewalks, and in the John Hancock tower piazza. The intent is to capture built forms, and the movement of bustling city life. This layer is colorful, dimensional, vibrant, and energetic.
Layer Two: Using charcoals, participants will render the “threshold” defined by the arcade. This layer is bold, defined, dramatic, and serves as a frame through which the first layer is perceived.
Layer Three: Using custom rubber stamps and metallic ink, participants will overlay the “peaceful” layer, felt within the embrace of the Fourth Presbyterian Church courtyard via overlaid and overlapping patterns. This layer is ethereal, enveloping, and reflective. It represents a permeating peace, woven throughout, and veiled over creation. Two results of the process are shown in Figures 2 and 3.
Figure 2: Koyasan, Japan by Krysten Allbeck
Figure 3: Mt. Rubidoux, Riverside, California by Krysten Allbeck
Materials provided by workshop leaders: Watercolor Journal, Watercolor Set, Charcoal Set, Rubber Stamps, Ink Pads
Outcomes
Each participant is invited to engage with the process above to discover a method to capture a moment between two opposing experiences, the entropy of the downtown noise in contrast with the quiet solitude of the church courtyard. The church’s arcade acts as a veil to create a phenomenal transition between these two extremes that are created by both visible and invisible components. The process will also provide a means to reconcile this intangible experience through a tangible mode of representation, resulting in at least one physical artistic creation in hand. The multi-layered approach is prescriptive yet will give individual’s the freedom to allow their unique, meditative response to slowly be revealed on the page. It is our hope that the process and its resultant product will be an act of worship reaching towards a moment of thin place, an intersection between heaven and earth.
