DaVinci Art Alliance, 804 Catharine St, South Phila. 6-27 Oct 2019. Not-So-Fast Last Judgement is a solo exhibit with three challenges: 1) an exclusive focus on B&W drawing skills. 2) maximize the elegance of the newly renovated intimate 2nd
While he completed the famed ceiling many decades previous, Michelangelo painted his LAST JUDGEMENT in 1536-41 directly above the chapel’s altar. It literally- and very dramatically- presents the Christian dogma of the Second Coming- the final and
MY OWN REINTERPRETATION presents a much more nuanced, much more complicated moment well before the Final End- the day before, or really any day before the end. Not about Heaven or about Hell, but instead about life today. It is not about one obs
The principal wall (painted a celestial blue) comprises 24 interconnected b&w drawings 14 feet wide and 9 feet high. It is one part of a site-specific installation that is designed as A SECULAR HUMANIST CHAPEL - a place of quiet contemplation.
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Look at each part. Increasingly THIS EVERYDAY EARTH IS ONE OF CHAOS AND TURMOIL. Disasters, threats and emergencies- local, regional, national and global- are overtaking an increasingly cynical, divided and insensitive populace- global warming, the
Where to turn for help? Many good people have lost faith in relying on society’s formerly revered institutions. “Thoughts and Prayers?” They seem too utterly passive. How can one become personally responsible right now to help this human race su
In Biblical times, it was locusts, livestock pestilence and hail, but what are some of TODAY’S PLAGUES? . Pervasive gun violence (even Michelangelo’s angels carry AK-47’s. Doesn’t almost everyone? In another series of panels, the Rio Grande River i
WHAT HAS CHANGED: Where Michelangelo’s angels carried icons like the Crown of Thorns, my angels cradle a planet earth suffering from global warming.
Whereas Michelangelo’s figure holds a rosary, my figure is a heroin addict.
And while Michelangelo’s St Peter holds the keys to the Catholic Church, my variation arms him with automatic pistols- buy one and get one free. The original Last Judgement apparently portrayed the flayed skin of Michelangelo himself (a droopy self
There are numerous other issues made throughout the drawing set. One of Michelangelo’s few females- strangely left barebreasted- now sports a sash of the #me too movement, as she swats away a grabby male hand. Aghast at the nudity originally shown,
Michelangelo originally portrayed Satan (actually the devil Minos) with the face of the Papal Master of Ceremonies- an outspoken enemy of the painter. In my redrawing, I have selected a contemporary American leader.
The SIDE WALLS AND AISLES ( connecting the rear entry to the high altar) frame the congregational space and are, in Christian churches, normally lined with the formal visages of saints and patriarchs who would join one in the Afterlife. But worthy
But instead, scrutinize the portraits that represent the great diversity of humanity on this planet- people young and old, white or black or Asian, the wealthy and the homeless, one’s neighbors or total strangers. All are presented in some distress.
Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel is also known for its incomparable ceiling paintings, where he painted the SEVEN DAYS OF GENESIS- the Creation of the World. It forms a start contrast with his Last Judgement- the end of the World.
But while Michelangelo’s portrayed of ADAM presents his fingers being “sparked” into life by the fingers of God, in my re-drawing, I have Adam alone, but now armed with his tool of change. Adam is expected to be pro-active in making change for the
The focal point of any church is the APSE. It is the destination of the PATH OF REDEMPTION - the long walk from the back entry of the church to the front, where one is normally expecting to directly confront God. And while the rectangular congregat
And even though my apse replicates the geometry of the traditional space, there is no human movement from darkness to light and there is no celestial stained glass effects. The windows are clear glass and one looks out into the REAL WORLD - views o
The hand of Adam- ADAM THE ARCHITECT- really my own hand- holds the pencil that points to selections of 35 years of my own designs and drawing, tucked into the two corners.
These 6 panels comprise a RETROSPECTIVE OF MY DESIGN WORK. In a handout, I write: “beyond the handwringing, beyond the prayers, beyond the personal impact a situation would have on one’s own lifestyle or finances… …how can one lonely architect
There are 33 works displayed- some architectural solutions, some observational commentaries- all elaborately rendered, colored and collaged (unlike the B&W drawings elsewhere in the room). Each image is identified with the number referenced to
There is no ALTAR, but a simple TABLE. There is no Bible but a BOOK OF PERSONAL REVELATIONS. There is a chalice of pens, pencils, crayone and markers and visitors (of all ages) are invited to “arm” themselves to “write or draw or haiku or graf
…and many people did- not only with words of appreciation but also words of challenge. Words that agree and words that deny. Warnings of things overlooked, suggestions for what one can do.
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