Richter / Cage - Tate info board

Monotheistic religions sharing the "creation" myth

The Bible: A History, Creation, channel4 (also on youtube)... on the distortion of science:
"a longing for absolute truth hides in the human heart, absolute atheism, absolute creationism, dance to the same tune each driving each other to further and further extremes of absolute conviction, for me neither position leaves room for what the poet John Keats called "negative capability" - mystery, uncertainty, doubt and since these are what makes for creativity they are precisely what we must bring the creation story"

at one point he also argues- "what do you want mere fact for"(?!)

Proof is belief not belief with proof. The requirements of belief of all monotheistic religions have been critised in the same way as the subjects of the book When Prophecy Fails and there is a common line I have heard myself in many church surmons and lay speeches, that persecution is almost proof of rightousness because the persecution was either a test of belief or a punitive measure, a benchmark set down as a model of potential comitment to apparent selflessness required. (Common themes such as sacrifice, homicidal certitude, terminal altruism all appear in the old testament and the book Marquez penned - from which the blog title is punned). The belief that punishment (for the sins of previous generations, for loss or lack of faith/belief) and the delay of (the "one")"his" (lord/god/son/aliens/apocolyptic agent/emancipation) return is a continual test of faith. The process and the results of this is objectively documented in the cult setting of this book. The cynical tone of the general publics response allowed this scrutiny to be permitted a luxury hard to gain if the same study was conducted on a church, especially in American Midwest. A review from amazon did make me think again about the conditions of study . The similarities between this cult and the monotheistic religions opens up a debate around the possibility of manipulation by the founders of the big three (Judaism, Catholicism and Islam).

The Conspiracy of "One"

conspiracy theories (or theories that trade in fear)... that contribute to the perception of total power of "one" (...world government, wing of government, dictator/tyrant, religous body or belief system)

the authority of a complex system divulged into one representation of being.

is it a distraction from the potential of the individual?

"when prophecy fails" absolutism

Secularism and Mathematical Oneness

The Prayer Stool was one of my early sketch models before commiting to this project. The sprititual aspect of Marquez's story(ies) and my own fascination with division of belief despite seemingly identical values drove me towards an interpretation of the spritual buffet we seem to be (continuing to) evolve. Although violent secularism seems to be the news media's messianic vision the future may not be so bleak. I am interested in the divulgence of religions and the intergration of belief through individual and socially cohesive policies as this happened for example to propagate the big three monoteistic religions and will continue to proliferate, in my opinion. The interest for me is in the concepts of absolute truths, or single individual immoveable facts and the individuals that pursue this quest for... the examination of limits-of-faith-in... the description of the ultimate "figure" (person, number, equation, date, event) numbers and dates - measurements, (nemerical and mathematical / spirtuality - noahs ark, the ten commmandments, the ark of the covenent, islamic geometry,equations, theoretical sciences/maths) events, (apocalypse, doomsday (cults), second coming, end of the universe, meteorites, blackholes, singularity etc) always figure in religion and science, both of which require huge dedication and "faith" in the subject of focus. The examples of which interest me, the anthropological neccessity (as it seems) to generate and regenerate or re-present the concepts of both division (divisible down to 1) and multiplication (or duplication of 1) within contemporary frameworks.

the "drive" or impetus, the momentum all interest me, why divide numbers down to 1? conversely multiplying othe relements

Faith in Facts, the "one"...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00pv1c3/The_Secret_Life_of_Chaos/

"design does not need an active interferring designer its an inherent part of the universe"

how are the implications of chaos in particular self organisation and evolution evident in both the physical manifestation and the physcological effect of the decision making process?

how does being exposed to this concept affect our understanding of our ability to comprehend it? how does it develop instinct, emotions, and what are the implications ?

is our consciousness a lie? are we just an amalgamation of millions of self organising systems within self organising systems, at every level the simplicity of the feedback equation affecting our decision making processes. Is Plato's three parts of the soul irrelevant, is Dawkins right?, decision making an accidental feature of millions of years of evolution. What we call subconscious or unconscious are just features of self organising and evolving sytems?

How does this relate to individual and society? If this feedback loop and other theories like existential mathematics have contributed to one vision of the world and the laws of nature (when we consider the search for theoretical particles) the picture of our life can be painted as a beautiful and "elegant" (important aspect to theoretical sciences) but at the same time sometimes alien and cold, the only warmth and respite for the soul lies in the "human" aspects, what can we sense and share from these definitions of the "human" element. At this level how close is science to religion or spirtual understanding and debate? Are different ways of describing the universe as fallible and admirable in equal measure as each other? In our new media churches what is the role of the pop science in engaging the general public in scientific views? What are the wider implications?

quote lifted from the website below

http://www.roopho.com/connectionPage.html
relates to this earlier thought...
and this observation

Study: 18 Single seats

18 single seats all facing the same way, each section of the seat divivded from the next with a devisive arm, one that defines the sitting space and also the seated. The location is in front of one of the many Thames side institutions, which one is irrelevant. The view is of triumphant buildings celebrating the acheivments of the lifestyles and culture afforded by the institutions. Facing each other in mutual admiration celebrating and propelling each other in a dynamic relationship that eminates the depth of complex influences from the population that man them and provide the impotus emotionally divisive apparatus for the carrot and stick illusion.

Study: All that glitters

write 100 chairs of solitude mini stories all over orange backlit screen with flow/caps fonts to create textures and shade with the stories of the detail concerned so from the bench the towers the flats the puddles the trees all hold little stories. Also connected to Peter Ackroyds depiction of London as a city that has always been capable of rising from the ashes and able to depend on its own citizens to renew the city. He describes black and orange as the colours of London which

Study: Moses, Old Kent Road

When prophecy fails

Prophecies and predictions require blindspots. Absolutism can exist but maybe with varying doses of cognitive dissonance. Hence we have guilt laden monetheistic religions and theoretical sciences with incomplete and inconsistant "standard models" or core beliefs.

In the case of cults (When Prophecy Fails) the desperation of those left to fend for themselves after "greatness" is not delivered.

Divine providence does not deliver anything to the weak and downtrodden except the meagre comfort of "things being better after you've died". Blinkered approaches to the bigger picture, made up answers which beg the question why hasn't evolution totally dispensed of religion already? what evolutionary purpose does faith/belief serve? what do christian scientists say? how is cognitive dissonance smoothed out, how do we profess that which we don't know to be true...except through conviction...the pillar of faith...

Solidarity and Solitude

Acts of solidarity that counter solitude. Typically a word used by the left wing that has been used to support those who have been perceived to be isolated.

British custom of rooting for the underdog.

At the same time the news is about increasing division between people (economically - poverty gap, / socially -ethnic divisions, power structures, class divides / idealogically - ) our ability to express solidarity and for the message to be received has also increased. (expand, dates numbers figures - mobile phone ownership, % of populations with internet access.)

Richard Dawkins contradictory science / religion beleifs, accepting both without examining the fact that they in many ways cannot co-exist. The church of England in typical reaction to Darwins popularity embraced the man upon his death and buried his body in Westminster abbey.

Sketch model: wrapped up

If you want a seperation from the environment using a physical barrier to remove or reduce visual or audible distractions it can be done literally and poetically with the form and decoration. Plastic barrel seating, acrylic leg rest/paper guard, fabriano paper roll.

Prototypes: Prayer stool

This is a basic prayer stool crudely constructed from layered cardboard. I broke the form at the middle of the horizontal section and from these two identical components I have created a series of new prayer stools that require different postures which may be suitable for different forms of prayer. I would also like to examine the effects of posture on the psychology of the user, which forms lend themselves to certain postures that affect the type of spritual worship can be adapted to the object. The prayer stool in its christian form seats the user in a subordinated position. On ones knees, eyes to the floor in submission or to the heavens in wide eyed awe.

An aspect of this prototyping will involve an element of "auto destructive art". The original plan was to cover the pieces in text and leave to disintergrate in abandoned and derelict places of worship. I also intend on taking the forms and using different materials start playing with size and ratios relative to the various postures of worship to produce a series of prototypes for prayer based on these forms (and others not shown here). What is interesting is the potential additional limbs or support structures that go with the form. Some forms require additional limbs, some bizarre postures others require additional objects (other furniture/chairs/stools) and some require physical structures (buildings, caves, trees, cliffs, vehicles - floats/carnivals/fiestas) these relationships echo the nec relationships developed between the individual and these aspects of beleif and all its paraphernalia.