The Complex Christ

Cross' Bridge | Health and Safety | Middle Class Obedience

Some photos of Michael Cross' installation at Dilston Grove - a disused shell of a church on the edge of Southwark Park.

The main body of the church has been filled with a tank of water. As you step out over it, steps appear from the water. They are meant to disappear behind you, leaving you standing in the middle, alone, surrounded by water and light. 'It'll work better in the next one I'm building', said the artist. Apparently in an outdoor lake, which will be stunning.

The piece for me ended up being a meditation not on water and light, but on health and safety, and middle class obedience. We all had to sign disclaimers. Walkers were forced to wear life-jackets, and were guided out by the artist. In case they fell into 60cm of water. No one was allowed near the tank when the artist wasn't in the room. And everyone obeyed sensibly.

It wasn't Cross' fault. 'Insurance purposes.' But somehow it took the trickster element away, and thus a good bit of the artistic merit, leaving something more akin to a challenge on a outdoor pursuits camp.

Technorati Tags: Art, Michael Cross, Obedience

Three-view Tele | Now That's Community

No doubt about it, Sharp are clever people. They've developed an LCD screen that shows 3 different images, depending on your viewpoint.

As Far East Gizmos put it, "these displays have allowed Sharp to once again create new demand and contribute to the creation of new lifestyles."

Call me a grouch, but is part of that great new lifestyle everyone in the family being able to watch the same screen, but something different? Ahh... those great family evenings! McDonalds for one, KFC for another and curry for the kids. And let's all sit down together and watch something different! Now that's community ;-)

[But wouldn't we just LOVE one for alt.worship. Trinity meditation here we come...]

Technorati Tags: Technology

The FlowMarket™

Thanks to Saga for this [link]

All products available from The Flowmarket™

Technorati Tags: Art, Consumption, Design, Flow Market

Greenbelt | Dirty Theology | Judas v Jesus: Two Tricksters

Just back from Greenbelt, which, like Ben and Jonny, I think was one of the best ever. Personal highlights were the series of talks by Christopher Booker on the spiritual / psychological background to stories [available here and here], and Michael Franti's gig closing the festival - not to mention hanging out with Greg and Jon from Ventura, as well as Gareth, Si and Shane who were at Soliton too.

I spoke on 'Dirty Theology', and you can get the MP3 for download here.

It was basically a trip through some of the dirt thoughts in the book, but I've been thinking recently about Judas and Jesus as two Tricksters. If we look at the classic trickster pattern, we can see Judas attempting to engage in a trickster act... So why did it fail? And what made Jesus' trickster act so different? I think the key lies in some of the ideas Booker presented to do with the tension between the ego and the 'other' within us. Judas' trickster act was perhaps centred on the ego, while Jesus' on the other.

I also reflect on what importance this distinction might have for the artist as trickster, and how we might live the 'trickster life' in the light of this need to serve 'the other'.

Technorati Tags: Greenbelt, Ego, The Other

Soliton | The Gospel of Welcome

Just at LAX now on my way back from Solition. What with the security alerts in the UK, my flights home have been changed, cancelled and delayed... and changed again to suit me much better than the original plan. At one time I thought I'd have no hand baggage allowed, but they've relaxed that just today. Thank goodness. Seems flying will soon be exactly as Stelios wants it: naked cattle with passports tatooed to our necks. So much easier to transport...

Soliton itself has just been absolutely amazing. The theme was 'the gospel of welcome', and the hospitality has been just incredible. This is no convention centre meeting: it's meeting in homes, in parks, in bars. Conversing, not preaching. Flexible programming and a great relaxed attitude with some brilliant and inspiring people.

The picture is of me and Si Johnston with the little car we were given to get us from the place we were staying one day. It's bigger than my house. And if the flying hadn't already done so, entirely ruined any environmental credentials I may have had. It was a lot of fun though ;-) 3.5 litres of it.

It's going to be a pleasure to have Shane over at Greenbelt. It was really great to meet him. He had to drive an M3 BMW while he was there too, so we all got a little compromised. Greg Russinger - who puts Soliton together - is going to be over too. Just an amazing guy. Do your best to hook up with him while you're there. You don't need a picture. He IS Jack Nicholson in the days of One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest.

Here's to getting back home to London. Can't wait.

Technorati Tags: Los Angeles, Greenbelt, Terrorism

How many EC Bloggers Does it Take to Change a Light Bulb?

In the great tradition of such things, I propose:

1 To change the bulb and post about it

315 To lurk around and make no comment

2 To propose a stack of del.icio.us tags the poster should have put in

16 To complain he should have used categories

4 To flag up a conference on nu-media emerging bulb ministries "The LED Shines in the 80% Greyscale-ness" in Ukraine.

Technorati Tags: Blogging

I Might Be Wrong

Ever get racked with doubts? Just want to call the whole thing off, write the last post, become a labourer on a building site, or something simple, and never think again, just watch soaps and drink too much and love Christmas and keep upgrading my phone and blow the whole lot on a HD ready plasma?

Sometimes.

But it's doubtless best to keep it quiet. Write in white; only the RSSers will know. And lurkers will have to wipe their mice before they see, and leave. With no comment.

Sultan's Elephant

This is what we live in London for! Spectacular Spectacular! Strange, you wait ages for a blog post on French elephants in the city, and then two come along at once... But this was no Babar, rather a fabulous day of carnival from the Royal de Luxe group. It's been going on for the past 4 days; we finally made it up today to see the elephant wake up, walk off, hose everyone down, meet the girl and send her off in her time machine. A genuinely astounding event; a friend likened it to watching a Gabriel Garcia Marquez novel live. With hundreds of thousands there, and everyone gob-smacked at how huge and... moving it was. Plus I got to stand near Rolf Harris ;-) Bunch of photos here:

www.flickr.com

Technorati Tags: Art, Elephant, Fantasy, London, Royal de Luxe, Sultan's Elephant

Via Crucis Grid Blog: The Cross

"

An image which frequently appears among the archetypal configurations of the unconscious is that of the tree or the wonder-working plant."
Carl Jung

The Golden Bough, the Burning Bush, the Tree of Life, the Forbidden Fruit, Golden Flower, Ambrosia... The healing plant has a long history, and appears to be 'rooted' in our very subconscious as a potent symbol of life and transformation.

So how does the Cross fit in? It is clearly part of the 'healing plant' archeype, but perhaps with some essential differences. For the tree that Christ hangs on on this Good Friday has been ripped from the ground. It has no roots anymore. It has been 'manufactured' by humankind. Given shape and form by technologies. This healing tree is therefore in touch with death.

As God hangs dying, the two poles of creation and death meet, and within their potential difference lies our healing, our re-rooting, our re-grafting. Separated from the earth, hung above it, God is then thrust in death into the earth's dirty bowels. It is here, in these places where the two poles are forced together that our ressurection begins.

Dirty, Tricky London

Satirical London exhibition at the Museum of London.

Highly recommended.

Free.