As Above, So Below

[As above, So Below--Aleister Crowley]

So I went to the N. Gallery and had a look around. My micro project is titled “As Above, So Below” –which is a pun and one of Aleister Crowley’s favourite sayings.

In one room of Spanish works there were two really beautiful paintings of St. Francis, done by the same artist- Zurbaran. Initially the light, shadow, and technical qualities really captivated me, so as I read more about it turns out that St. Francis was the first person to undergo the stigmata, which is evident within the paintings. Stigmata is a strange catholic thing where certain holy figures mysteriously get the wounds of Christ, the piercings in the hands and feet, and usually a hole in their side.

[Door's Eye View]

--Anyway, I had a silly idea about creating an object that extended the narrative of St. Francis. So the object is a device that has a dual usage. The first is that it is a hand held device that is fixed on the hands of St. Francis, and pries open the holy wounds, keeping them from closing. The second function is as a doorstop, to pry open the doors of the room. Hence the title, “As Above, So Below.”-because they perform the same function, but in two different contexts. It’s also convenient that there are two paintings of Francis in the room---4 hands…4 doors.

Also…. I was thinking as a secondary function, it could sense vibrations in both contexts. While on the wrist, the device records the pulse or Francis, and while on the ground it senses the vibrations of the gallery patrons as they walk by, gathering information. It's a semi-smart doorstop

It was just a silly idea, but I really enjoy creating little things like that. I feel like I’m having more fun or being more inventive when I’m making goofy stories. That’s why I was thinking about the possibility of a game…a spatial-surrealist sort of game; something that I could make rules about and it would be open ended so I could continue to add onto it as the design project moves along. I also like attaching things with a little bit of ‘voodoo’ in them, like stigmata and Aleister Crowley, a bit of myth and taboo. It was wrong of me to try and dictate what my project ‘should be about’ from the beginning, but I’m uneasy about stepping forward and not knowing what my objective for the project is. If you have any advice for me, or if you think that I’m WAY off track, please let me know.

bit maps are a bit jenkity... fix that in the next batch..

I was also interested in something existing in 3 spaces simultaneously..once in the 2d surface of the painting, then in the accompanying space of the gallery, then also in the virtual space of the computer. I don't know what that amounts to, if anything, but it's just a thought that I had while operating..