<a href="http://jeanatacc.com/2011/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/devon_sleep.jpg"><img class="alignright size-medium wp-image-1418" src="http://jeanatacc.com/2011/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/devon_sleep-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a>
Kris Cooley
Final
Huma1301-Hybrid

The year is 2100 and we are evacuating planet Earth. The damage done to this world is beyond repair and humanity is reaching out to the stars for sanctuary. I have been given the honor and responsibility of creating a room for people to remember the great art of our ancestors. I decided that during this somber time of struggle, the sentiments of faith based art might give some hope to the masses seeking an answer.

<!--more-->I want to create a place for reflection, faith and give a little spiritual healing to those seeking it. I have chosen masterpieces from several different religions to speak to these questions of how, why and can I believe? I want to let the art speak for its self and let the story of faith light a way for the viewer.

To begin with, I have chosen a pagan poem of love. Sappho was a great poet who sang her songs to the heavens in worship. She never wrote her poems down, so it's amazing that we have one in full form. The Ode to Aphrodite is a plea to the goddess and tears of the broken hearted. I want to frame this poem in candlelight, place over an altar so used by the pagan religion. There would be continuous incense burning upon the altar with elements of earth that related to the worship of Aphrodite. The lyre would play while this poem is sung in ancient Greek, the language in which it was it was written.

This poem really speaks to the people about the beauty that can be created with the spoken word. How faith in something so profound as love can spark a belief in the things that humanity doesn't understand. It teaches that a few delicately place words can formulate an image of true divinity.

After this amazing exhibit on pagan faith, the viewer would step in the next planned space. I chose Cave 20 of the Yungang Caves to represent the Buddhist belief. The entrance to this exhibit will be as if the person is walking through a tunnel into a cave. The inscriptions upon the walls will be the same replicated sutras that are engraved on the original cave walls. Though we had to employ a shrink ray to lessen the size of the Buddha sculpture, it will still fill up the room from floor to ceiling. I want society to awe at its original state. Because size is so important, nothing else would be prevalent in the room.This way it will have a similar effect that it had on the people of the past. Upon the floor will lie meditation rugs and the writings of Buddhist tradition would be readily available in any translation.

For the second room, the patron of the museum would walk through a cave like tunnel. Upon these walls, the sutras found at the sites of the Yungang Caves, would be engraved. I want to bring Cave 20 with us as the main sculpture of the room. Though Cave 20 is a colossal sculpture of Buddha and a bohsivatta, I would employ the newest technology of a shrink ray to bring it to the height of the room available. I want society to awe in its original state. Because size is so important, nothing else would be prevalent in the room. Upon the floor will lay meditation rugs and the writings of Buddhist tradition would be readily available in any translation.

This room would be for the people seeking to be enlighten, it would speak to them on a base level of the Buddhist belief.  Even viewers who aren’t believers could be inspired by the ancient Chinese devotion to detail and artistry. It would show the craftsmanship of the artist during the 5th century of China.

The final room is going to represent the Christian faith. Since I don’t want to bring an entire building into a space ship and I think that the real symbolism of the faith within Bramante’s Tempietto is the crucifixion spot honoring the sacrifice given by the apostle Peter, this would be the floor of the room. I would also bring the elegant altar that was made in reverence to Peter also. I would design this as a simple cathedral setting, even installing digital stain windows. Organ hymns would be playing and pews would be set before the altar.

The viewer would be able to see ancient religious influences within each of this objet d'art. Sappho’s poem sharing with us the adoring worship of her goddess. Showing the joy and beauty within praise of divine beings. Cave 20 conveys the immense devotion that can be spent in seeking enlightenment through meditation. The Christianity portion of the museum has various aspects of its religion entwined in its presentation. The crucifixion spot demonstrating and honoring the ultimate sacrifice in the name of faith. St. Augustine’s Confession would lastly establish humanities doubt in faith. As the reader continues, he/she will realize that doubt is a huge part of faith.

The idea of this museum is to inspire hope. The ideas of spirituality is a trait of human existence that has impacted humanity in several different ways, but this place is to show the beauty of people’s artistic creation inspired by religion and glorify the spiritual path that our ancestors have traveled. It is to represent the harmony of worship, the endurance of faith and the promise of salvation.

* That picture is one I took of my handsome Godson while he was staying the night at my house. Just feeling love watching him, I used my design skills to create this. Enjoy.