Here are some far out places of faith which house followers of many different creeds. Whether it is Orthodox Christianity, Buddhism or Islam, these monasteries were built to be protected from the powers that be – ones that may not agree with their words and lifestyle. They were built on mountains, rocks or cliff sides, overlooking beautiful vistas where one could chant into infinity and be “away from the world.” [Read more...]
In a recent and revealing project, Belgian architecture collaborative Gijs Van Vaarenbergh has created a sculptural, visually transparent church made of horizontal layers of steel. The slightly smaller than life-sized piece, created using 30 tons of plate steel separated by metal blocks, is titled “Reading Between the Lines” and is not intended as an actual church but rather a place of reflection and introspection: “because the church does not fulfill its classical function, it can be read as a heritage related reflection on the present vacancy of churches in the area (and their potential artistic reuse).” [Read more...]
Jim Lepage had been reading his bible on and off for most of his life… the problem was, he didn’t always want to read it. Looking for motivation to encourage his spiritual practice, he decided to combine something he loved, design, with the challenge of reading the text more often. He set down a goal to create one image a week based on what he found entertaining and meaningful in each of the bibles many books… and so far he’s kept the creativity flowing. For anyone familiar with the ancient stories, his simple images go a long way to summarize the general story of each book. See more of his project ‘Word’ at jimlepage.com [Read more...]
If you’ve ever wondered just how to classify your world view or religion, this flow chart could help. Like a philosophical choose your own adventure (with eternity potentially at stake) this chart starts with the simple question – “Do you believe in God?”
While the graphic isn’t entirely unbiased and some of the conclusions have a decidedly Christian slant (it was created by FEVA Ministries, a Christian organization dedicated to visual arts), it does provide an interesting look at many of the decisions that lead to our view of the life beyond this one. Any philosophy majors care to weigh in? [Read more...]
Instead of using vector drawings normally associated with informational graphics, designer Peter Ørntoft has used carefully planned photographs to create a series of booklets based on opinion polls for 10 Danish social topics. Exploring statistics related to crime, religion and health, his work puts a very personal and hands-on touch to these social numbers, asking the viewer not only to learn from the information, but to feel it as well.
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