Icons in the Land of Fading Faith
The Secular is Triumphant in New England. But humans are spiritual beings, who create icons. This project creates a new place and space for old icons in a changing world.
The Diocesan offices of the Episcopal Church in Connecticut moved in 2014 from a 20th century Faux Tudor mansion in Hartford, CT to a 19th century ball bearing factory in Meriden, CT. Included in the move were 60 retro-gothic panes of leaded glass, capturing icons in a very selfconsciously iconic way. The ethos of the repurposed space was one of egalitarian openness with separations imposed only as necessary. The factory was old and yet re-newed. These icons were old, but re-newed too.
This dance between old, new, re-newed and re-purposed is a celebration of new life for collectively re-invented pieces and parts built and believed. History is held in a conscientiously modern dynamism that is intentionally symbolic. The hybrid result embodies the non-aesthetic fact that an abandoned ball bearing factory, like the Episcopal church, like these 60 Epochal Panes, and for many, the spiritual reality within each of our lives can be renewed, proffering hope and a future of inspiration and change.
Different species of salvaged wood of varying thickness, widths and heights, are arrayed to hold each Epoch's icons as dynamic compositions, while maintaining the original 5 “Epochs” organization. Cypress from 20th century pickling vats, endgrain smelling of vinegar, and casks of 19th century winestained redwood are used.
The raw salvaged wood is redefined by having all cut sides polished, revealing the clear heart of the wood between the untouched weathered edges of each piece. The planks are shifted to become unaligned, providing stiffness but also creating a visual barrier when seen from an oblique, angled encounter.
