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Posts Tagged ‘church’

Church of Cannabis: Sanctuary Painted in Hypercolor by Okuda San Miguel

02 May

[ By SA Rogers in Art & Street Art & Graffiti. ]

On 4/20/17, the International Church of Cannabis opened in Denver, offering a new community center and sanctuary for marijuana enthusiasts with nearly every surface hand-painted in vivid colors and geometric shapes by street artist Okuda San Miguel. The church “is the first gathering place in the world where those who consume cannabis in order to help achieve their spiritual goals may do so legally, without fear,” and from the looks of their renovation of a 113-year-old building, it’s pretty awesome. You might just say the creators of this space have found their higher calling.

The church is the headquarters of Elevation Ministries, a new nonprofit religious organization in Colorado that officially claims cannabis as its primary sacrament. To become a member, you have to fill out an application on the church’s website, where they explain a few things and offer a 360-degree tour.

Church members are called Elevationists, and maintain that “an individual’s spiritual journey, and search for meaning, is one of self-discovery that can be accelerated with ritual cannabis use. Elevationists claim no divine authority, nor authoritarian structure, therefore, those of all religious and cultural background are welcome to visit our chapel and take part in our celebrations.”

In addition to a dazzling interior painted by Okuda San Miguel (who’s no stranger to painting churches), Elevation flew legendary LA street artist Kenny Scharf to Denver to paint a mural on the facade. The church is seeking funds on IndieGoGo for a few major repairs to the building, replacing the boilers and adding disabled access. Backing it will get you perks like online membership, t-shirts, bricks with your name on them in the garden and more.

[ By SA Rogers in Art & Street Art & Graffiti. ]

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Garden of Whispers: Surreal Sand Dunes Fill 13th-Century Gothic Church

31 Oct

[ By WebUrbanist in Art & Installation & Sound. ]

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A makeshift wooden walkway winds along a strand-lit and tree-lined path between dunes, creating a surreal environment within the context of this historic church.

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Set in a religious space in Toulouse, this strange journey is punctuated by small vignettes that speak to the history of the place. In addition to physical installations and visuals, the space features a soundscape of whispered voices playing in the background and array of carefully generated aromas.

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Along their way through the sandscape, visitors will find a full campsite nestled in the low hills as well as other small shelters with pots, pans, bedding and fireplaces – temporary and nomadic signals juxtaposed with a sturdy historical structure.

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The materials date from various ages, including modern plastics as well as ancient-looking tents of rough-hewn wood and fabric. The end result fits the artist’s aim of “creating a timeless experience outside known references.”

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Nor is the experience entirely static – live persons add dynamism to the mix. Artist Hans Op De Beeck “has staged a number of serene figures that quietly perform mundane, everyday acts. From time to time, these silent live performers offer tea to visitors.”

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“Overall, the ‘Garden of Whispers’ incorporates a range of historical, religious and mythological references, yet most importantly, aims to offer a profound experience of the present, regardless of explicit references.” The temporary installation will be open to the public through this November.

[ By WebUrbanist in Art & Installation & Sound. ]

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In Praise of Art: Abandoned Church Colorfully Transformed by Okuda

15 Mar

[ By Steph in Art & Street Art & Graffiti. ]

okuda church

Abandoned and dilapidated not so long ago, a neglected church in Morocco has become a vivid landmark decorated from the ground to the roof with colorful geometric illustrations by the street artist Okuda San Miguel. The project ’11 Mirages to Freedom’ wraps the entire facade of the structure in brilliant rainbow-hued paintings against a sunny yellow backdrop, making symbolic visual use of the architectural elements like the windows.

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Rather than just covering the abandoned church with murals, the renowned Spanish artist created an interactive display honoring its past, its structural integrity, the beauty of its lines and shapes. The name of the piece comes from the building’s eleven faces. Bars covering the windows are transformed into bird cages, the windows themselves into hats and crowns.

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The murals are in keeping with Okuda’s highly distinctive style, which employs facets of bright colors to render a cornucopia of animals and fantasy creatures. Here, the artist adds traditional Moroccan motifs, paying tribute to the individuality of the building and its setting. The project is part of the British Council’s Street Art Caravane Initiative.

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Check out Okuda’s previous works featured on Weburbanist, including a fleet of colorful freighters and a 100-year-old church in Spain transformed into a skate park.

[ By Steph in Art & Street Art & Graffiti. ]

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Holy Skate: Century-Old Church Converted to Colorful Park

22 Dec

[ By Steph in Architecture & Design & Fixtures & Interiors & Public & Institutional. ]

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A 100-year-old church in Spain is hosting pilgrimages of a new sort now that its interior is lined with skate ramps instead of pews, its soaring cathedral ceilings covered in vibrant murals. This stunning mashup of art and sport is known as Kaos Temple, a collaboration between La Iglesia Skate, Red Bull and street artist Okuda San Miguel. Located in the city of Ilanera, this stunning converted space has instantly earned its place among the most creative skate parks in the world.

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Okuda transformed the walls and vaulted ceilings with rainbow-hued geometric paintings, while the skate collective built customized ramps running the width of the interior. The columns, ribs and other architectural elements of the space remain as they were before the project began, crumbling in some areas, their lack of polish contrasting with the bright new paint.

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Spectators and fellow skaters convene on comfortable couches in the living-room-like lounge that formerly functioned as the pulpit. The artist describes the project as being part of a ‘cultural upheaval’ that will “bring a new era to the spaces for art,” i.e. out of galleries and into common public spaces that everyone can enjoy. Okuda also produced a series of customized skateboards as rewards for the donors who helped crowd fund the project.

[ By Steph in Architecture & Design & Fixtures & Interiors & Public & Institutional. ]

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Ghost Church: Creepy Statues Invade Abandoned Czech Chapel

11 Sep

[ By Steph in Abandoned Places & Architecture. ]

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If you just happen to stumble upon the dilapidated St. George’s Church in the Czech Republic, passing through the crumbling entrance to glance around at the shadowy interior, you might just be in for the most terrifying moment of your life. Abandoned since the 1960s, the church has long since been devoid of human worshippers, but that doesn’t mean it’s empty. Ghostly shrouded figures line its pews, some hovering in doorways and in the aisles.

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Located in the northwestern Bohemia town of Luková, the ‘Church of Nine Ghosts’ first fell into disrepair after the ceiling caved in during a funeral service in 1968. Locals took that as a bad omen, and boarded up the 14th century structure, holding services outside instead. But many residents saw the church as an important part of the town’s history, and wanted to see it restored.

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“The figures represent the ghosts of Sudeten Germans who lived in Lukova before World War Two and who came to pray at this church every Sunday,” says artist Jakub Hadrava, who was commissioned to create the installation. “I hope to show the world that this place had a past and it was a normal part of everyday life, but that fate has a huge influence on our lives.”

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Made of plaster, the ghosts were put in place over the summer of 2014 in the hopes of drawing more tourists to the region, raising money to rehabilitate the historic 1352 church. The plan worked, as people have come from all over the world to see the statues in this unusual environment, and the church will soon be restored to its former glory.

[ By Steph in Abandoned Places & Architecture. ]

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Church for Crabs: Architectural 3D-Printed Hermit Shell

13 Aug

[ By Steph in Art & Sculpture & Craft. ]

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A hermit crab scuttles along the sand, carrying a perfect replica of a Japanese wedding chapel on its back, complete with a tiny spire. After designing a series of crystal-clear ‘crawling cities,’ artist Aki Inomata returns with another detailed architectural alternative to natural shells, rendered in transparent acrylic so we can still see the crab’s body within.

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Entitled ‘White Chapel,’ this miniature sculpture is the third installment of Inomata’s project ‘Why Not Hand Over a Shelter to Hermit Crabs?’ The shape will look familiar to Westerners, of course, as we see churches like this practically on every block. But in Japan, such structures are used for weddings only, and rarely for worshipping or any other form of religious services.

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“When I visit Western countries, I sometimes notice the origin of architecture, habits, foods, etc… in Japan, they would be transformed into local styles, and I ask myself, ‘are we Japanese living in mimicry of western world?’ says the artist. “For me, these imitations, or I would say reproductions or arrangements of Western-style architecture, seem to reflect identities of post-colonialism inside of Japanese people.”

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Inomata uses CT scanning to perfectly replicate the interior shape of a natural hermit crab shell so all of her artificial alternatives fit comfortably. Previous versions have included skylines of New York City and Amsterdam, as well as reproductions of buildings in Paris and Tokyo.

[ By Steph in Art & Sculpture & Craft. ]

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Chicken Church: Fowl-Shaped Abandonment Found Deep in Forest

05 Aug

[ By WebUrbanist in Abandoned Places & Architecture. ]

chicken church

Reportedly inspired by a divine message, the architect of this poultry-shaped church initially set out to create a place of worship in the form of a giant dove, but the locals quickly dubbed his creation the Chicken Church (Gereja Ayam in the regional language).

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Indeed, despite the best intentions to craft it otherwise, it is impossible not to see a domestic egg-laying bird when looking at this open-beaked architectural creature.

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In a remote Indonesian forest, this creation of Daniel Alamsjah was once a place of prayer as well as a rehabilitation center for children and drug addicts, but finishing the building proved too costly and the place closed down over a decade ago.

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Covered in graffiti and crumbling at a structural level, the Chicken Church is likely not long for this world. For now, though, travelers (sometimes with romantic partners) can be found inside at times, cooped up away from prying eyes, but eventually the building will doubtless be either demolished or perhaps simply collapse on its own (story via Colossal and images via uzone.id, Punthuk Setumbu and Alek Kurniawan).

[ By WebUrbanist in Abandoned Places & Architecture. ]

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Tree Church: Organic Arbortecture Grown from Living Branches

19 Jul

[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Public & Institutional. ]

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‘Built’ may not be the right word for this compelling hybrid of architectural and arborsculptural design (or: arbortecture), featuring a complete chapel with landscaped fences and carefully cultivated gardens on all sides, the primary structure at its heart made from five species of tree.

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Begun by Barry Cox on his New Zealand property just four years ago, the project originated as a private retreat but as word spread he decided to open it up to guest events as well starting this fall – the structure seats 100 people.

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Leptospernum (Copper Sheen) grows up to create the walls while Alnus Imperialis (Cut Leaf Alder) completes the roof, forming a complete canopy above. amelia Black Tie, Acer Globosum, and Thuja Pyramidalis were also employed in the construction process.

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Within the main building, a slim steel frame underlies the living components, serving as latticework around which the supporting trunks and branches were able to grow.

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On the grounds around the central structure are a number of other intriguing and interactive elements, including a labyrinth and extensive additional gardens for walking and exploring. The entire site is carefully sculpted and maintained, featuring traditional as well as more novel landscapes.

[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Public & Institutional. ]

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Light Lines: Stunning String Installation Inside Abandoned Church

04 Jul

[ By Steph in Art & Installation & Sound. ]

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What seems at first to be narrow rays of turquoise light streaming in through the stained glass windows of a vacant Gothic Revival church turn out to be over 6,500 feet of paracord painstakingly wound around ornate posts and columns. Artist Aaron Asis temporarily transformed West Philadelphia’s St. Andrew’s Collegiate Chapel, which has been closed for more than 40 years, with a geometric string installation that shifts the spatial perception within its darkened nave.

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Entitled Ci-Lines, the project re-opened the disused chapel for three days over three weekends so visitors could take in both the grandeur of the church itself and the surreal sight of criss-crossing string creating new geometries within the negative space. Built in 1924, the chapel was used for sermon lessons and school services until 1974, and though the larger complex has been reclaimed for other uses, the chapel remains vacant.

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“The geometry of Ci-Lines is like an artistic exercise in connecting the dots, crisscrossing overhead and inviting visitors to visually explore a sculptural form as a portal into the nuances of a vacant environ,” says Asis. “The resultant series of cords in tension draws direct inspiration from the existing architectural form inside the chapel. These cords literally render a woven and symmetrical connection between the ornamental posts lining the chapel walls and architectural columns featured along the balconies above, combining to act as a temporary catalyst for observation, investigation, conversation, and realization of spatial majesty in vacant context.”

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Asia hopes that the project will renew interest in the historic structure, helping to preserve it as the cityscape around it shifts and changes. Making use of vacant spaces for art installations helps the public see them in a new light and can spur ideas for revitalization.

[ By Steph in Art & Installation & Sound. ]

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Church Champing: Spend a Night in a Historic British Chapel

09 Jun

[ By Steph in Destinations & Sights & Travel. ]

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Spend an entire night climbing bell towers, composing your own sermons from a pulpit, examining historic artifacts up close or virtually anything else you want to get up to in one of England’s most picturesque rural churches. ‘Champing,’ or church camping, is somewhere in between mosquito-bitten nights in the wilderness and luxurious ‘glamping,’ with modest beds placed right in the nave of a centuries-old place of worship so paintings of Jesus can watch your every move.

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England’s Churches Conservation Trust, an organization that takes care of 347 churches that are no longer used for regular worship, has opened three of its buildings to the public for overnight stays. You can have St. Mary the Virgin in Kent, All Saints Church in Northamptonshire or St. Cyriac & St. Julitta in Cambridgeshire all to yourself. Once the medieval-looking iron key is in your hand, you’re free to act like you own the place.

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The experience is sort of like sleeping in a museum exhibit, getting all the time you want to look at every last detail of stained glass windows, architectural details, organs and sacred objects. St. Mary the Virgin, in England’s smallest and least-populated town, is quaint and provincial, while St. Cyriac’s features ornate Gothic windows. All Saint’s, with its soaring ceilings, can fit groups of up to twelve.

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You’ll have to wash up with a jug and bowl, and the Conservation Trust offers to “very creatively turn a vestry into a champing toilet,” but for rates starting at roughly a hundred U.S. dollars per night, you’ll at least get breakfast delivered. Funds go to the continued preservation of these historic structures throughout Britain.

360Photography

Posts Tagged ‘church’

Church of Cannabis: Sanctuary Painted in Hypercolor by Okuda San Miguel

Garden of Whispers: Surreal Sand Dunes Fill 13th-Century Gothic Church

In Praise of Art: Abandoned Church Colorfully Transformed by Okuda

Holy Skate: Century-Old Church Converted to Colorful Park

Ghost Church: Creepy Statues Invade Abandoned Czech Chapel

Church for Crabs: Architectural 3D-Printed Hermit Shell

Chicken Church: Fowl-Shaped Abandonment Found Deep in Forest

Tree Church: Organic Arbortecture Grown from Living Branches

Light Lines: Stunning String Installation Inside Abandoned Church

Church Champing: Spend a Night in a Historic British Chapel

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Posts Tagged ‘church’

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