scaffold

scaffold video

This video began my current investigation into how faith is perceived.

The storyteller in me will find correlations easily but the mathematician explores within the realm of possibility.

While studying (or spying) on the events taking place outside my front window for a few days, I became interested in scaffolding and the act of building as idealistic representations of faith.

My interests in faith, being someone who rejected the visual organization of faith into a type of segregated class system from an extremely early age, is that I have always wondered at the extreme fundamentalisms that are accepted within the umbrella of religion. Growing up the Appalachian Mountains of northern Virginia I was exposed to a breadth of religious attitudes. Snake charmers, speakers of tongue, army birthing politicians and the remnants of a pitiful group of Klan members who dressed their houses up in swastikas made out of Christmas lights.

To add to this list of religious exposures, half of my family is Greek orthodox. We attended church on select occasions and I always was intrigued by the special attention to atmosphere fabricated in these grandiose and immense spaces. The deep hum of the reverends as they immerged from behind the glowing divider and the incense springing forth as the bells chimed from the elaborate burning pots. It was all so very mythical to me. The other half of my family being Christian, my mom enrolled me in the choir at her church in hopes of rearing a god-loving well-adjusted daughter. So I slapped on the billowy gown and began singing, to my extremely introvertedness' horror, in front of pews filled with sleepy believers every Sunday. So I was in a unique situation as I got to experience three different takes on religion. The third being my own - which I felt very strong about. It seems I was born with the idea already in my head that all things are recycled - energy can neither be created or destroyed - I was going to be reincarnated someday just like everyone and everything else. Being a socially "interesting" child I spent most of my time listening to the woods for all my answers but I will undoubtedly go into that more later. Onward.

So I was in the unique position of experiencing two organized environments of worship. I disliked my mother's church and found it extremely boring unless we were singing. With its dreary atmosphere and vacuum bag acoustics I was prone focusing on the priest's voice to remain slightly above an impending coma. He would speak and people would listen but no one really seemed to be all that involved and the stories told were thick with dust. Even if I do not agree with a story being told... if the speaker believes, shouldn't that be evident in his voice? I also noticed the tiny jabs at equal rights mainly towards women and this compounded my distain. Though I am aware now that there are just as many if not more misogynistic values towards women at the Greek orthodox church that I still attend occasionally - the sermons are spoken mainly in Greek and are not only spoken but predominantly sung. I still have yet to learn Greek and I rather like the sermons in this manner. I can feel whatever I wish during the sessions and bask in the golden glow of the space while listening to the ethereal voices surging through echo delay processors. It is wonderful. I can only imagine the mind of the extremely devout rejoicing in the space and solidifying his or her faith on a weekly basis. It is interesting.


Scaffold attempts to recreate this space. A space that allows the audience room to wander while being presented with a series of images that string into a commentary on the act of building and of human desire to build upward, to have faith.

AG