for more information, access the andren/knapp gallery: http://www.andoknap.com
andoknap@combase.com
"when coming up with a design for a statue for a church, we meet with a group from that church and we imagine together what the statue should look like. We read from the gospels together. We talk about the qualities they would like their statue to convey..."
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designing for sacred space
by knapp/andrén
(Click on any image to see a larger version.)
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Designing For Sacred Space
by knapp/andrén
editor's note: during the 1998 Trinity Aesthetics Conference,
our staff came across many artists creating or learning about design for
sacred space; this is one such team who found us via the internet. Much
of their design ties into a given church's liturgy. The artist's statement
below focuses largely on the notable work being done for the Roman Catholic
church -- in the next few editions, we hope to further investigate the topic
of designing with sacred space in mind.
Artist's Statement
A worship space such as a church or temple is a very personal place for the people who gather there weekly [for worship] or for weddings, baptisms, funerals or other important events in life. The design of the space can facilitate its use and the furnishings can help to create an atmosphere that reflects and affects the people who use the space. If the furnishings and objects one touches are unique and made with great care and thought, [it should] have quite a different atmosphere than if the statues and furniture are mass-produced in a factory by people one has never met.
In the Roman Catholic church the recent thinking of liturgists is that the Altar, being the gathering place for the assembly, should be equally accessible on all sides. The eight sided altar has become a prevalent design in many modern Roman Catholic churches because seating tends to be in the round or in the semi-circle. We made this eight sided altar (see right) for a church in Houston.
The ambo (or pulpit) is being seen more as a simple reading table and the movement from the altar to the ambo and back is part of a new stress on movement in the worship service. Keeping the attention on the action taking place at the altar and on listening to the word (rather than reading from a prayer book) is stressed more than private devotion.
Some might say that the main wall behind the altar should be blank so as not to distract from the mass. We designed this sanctuary in Lakeland, Florida to meet the needs of people there. The large, 14-foot maple carving makes a dramatic statement when one first encounters it. The design reflects the name of the church, Church of the Resurrection. Notice how the warmth of the wood balances the coolness of the stained glass. We also created the altar, ambo, chairs, baptismal font and other furniture to match the mood of the carving and harmonize with the architecture.
The stress is now on the assembly rather than private devotion, yet many people still want a place for private prayer and statues can serve as a visual reminder of events in the gospels or saints whose lives inspire us.
There is a lot of current discussion about the appropriateness of statues in modern Catholic churches. Often the statues are placed in the Eucharistic chapel or outside in a garden. This is a statue of Mary which we made for a St Stephen Catholic Church in Brandon, Florida. Since the statue was to be outdoors we decided to place a dove in her hand symbolizing her acceptance of the Holy Spirit. It was nice to be able to do an atypical pose to make people think a little about Mary's role. There is a group of people who care for the garden and many who spend quiet moments there. We recently added outdoor stations of the cross around the statue.
Sometimes when coming up with a design for a statue for a church, we meet with a group from that church and we imagine together what the statue should look like. We read from the gospels together. We talk about the qualities they would like their statue to convey and what people who had those qualities might look like. Several people may try to find the appropriate pose and we talk about all the small details, the hands, the hair, the facial expression. We use the ideas from this meeting to come up with our sketches. In this way we can create an image that is really personal to that particular group of people. It is much more rewarding for us to be able to give form to the vision of the people in that congregation than to impose some image from outside.
-reprinted with permission
© candace knapp