‘Say My Name’ at Grace Cathedral

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– Holla at Your Savior –

[from the Installation Press Release] ‘‘Say My Name’ is a lighthearted musing on the material expression of the spiritual, as well as a meditation on the diametric qualities of the physical and divine realms.

‘The installation seeks to echo/mirror the physical form and intention of Grace Cathedral itself – rich materials, elaborate decoration, and massive scale evoking the presence of God and the emotions of faith (while expressing the power of the church and the wealth of its benefactors) – essential qualities of Gothic church architecture. Expounding on the physical form of the cathedral and corresponding church traditions of bejeweled reliquaries, golden Eucharistic chalices, and the kissing of popes’ rings, a contemporary manifestation takes shape as a levitating, deity-sized piece. ‘Say My Name’ also seeks to explore parallels between the church’s luxuriant expressions of the spiritual & sacred and contemporary material displays of wealth, power, and import evidenced in popular culture.

‘The letters of the nameplate, YHWH, are the transliteration of the ancient Hebrew Tetragrammaton representing God’s name. The true pronunciation of God’s name has been lost to taboo, time, and translation, but the prevailing interpretation is that ‘YHWH’ can be extrapolated to ‘Yahweh,’ and anglicized to ‘Jehovah’ (further translated by Jay-Z to ‘H to the Izz O, V to the Izz A’.)

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