The Chapel Image
When I was visiting the Watkinson library online, this picture caught my attention so quickly. It is the image of the Trinity College chapel under construction back in 1931. The reason why it caught my attention real quick is because immediately as I saw it, without reading its caption, I visualized in my mind trinity chapel but with a different kind of feeling and perception compared to the current chapel building. Additionally, what made me give this object a value to be part of our cabinet of wonders, is during this time I have been trying to come back closer to God and make my relationship with him a closer one as I feel like I have distanced from him since I came here. So, when I saw this picture, it set up a mood of christinaity in my heart and mind but in a different sense than what seeing the current chapel does.
From my background and culture, we are raised mostly in chirstian families and we are taught to fear and respect God and his house which is the church. So, in my country, every christina has a certain way in which they treat a church respectfully. For instance, you can not just walk into a church and start shouting or playing inside, when you enter you should behave differently, humble and respectful of God’s place. This special environment sets a totally different feeling in any chirstina’s heart, making it feel like God is actually talking and living closely to you. This tradition has made me perceive any church or chapel I see in different in a respectful manner and this makes it feel special to me through my senses and feelings.
Thus when I saw this chapel under construction, I did not feel too much of my normal respect and fear of the chapel simply because it’s under construction and doesn’t provide that God-presence and fearing feeling.
However, when I see the chapel now, I get that God-presence and fearing feeling that makes me feel somehow connected closer to God when I’m near or inside the campus chapel. This specifically made me understand how much the physicality or setting of something can have a huge impact on our inner senses and feelings affecting how we think and feel.
I also decided to keep this picture as my object, because compared to my home place, religion is not a huge thing in people’s lives here, so exploring more about this is a good chance for me to connect back to my faith.
Current View and Atmosphere of the Chapel
I wanted to take a live picture of the chapel at night at the current time to be able to portray this main visual difference in view and feeling but I was quarantined the time I worked on this object. However, this image above also provides some special feeling I described above to a satisfying extent.
My Response Creativity
In response to this object, I produced a 2 minutes sound track found below that represents my inner feelings and senses in relation to the chapel and religion as from my background.Sources
Dudley, William G. (photographer, American, act. 1865), Frohman, Robb and Little (architectural firm, American)., Trinity College Chapel construction, 1931.11.02, 8 x 10 in., Watkinson Library