Saturday, September 22, 2012

Science Is My Religion!

I am not a religious person. I do not consider myself among the faithful of any organized religion (or disorganized one). I have been, at varying times in my life, a Christian, a Pagan, an Atheist, an Agnostic*... and now, mostly I believe in Truth. I believe in the Scientific Method. Once I even said to some door-to-door god-botherers, "Science is my religion." (As an aside, I no longer find it necessary to be polite to people who bother me in my home, taking my time, when there's a sign next to the doorbell they just used that says "No Soliciting".)

So since I am not religious, I find it somewhat baffling that saints and icons are so fascinating to me. I once digitally altered a saint card, and presented it to my belly dance teacher. I was a little apprehensive; she is Catholic. Not only did she love it, but she showed it to her ma, who also loved it. No higher complement.

The only part of the original card I kept is the gold
border and halo medallion thing. The background photo
is one I took in Istanbul, played with in Photoshop.
So when The Mary Sue featured artists who work in the same genre as my St. Magda card, I was just tickled.

"Trinity" by Jska Priebe, "Super Marie" by French artist Soasig Chamaillard
Prieb's "Trinity" is part of a gallery showing, STELLAR: The Women of Science Fiction. Chamaillard's "Super Marie" is part of a series that appears to be called "Apparitions." She was blasted by Catholic faithful for her "sacrilege," but she responded with grace:
"Faith should be strong enough to remain unshaken by simple objects. I think they need to step back from the object and not forget that it's an artistic work."
It makes me want to find a bunch of cheap plaster Mary statuettes and go nuts... but I already have a project in mind for Wonder Woman. I just need to lay my hands on a bunch of old comics that I don't object to destroying.

*Either all of them are capitalized, or none of them are.

4 comments:

Nina Potts said...

Good to know I'm not the only one who pictures religious things doing other things. I only tell my girlfriend and my blog, because everyone else thinks I'm crazy or gets offended.

I also enjoy yelling "JESUS CHRIST" when people have a jesus on their lawn/roof at xmas.

W. A. Whipple said...

Crazy is clearly in the eye of the beholder. ;) I managed to offend someone by referring to Easter as "Zombie Jesus Day" What? - I was asked. He died, he reanimated, ergo he's a zombie.

They were very much Not Amused.

Nina Potts said...

I did that too, apparently making up jokes about christian religious things will get you unfriended. And mentioning that pagan holidays are the basis for christian ones

W. A. Whipple said...

Ugh. some people have no sense of humor. And I'm sorry, but when the Atheists can quote the bible better than they can, they don't get to be indignant about the history they don't know. (Not me, I tried reading the children's version when I was 9. I never even made it out of Genesis; I was so freaked out by Lot's daughters... Have the book banning people read that thing??)