Art: Ways to Explore Sacred Spaces

By Sharon Fujimoto-Johnson

Photographer Blaine Ellis: “In the tradition of sacred
architecture, light has become a symbol of the transcendent, a metaphor
for the unknowable. Sacred space becomes a visual theology, a sculpture
in light….”
What is sacred space to you? A religious building? A starry night sky?
Your local hospital’s chapel? A garden? Consider these ways to explore
sacred space.
1. View Ellis’ photographs, which capture light in doorways and windows of sacred spaces.  
2. Explore an online atlas and guide to more
than 1,300 sacred sites.
3. Browse articles published by The Institute for Sacred Architecture, a
non-profit organization with the purpose of discussing issues related to
contemporary Catholic architecture.

4. View Building Faith: Sacred
Architecture, a six-part film
series that explores the role of architecture in six religious faiths.

5. Read The Hermeneutics of Sacred Architecture by
Lindsay Jones (Harvard University Press), a two-volume investigation of
religious architecture and the human experience.
6. Learn about different types of labryinths,
find walking labryinths across the U.S., or print out finger labryinths.
7. Read Patrice C. Brodeur, Ph.D., and Susan F.
Morrison’s article for Harvard University’s “The Pluralism Project” about the challenges of  “Sharing Sacred Space” across
denominational, linguistic, cultural, and financial divides.
8.
Peruse author/public speaker/consultant
Scott Berkun’s account of leading an architectural tour through New York City focusing on sacred
spaces.
9. Walk part of The Art Line, an envisioned line of walkable, interactive, outdoor artworks stretching across America along the 39th Latitude.
10. Read The Return of Sacred Architecture: The
Golden Ratio and the End of Modernism by Herbert Bangs, which has been called “a superb clarion call for a restoration of beauty, integrity,
and above all, sanity in modern architecture.”
11. Find and visit sacred spaces in your community beyond your local church building.
12. Visit sacred spaces in your travels this summer.