Israel: a place to pause
My love of arches started when I lived in Venice, Italy, for a few months while studying abroad. Exquisitely shaped and ornately carved arches were everywhere – above windows, private doorways, entrances to alleys, bridges, canals, and more. I sought them out as “figures” in my photographs and drawings. While in Venice, I created a series of lithographs that I hand-sewed into a book that highlighted some of my favorite arches in the city.
I am always on the lookout for an aesthetically pleasing arch -- one that speaks to my senses (Royce, 2004, p. 5). I found some truly beautiful arches in nearly every location we visited in Israel. I have collected the best of them in an online gallery below. I hope that in the near future, I will be inspired to create an Israeli arch artwork series.
I love arches for their visual splendor and their formal utility as an architectural element. By their design, they can provide critical structural support while allowing objects and matter to move freely beneath them. Interestingly, arches do not fully separate two physical spaces but merely suggest the separation of space. I am less interested in the physical space contained by arches than I am the undefined, spiritual, liminal space they hold.
The word “liminal” comes from the Latin word limens, meaning literally, "threshold” (What is a Liminal Space?, 2011). Arches create thresholds. Thresholds often imply transition and movement, but can also be places of pause, places of uncertainty or waiting. According to Richard Rohr, liminal space is:
“a unique spiritual position where human beings hate to be but where the biblical God is always leading them. It is when you have left the tried and true, but have not yet been able to replace it with anything else. It is when you are finally out of the way. It is when you are between your old comfort zone and any possible new answer. If you are not trained in how to hold anxiety, how to live with ambiguity, how to entrust and wait, you will run…anything to flee this terrible cloud of unknowing” (What is a Liminal Space?, 2011).
I really like the idea of arches as a metaphor for moving from one place to another place, or from one state to another state. The notion of liminal space contained by an arch reminds me of being in a state of transition. If I envision myself standing under a metaphorical arch, I have an awareness of this fuzzy, ambiguous, transitional, liminal space; I can look behind me and see where I came from, but I cannot clearly see where side of the arch will lead me.
The beautiful varieties of arches in Israel were gentle reminders that in my personal life, I am in a “cloud of unknowing.” Thanks to the peace imparted to me from God, this cloud is not “terrible,” it just is. I am patiently holding hope in this space, teetering on the edge of my comfort zone, waiting for the cloud to part.
I am always on the lookout for an aesthetically pleasing arch -- one that speaks to my senses (Royce, 2004, p. 5). I found some truly beautiful arches in nearly every location we visited in Israel. I have collected the best of them in an online gallery below. I hope that in the near future, I will be inspired to create an Israeli arch artwork series.
I love arches for their visual splendor and their formal utility as an architectural element. By their design, they can provide critical structural support while allowing objects and matter to move freely beneath them. Interestingly, arches do not fully separate two physical spaces but merely suggest the separation of space. I am less interested in the physical space contained by arches than I am the undefined, spiritual, liminal space they hold.
The word “liminal” comes from the Latin word limens, meaning literally, "threshold” (What is a Liminal Space?, 2011). Arches create thresholds. Thresholds often imply transition and movement, but can also be places of pause, places of uncertainty or waiting. According to Richard Rohr, liminal space is:
“a unique spiritual position where human beings hate to be but where the biblical God is always leading them. It is when you have left the tried and true, but have not yet been able to replace it with anything else. It is when you are finally out of the way. It is when you are between your old comfort zone and any possible new answer. If you are not trained in how to hold anxiety, how to live with ambiguity, how to entrust and wait, you will run…anything to flee this terrible cloud of unknowing” (What is a Liminal Space?, 2011).
I really like the idea of arches as a metaphor for moving from one place to another place, or from one state to another state. The notion of liminal space contained by an arch reminds me of being in a state of transition. If I envision myself standing under a metaphorical arch, I have an awareness of this fuzzy, ambiguous, transitional, liminal space; I can look behind me and see where I came from, but I cannot clearly see where side of the arch will lead me.
The beautiful varieties of arches in Israel were gentle reminders that in my personal life, I am in a “cloud of unknowing.” Thanks to the peace imparted to me from God, this cloud is not “terrible,” it just is. I am patiently holding hope in this space, teetering on the edge of my comfort zone, waiting for the cloud to part.
"but those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint."
Isaiah 40:31 (New International Version)
references
Royce, A. (2004). Anthropology of the performing arts: Artistry, virtuosity, and interpretation in a cross-cultural perspective. Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira Press.
Serendipity Bible: New International version. (Rev. and expanded. ed.). (1996). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.
What is a liminal space?. (2011). Retrieved August 20, 2015, from http://inaliminalspace.com/about/what
Serendipity Bible: New International version. (Rev. and expanded. ed.). (1996). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.
What is a liminal space?. (2011). Retrieved August 20, 2015, from http://inaliminalspace.com/about/what