Midterm Documentation : Sacred and Profane
The terms sacred and profane comes from Emile Durkheim who was a french sociologist. He wrote a book called the sacred and the profane in which he examined how the dichotomy between the sacred and profane are central characteristics to religion. He said “religion is a unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things, that is to say, things set apart and forbidden”(Durkheim 1915, p. 470). In this same way we as a society have created sacred things and those scared things are not necessary good or bad. They are merrily scared or profane based on the general consensus as a society.
This light box strives to incorporate and question this idea of the scared and the profane by allowing for a user to interact with a light and image through touch. The light box has three images laser cut into the side. Two of the side images have small holes which conductive thread is sewn through. As the user comes and touches the conductive thread the light dims on and off.
The top of the box has one of the sketches from Leonardo Di Vinci of the virgin marry. The other two images are reclining nude women. All three images are well known in western art history. However as a user interacts with the light they are forced to touch the bodies of the naked women. The literally have to feel around their body parts to turn the light on.
Due to the position a user must take to explore the light they are forced to look into the top of the light which has the image of the Virgin Mary laser cut into it.
IMG 3009 from Kristen Kersh on Vimeo.
IMG 2999 from Kristen Kersh on Vimeo.