Faith

Description

I called Chris and he said, “Can I call you back? My father just died.” When he did call back, it was years later and he was on the road. He had lost his faith and had to go find it. Or at least that’s how I saw it. Chris saw, and found, something much greater…
In the exhibition, “Faith”, at RayKo Photo Center, five different photographers from around the country display selections from their projects exploring more than just religious faith, but faith in God and country and humanity. Ranging from documentary photographs to imaginary landscapes, from rich giant color prints, to small intimate bromoil and palladium prints, this exhibition has something for everyone, faithful or not.
Christopher Churchill’s project “American Faith” explores the inherent human need to be connected to something greater. It documents faith as a universal part of the human experience and the various ways this is manifested throughout the United States. Christopher began this project in 2004 at the height of political and cultural tension in a post September 11th America. The topic of religion was fueling intolerance, bigotry, nationalism, and negatively influencing our societies perspective of its self. Personal faith had been tied to religion in a way that inverted the hierarchy of the two. Its meaning was redefined to describe radical religious actions and righteousness rather than the universal commonality it brings to humanity. This misrepresentation was being perpetuated by the vast array of media outlets who in attempt to gain popularity, used faith as a divisive tool. In our migrant society of transient workforce and rapid communication, there is little opportunity for meaningful interaction with others. It is these elements that caused Americans to see faith in enormous groups rather then the individuals who make up our society. Christopher traveled through every state in the country and interviewed and photographed strangers, collecting stories of their experiences to help him understand what had happened to his country and to himself. As his project ends and its relentless beckoning fades, Christopher finds himself humbled to be the ambassador of these stories and images. And I find myself compelled to show as many of the photographs from his upcoming book as I can to answer the question of faith.
Jennifer Hudson was raised by ministers, but she’s not talking about that. Instead she’s making small bromoil prints of a woman being re-born into a seemingly uninhabitable landscape. Her series, “Baptism” is a personal, intimate exploration of a young woman’s journey through the life altering experience of spiritual re-awakening. We bear witness to the painful, frightening surrender of the former self. This work is an illustration of complexity, adversity, agony, and triumph in the ongoing battle of the mysteries of human faith and sacrifice.
Dave Jordano’s documentary project, “Articles of Faith” investigates the concept of how a sense of belonging and place can influence the development of small segments of a community and helps preserve long-standing traditions of cultural heritage and religious belief. Churches are typically considered open, public spaces, but African American storefront churches are by their very nature a more private way of practicing one’s faith. In contrast to larger congregations, these churches, which dot the south and west side neighborhoods of Chicago, are more like tightly knit family circles.
Jordano’s interest lies in documenting these interior spaces that have come to symbolize comfort, hope and connectedness for members who have to bear the burden of living in a harsh inner-city environment crippled with prostitution, crime, drugs, gangs and broken families. Creating the cornerstone for spiritual, moral and intellectual strength, the simple and basic layout of these sites belies the importance of their existence. Infused within these spaces are deep undercurrents of tradition, history, memory and the love of self that trace back to when the only form of open expression for blacks in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries was through the practice of their faith.
In contrast, local artist, Eben Ostby, has been photographing the exteriors of storefront churches in Oakland. The differences between Jordano’s vibrant color prints of the interiors of these places of worship in Chicago, and Ostby’s palladium prints of the exteriors is marked. He believes this technique supports the odd beauty of these churches.
And last, but not least, is the work of Bill Vaccaro from his project, “Jesus is on the Mainline.” His wife calls him a recovering Catholic. He has vague childhood memories of sleeping with a crucifix over his bed as a child. He doesn’t know what gave him worse nightmares: The sight of a man nailed on the cross or the threat of eternal damnation.
As Vaccaro grew older and began to question his religious teachings, he became more and more fascinated by how other people expressed their own beliefs. They are reflected in images such as a barn in rural Illinois that proclaims “Repent!” to passersby or a giant hand-made billboard that reads “Hell is Real.” These photographs are his attempt to reconcile with his childhood memories, current beliefs, and with the wonder that he has for how others manifest their faith both publicly and privately. Mixed with humor and humanity, there are also poignant moments too. The project’s name is taken from a traditional gospel tune popularized by Mississippi Fred McDowell about what it would be like to have a “main” line to Jesus:
Jesus is on the mainline. Tell him what you want. Call him up and tell him.

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