Art exhibition articulates 'Sacred Stories'
The first major art exhibition held at First Presbyterian Church of Arlington Heights in its 160-year history recently came to a close.
Presented during the church seasons of Advent and Epiphany, the exhibition's closing Jan. 24 signified the end of a journey representing the life experiences of all people.
"Sacred Stories, Images of Significance: Voices in a Congregation" was the creation of Mario G. Alberico, an artist and curator who resides in Arlington Heights and is a longtime member and leader in the congregation. Members of the church and surrounding community were invited to experience "Sacred Stories," whose major themes included time (anticipation, waiting and passage of time), wandering, wonder and fascination and memory.
Consisting of a series of gallery spaces, "Sacred Stories" presented an expanding exploration into the concept of transfiguration - in the Christian sense, but also in the larger sense.
Alberico created the exhibition by using as inputs and artifacts more than 200 photographs of personal significance submitted by members of the congregation. He used these images in interactive and experimental exhibits that evolved over the course of the exhibition.
The photographs submitted for the exhibition depicted transformational moments that all people experience. The images represented personal and everyday events experienced in the natural course of human relationships; sublime nature scenes; and images capturing historical eras and events.
These moments, which Alberico calls "sacred stories," convey the spectrum of human emotion: Love, happiness, joy, pain, grief and tragedy. Alberico transformed these photographs into a combined work of art that sought to amplify and articulate the sacred stories shared through the images.
"These moments - our sacred stories - are captured in our memories, our stories, and our photographs, our images of significance," Alberico explained, "and the voices carried through these images are emblematic of the sacred stories of all people."
In the story of the transfiguration of Jesus, the disciples had no choice but to move forward with their lives after their momentous, mountaintop experience. Through the "Sacred Stories" exhibition, Alberico demonstrated this universal truth - that all people need to move beyond their defining moments, whether good or bad.
"We need to honor our sacred stories, but then move forward, or we risk being stuck, unable to become who we are each meant to be in our future possibilities," Alberico said.
Reflecting the imperative to keep moving forward, the "Sacred Stories" exhibition also changed and evolved as the weeks progressed. Alberico created several galleries - with evolving elements in each - including two-dimensional prints and murals, digital art and video, poetry, conceptual art, performance and interactive art, and photography.
"It was fascinating how the exhibition captured the essence of transfiguration through its individual exhibits and as an installation as a whole," said the Rev. Alex Lang, senior pastor at First Presbyterian.
One controversial exhibit was the experimental conceptual artwork "Climate of Memory," housed outside in the church's courtyard. The exhibit featured images exposed to the elements and posed questions such as, "Can we accept, and even watch, the reality of God's creation as it alters and deteriorates the vessels and containers of memory?"
To honor the loved ones represented in the images and those who submitted the photographs, the remains of the photos in the "Memory" exhibit will be dedicated in a ceremony to spread their ashes in the courtyard and used in Lenten observations.
The focal point of the entire installation - the Sukkoth (or Tabernacle) - also evolved each week, its curtains changing in complexity, color and vibrancy as Advent moved into Epiphany.
At the close of the exhibition, the Sukkoth represented "the trinity of God's presence on earth in the birth of Jesus, the death of the savior, and the eternity of the resurrection made possible by the Christ as a human transfigured on the top of God's mountain," Alberico said.
As the "Sacred Stories" installation grew and changed over the course of the eight weeks of its exhibition, its impact on the congregation and community members also evolved. The installation in its entirety was meant to evoke all human emotions and, as Alberico described, "to witness to the effects of time on memories as they evolve and change with every recollection, transforming from a story of facts into a story of truths."
Viewers who returned to the exhibition more than once experienced the artist's intention that memories expand and evolve over time, as demonstrated by the changing elements of space and time in the exhibition.
"'Sacred Stories' represented the journey all people must take if they want to truly live; to move on from each defining moment in order to make the most of their lives," said Lang.
The transfigured images of significance and the voices they expressed became unique manifestations of human frailty and strength, expressing the joy, sorrow, love and life that make up the sacred stories of all people.
Learn more about the "Sacred Stories" exhibition at www.fpcah.org.