The Cross Garden: Hell’s Warning Label
I went to an art hangout with a friend about 3 weeks ago. We planned to go to the cross garden in Prattville, Al. Prattville is about 1 hour away from Birmingham. On the way, we talked about how the ART 100 class has affected us. Personally, I feel like I can express myself better. Art is nothing but an expression of being human. It encompasses everything. The Cross Garden at Prattville encompassed the thoughts of a person who had delved himself into religion beyond anything I have witnessed in a long time.
William Rice made the cross garden: Hell's Warning Label. It took him years to create the garden. It was an expression of how he was feeling. There must be some kind of transcendence in devoting yourself to the absolute limit for a cause. Human extremes are often beautiful and sad.
It also felt like a sort of intense meditation. In most meditation techniques, we are supposed to watch our thoughts. We are supposed to observe them come and go and not engage with them. Should we find our mind wandering, we gently take the attention away from the thought and let it float in the back of our mind until it fades away. Maybe Rice was trying to keep the thoughts of the devil away. Maybe when his mind wandered, he made religious art so that he could bring his attention back to God, back to his truth, back to righteousness, and away from Satan’s pollution of humankind.
He made a garden where he lived. We often relate our feelings to our surroundings; A clean room means an organized mind, and a dirty room means a chaotic mind. Maybe he wanted to mold his surroundings to stay mindful of his beliefs every single day.
There were a lot of "You Will Die" Signs. Momento Mori. Death is always around; we walk hand in hand with it every day. The thought of dying could be depressing and lead to nihilism. Why do hard things in this world if you are not going to take anything with you when the time comes? It could also be empowering and beautiful. If all this is going to seemingly fade away into nothingness, then why not try your best to enjoy and relish every passing moment?
