Picture
Caption: GRACED
BY THE LIGHT Grace Cathedral - San Francisco
Caption: I walked in and saw this.
All I could say was... nothing.
I just looked up, gaping,
and allowed the experience
to fill me.
Picture
Picture
Caption: The ribbons, the light, the rainbow colors cast by the sunlight through the stained glass windows, the quiet and peacefulness, and the organ music: it was a mystical and powerful experience. It was magic.
Picture
Picture of Grace Cathedral
Grace Cathedral
Caption: "Graced with Light" was a music-inspired art installation by talented visual artist Anne Patterson. It was created in celebration of 100 Years of Music at Grace Cathedral, which occurred in 2013.
It was constructed of nearly twenty miles of ribbon, and was assembled by Anne Patterson and the Grace Cathedral Community.
Picture of Grace Cathedral
Picture of Grace Cathedral
Grace Cathedral
Caption: Quoting the Cathedral's website:
"Ms. Patterson envisioned a series of light pathways connecting heaven and earth, manifest as ribbons. The ribbons carry our prayers, dreams and wishes skyward, and, in turn, grace streams down the ribbons to us."
I had not read this before going there, but that is exactly how it felt.
Picture of Grace Cathedral
Picture of Grace Cathedral
Picture of Grace Cathedral
Caption: Walking the Labyrinth
Picture of Grace Cathedral
Caption: Bathed in the rainbow
Picture of Grace Cathedral
Caption: Candlelight Labyrinth Walks
are held regularly at Grace Cathedral.
Picture of Grace Cathedral
Grace Cathedral
Caption: The installation was so beautiful that the Cathedral kept extending its time: from a few months to a year, then two, then six more months, then...
I really hoped it would become permanent.
Grace Cathedral is beautiful by herself, but this art installation enhanced the place through such a powerful multi-sensory experience, that the Cathedral would be barren without it. And it is.
I could feel the Spirit of Place singing with joy, and, now that the installation is gone, that joy is no longer there.
Picture of Grace Cathedral
Picture of Grace Cathedral
Grace Cathedral
Caption: The ribbons have been removed. I have heard several reasons for this decision, but they all defy comprehension. When something is this magical, you figure out a way to keep it.
Grace Cathedral still remains a worthy stop on your visit to San Francisco, but she has lost her magic.
Some people just do not appreciate a good thing when they have it.
Picture of Grace Cathedral
Picture of Grace Cathedral
Caption: Grace Cathedral
1100 California Street
San Francisco, Ca 94108
415-749-6300
www.gracecathedral.org
All photography by
Monica Schwartz
Full story and more images at
www.lifeoutofbounds.com
#art #travel #sanfrancisco #colors
