This work consists of 4 anagram poems derived from The Lord’s Prayer that re-focus the prayer for artistic and humanist purposes. One could also read this as two texts: the prayer, Bigelow’s anagram poem, and three intermediate stages as they morph from one to the next. Each poem has its own distinct visual and aural background: the prayer is placed over an image of Christ appearing to Mary Magdalene in the famous “noli me tangere” (do not touch me) scene, and Bigelow’s anagram is placed over Polly Little’s “After the Fall” painting. Every time the reader “shakes” the piece, the words move part of the way towards their position in the final poem, and the visual and musical works become superposed with varying levels of transparency and volume. These intermediate stages offer texts worth paying attention to because they use the cut-up method to provide insight on the language of the Lord’s Prayer, preparing the reader for the anagram poem at the end. In the same way, the overlay of the images are enhanced by a graphical match cut to highlight the similarity of their structure and power relations between figures.
In other words: read individually, these works are clever, but read holistically they resonate.
Amen.
Featured in ELO 2012 Media Art Show
