The price was right, so I bought it, did some wiring, and voila! A fabulous new light for the back bedroom, which serves as an office of sorts.
Of course, I had to go find the Bible (yes, I have a Bible. I also have a Koran and a Book of Morom. Not that I've ever read any of them, but I think having them makes me look smart.) and pose for a tableau.
Which inspired me to create another tableau, using one of the dogs. Since Crackers is the only one who will sit still for that kind of nonsense, he was the lucky one who gets to join me in a devotional reading....
But here's the thing: I bought this lamp entirely for its lines. The crosses, I'm not so sure about. The ugly truth is that there's an awful lot about religion that is campy, and this fixture is a prime examples of that campiness (The lights were in a church, which is a de facto religious place. Why did they feel the need to put crosses on all the light fixtures? Even Catholics don't do that).
But do I really want to go there? I don't want to be seen as one of those people who makes fun of religion, even though I do, all the time. But I prefer my ridicule to be on a case-by-case basis, and not a blanket ridicule of the entire thing, because people like that tend to be bores (Show me a person who calls himself a "recovering Catholic", and I'll show you a real pain in the ass.) and, I hasten to add, some of the people I love the most are sincerely devout.
So what to do? I can easily take the crosses off, or turn them upside down and hope everyone just thinks they're a innocuous decorative element. But it would be just my luck to have some devotee of St. Peter (or, even worse, of Archbishop Joachim of Nizhny Novgorod) come by and think it was some sort of shrine to them. (those devotees of the Archbishop can eat you out of house and home)
Or am I just over-thinking this? Talk to me, people.
1 comment:
Well, friend, let me tell you, as a person who grew up in Russia- devotees of Archbishop of Niznii Novgorod usually use Russian Orthodox cross in their ceremonies, it looks a bit different, check the typical designs,http://www.gallerybyzantium.com/slaviccross1.html
the cross on your lamp is a cross usually used in Catholic or Protestant churches.
So i wouldnt worry about Archbishop's devotees, but rather maybe Catholics and such that visit your home? I say, if they are your friends or relatives, they should know you by now, and, i presume, be smart enough to understand that you like the lamp as a piece of art, not as something religious. I have some things from India that have religious meaning to a Hindu, but I only see their decorative value, they beautify my house. I can say in the affirmative that a couple of Indians that come to visit never question that and never suspect anything else.
What if, lastly, a dumb Catholic, member of clergy or Pope Benedict16 were to visit your house you might ask? First of all, hide any small kids if you have them, and second- how in the world did they get into your house in the first place??
but I wouldn't change the lamp, remove or reposition the cross, the piece would lose its original attractiveness.
just my humble opinion
Best,
Alinka
(i am a big fan of yours on Slog )
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