The Second Coming of Christ Collage

About These Works These works are excerpts from chapters from an unfinished much bigger photo novella about the Phoenix metropolitan area. Although Phoenix has some negative connotations, it is - in my opinion - quite a true place. The poetry of the desolate and the beauty of the empty spaces which are scattered around is intimidating, but in a rather pleasant way. The quietness is often surreal and the architectural monotony the suburbs is more of a repetitive Buddhist pattern than a seed for boredom. In Phoenix the future is in the here and now, and the thereafter, not so much in the past. This however sometimes leads to an unfortunate ordeal for the last historical markers. But if you have an open "” non-Rembrandtesque "” mind, this city can compete, more than at first notice. About The Collage The Collage; what is it besides combining different materials, and how "seamless" should it be? When is a work of art really "a collage"? This raises also another question; should the spectator smell the glue? Too much glue affects the brain and consequently influences the content of the work itself. Is an extreme juxtaposition of materials really a base for a work of art? This is what I constantly evaluate in my work "” the process and the content. In the following images you will find a lot of cars, often photographed at junkyards (a fine example of a three-dimensional collage). In a number of cases I interfered/added the works with "extra information" "” sometimes quite obvious, sometimes not at all "” . That's how I approached the subject matter and its content; with subtlety "” not too much glue "” just enough to keep the spectator awake. The Second Coming of Christ Back to Phoenix where the base for these works were formed. Some areas in the United States have a somewhat overwhelming positive feeling about Christianity and what it eventually will bring them. These feelings - especially for Jesus, the main character in the bible "” are mile wide, but often "” luckily "” inch deep. An incredible number of people think he will actually return "” not metaphorically but as a real person "” . (By the year 2050, 41% of Americans believe that Jesus Christ definitely (23%) or probably (18%) will have returned to earth.) This concept of a returning Jesus inspired me a great deal on how to approach my subject matter.