St Andrew is the patron saint of fishermen - he's one of the original 12 disciples and was a fisherman on Lake Galilee according to the account in Matthew (it's the 'come with me and I will make you fishers of men' bit)- hence the fish and shells.
An interesting piece. Thank you. When you say that "precious pieces of local art are being condemned to the processes of decay and degradation among heaps and heaps of modernity’s trash", it reminds me of a passage from a book I translated a while ago:
"Whatever regret or disgust we may feel, it is our right and duty as artists to struggle for these places and this society as our forefathers did for theirs — to preserve them in pictures, to honour their beauty, and to show how much we loved them."
What an enchanting and totally original topic! I'm in the US, and have been inside many churches, but I have never knelt on anything other than wood or perhaps padded leather or vinyl. Now I'm going to have to research to see if there are any churches Stateside with preserved kneeler art!
I would love to know if you are able to track any down Cathy. I was wondering the same thing as I wrote this - if any other countries have kneelers or equivalents. They originated in the UK in the post WW2 years.
This video is about kneeler art in a church little different from the country churches you write about--it's the Washington National Cathedral. Interesting collection nonetheless. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehWZnF7DXlc
St Andrew is the patron saint of fishermen - he's one of the original 12 disciples and was a fisherman on Lake Galilee according to the account in Matthew (it's the 'come with me and I will make you fishers of men' bit)- hence the fish and shells.
Ah, that explains it! Thanks so much Shelly. There are a number of St Andrews' near where I live in Sedbergh.
An interesting piece. Thank you. When you say that "precious pieces of local art are being condemned to the processes of decay and degradation among heaps and heaps of modernity’s trash", it reminds me of a passage from a book I translated a while ago:
https://blog.oboluspress.com/p/witnesses-to-destruction
"Whatever regret or disgust we may feel, it is our right and duty as artists to struggle for these places and this society as our forefathers did for theirs — to preserve them in pictures, to honour their beauty, and to show how much we loved them."
What an enchanting and totally original topic! I'm in the US, and have been inside many churches, but I have never knelt on anything other than wood or perhaps padded leather or vinyl. Now I'm going to have to research to see if there are any churches Stateside with preserved kneeler art!
I would love to know if you are able to track any down Cathy. I was wondering the same thing as I wrote this - if any other countries have kneelers or equivalents. They originated in the UK in the post WW2 years.
This video is about kneeler art in a church little different from the country churches you write about--it's the Washington National Cathedral. Interesting collection nonetheless. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehWZnF7DXlc