View of cover, with one of four concertina sections folded out
Denominations of Worship is an interactive book that invites each participant to question a community’s belief systems. Though it can be experienced by an individual, it is intended as it was first presented, among a gathered group. It was inspired by a Matriarch of inventive artists’ book forms, Hedi Kyle, co-author of Art of the Fold.
The number twelve, powerful in numerology and common in daily life, serves as a symbolic point of departure for exploring ideas of worship. It is presented in four designated categories: commercial, legal, religious, and punitive.
Set up as a game, each category houses a selection of three different, concealed offerings. Overall, there are twelve offerings to choose from that make historical, sociological, and humorous references encompassing a wide range of subjects to consider.
Upon choosing, then revealing an offering, the participant is asked to consider the offering’s worthiness for worship. If they judge it to be so, then the community reviews the suggestion and decides whether it will be included or disregarded.
The pattern repeats and can be played category by category, allowing participants to gather ideas about where their beliefs do and do not belong within their own community and in wider circles of society.
Cover of book, offerings within a category, one revealed
Beginning with a multi-story urban building being demolished, the “Commercial” category has offerings of: The Federal Reserve banks, 12 oz. beer, and a dodecahedron, described respectively as money, size, and format on their reverse sides. A geyser is featured for “Legal” with a calendar, clock, and then, a dozen eggs, followed by “Religious” showing offerings of the twelve tribes of Israel, a grid of musical note theory, and the signs of the zodiac representing math, music, and configuration. The final category, “Punitive” shows a tape measure, Jesus’ disciples, and a magazine subscription form, with measure, law, and period noted in order on back. The book closes with the phrase “Desiring belonging justifying tolerance.”
Three categories’ images and the final page of Denominations of Worship
Featured exhibition and info on Hedi Kyle:
- https://www.centerforbookarts.net/exhibits/archive/bio.asp?artistID=215
- https://www.oakknoll.com/pages/books/103927/hedi-kyle-her-influence-1977-1993
- https://www.artofthefold.com/
About the number 12:
Publishing Notes:
Denominations of Worship is a combination of codex and concertina structures, with twenty 8.5” x 5.25” pages of folded coverstock divided into four sections measuring 26.5”.
Offset-printed on both sides, the sections are adhered from the back into the front of a wrap around cover. After the first category image, subsequent ones are on the last, back page of a section, as an introduction to the next. The separate “offerings” are printed on both sides of paper stock and adhered, three to a section, in each category.
Copies are $75.00 plus shipping, available through contacting me at MJCONNORSDAVISON.COM
Quick Bio: MJCD is an internationally collected mixed media artist specializing in collage.