A few weeks back, I wrote about Visio Divina, meditating on pictures and images. Monet’s pond at Giverny, moved him to paint the scene more than 230 times and moved me to both photograph the waterlily pond and meditate on it as a quiet and sacred place.
Now, I’ve found some images in Claremont that invite meditation. “Look Up,” the performance art collaboration between Elizabeth Turk and the residents of Mt. San Antonio Gardens is on display at the Claremont Museum of Art through August 29 in the old railroad station in the village.
There, you might meditate on the kaleidoscope images of umbrellas paired with thoughts about “what do you tell yourself in the face of adversity,” which was the question Turk asks visitors to the exhibit to answer. I am not sure who chose this juxtaposition, but “pray” and “drink wine” appear close together. Or you can add your own note or take a selfie with one of the umbrellas, each designed using a plant that recovers from drought or fire.
In the entry gallery at the railroad station, meditate on the umbrella images and watch video compilations showing the transformation of static images into choreography. You can do this from home, too, and see one of Turk’s renditions of Look Up and her other projects including the dramatic “Shoreline,” dancing lighted umbrellas on Laguna’s main beach at nightfall.
The extra added attraction may be spotting some of your fellow congregants in the photos and videos.