nigelparry.com: Art: "Modern Nativity"

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Art: "Modern Nativity"

"Modern Nativity" is a piece of ephemeral assemblage art — essentially three-dimensional collage — and was created as a prayer for a single mother. In this particular nativity scene, Joseph is not present in the stable, which has instead been wallpapered with WANTED posters calling for his arrest for "sharing dreams" and offering a reward of $8000. The stable is walled and roofed with playing cards. Above and behind this scene, Joseph sits in a rainbow-colored bowl holding down a white rope to rescue Mary, but behind her where she cannot see it until she turns around, away from those who are holding her captive in misery.

The "Stable of Cards" seen from the top. The stable is roofed with all the queen playing cards from the pack, divided in half, and the side walls are supported by jacks. Baby Jesus looks like he is emerging from a pizza oven, and his manger is connected to dynamite that is wired to bring down the whole house of cards.

The three "wise men" and Mary in the bare-floored, primative and uncomfortable stable. Mary has a dog's leash and collar around her neck, held by the man on the left, at whose feet the dynamite is located. Another "wise man" stands there in condemnation, while the final "wise man" on the right holds a wanted poster of Joseph up to Mary. In the posters, Joseph's image is rendered as a negative. The Arabic word on the manger, giving the baby's name, is "Asraar", meaning "Secrets".

Joseph above and behind the "Stable of Cards", sitting in a rainbow-colored "Bowl of Tears". The text on the rainbow bowl states: "THERE ARE NO SECRETS IN HEAVEN". The text underneath Joseph reads: "Lilies to lay to rest the parts of us that died / Roses for the promise of the color of life / And daisies to whisper new mercies each light / In our garden".

Joseph, above and behind the stable of cards, from the viewpoint of the rescuee. The white "Rope of Patience" is a handmade three-braided cord, woven from white lambswool. The scroll at the bottom of the rope reads: "She will never hear even one harsh word about anything past from my lips."

Soundtrack (continuous loop)
Josh Ritter's song, Girl In The War (free MP3 link from official website).

Girl In The War

Peter said to Paul you know all those words we wrote
Are just the rules of the game and the rules are the first to go
But now talking to God is Laurel begging Hardy for a gun
I got a girl in the war - man, I wonder what it is we done?

Paul said to Peter you got to rock yourself a little harder
Pretend the dove from above is a dragon and your feet are on fire
But I got a girl in the war, Paul, the only thing I know to do
Is turn up the music and pray that she makes it through

Because the keys to the Kingdom got locked inside the Kingdom
And the angels fly around in there but we can't see them
I got a girl in the war, Paul, I know that they can hear me yell
If they can't find a way to help her they can go to Hell
If they can't find a way to help her they can go to Hell

Paul said to Peter you got to rock yourself a little harder
Pretend the dove from above is a dragon and your feet are on fire
But I got a girl in the war, Paul, her eyes are like champagne
They sparkle, bubble over, and in the morning all you got is rain
They sparkle, bubble over, and in the morning all you got is rain
They sparkle, bubble over, and in the morning all you got is rain

"Modern Nativity", Nigel Parry (2007), mixed media including: altered nativity scene, bowl, wood, wool, paper, playing cards, leather, printed material, music and tears.