i think from seeing the film 'jesus of montreal' there
was a part which stated that crucifixion was normal
in roman times, with what sounded like dozens of
such executions going on all the time. thought it may
have said that these crucifixions, death penalties for
the condemned, lined roads to rome. i thought it may
be a structure based on ships, and prior to Christian
symbolism (with Jesus) it already existed as a form of
punishment with that cross-structure- so it is curious if
the ships or boats of the time or preceding times had
this same cross structure as a mast for sails, a basic
sailboat having what seems like an identical structure
(with cloth over the cross-arm). therefore, my guess is
that pre-Christian symbolism of 'the cross' may be in
some way related to these, yet from there to Christ's
execution and the period from that to its becoming a
symbol of Christendom may transcend these factors
with respect to what the cross means for christians (or
so it is guessed). another aspect of 'the cross' symbol
is how it also shows up in swords and knights and in
a religious context/order, it would seem. i tend to see
it in telephone poles, though i do not think this is the
only way to interpret the symbol (though it seemed to
be a possibility- in that, roads all over the world once
again are lined with crosses, yet the crucifixions may
not be the only or main symbolism. it is telling, though,
at least to me, that it is rare to find a cross-arm (cross)
electrical pole in front of a church. usually they do not
have crosses for some reason. i have only seen one,
and it was very large, and was a cross but no wires,
identical to an electrical distribution pole. which, if a
privatized world, would be the only interpretation of
this symbolism. but symbols seem to have a way of
being shared by cultures. so i tend to think of all of
the crosses on poles as pre-dating 'Christendom' to
rather possibly represent structural knowledge and
some building techniques-- such as tension systems
and rigging of cables (identical to ships). it is to me
a conflicting question, the cross symbol, as it can be
many things to many people. it fascinates me that it
is so ubiquitous yet, with a secular view, this would
allow that these are not Christian crosses as there
is more than one way to view this symbol, given all
of the knowledge. but fundamentalists who destroy
crosses may not feel this way, for and against, and
may try to banish the cross as a type of westernism,
which would be inaccurate. just as using 'media' of
television and radio to broadcast hate of the west,
while using the tools developed in these cultures.
kind of like saying 'numbers' are useless because
we hate another culture, a lot of nonsense. brian
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was a part which stated that crucifixion was normal
in roman times, with what sounded like dozens of
such executions going on all the time. thought it may
have said that these crucifixions, death penalties for
the condemned, lined roads to rome. i thought it may
be a structure based on ships, and prior to Christian
symbolism (with Jesus) it already existed as a form of
punishment with that cross-structure- so it is curious if
the ships or boats of the time or preceding times had
this same cross structure as a mast for sails, a basic
sailboat having what seems like an identical structure
(with cloth over the cross-arm). therefore, my guess is
that pre-Christian symbolism of 'the cross' may be in
some way related to these, yet from there to Christ's
execution and the period from that to its becoming a
symbol of Christendom may transcend these factors
with respect to what the cross means for christians (or
so it is guessed). another aspect of 'the cross' symbol
is how it also shows up in swords and knights and in
a religious context/order, it would seem. i tend to see
it in telephone poles, though i do not think this is the
only way to interpret the symbol (though it seemed to
be a possibility- in that, roads all over the world once
again are lined with crosses, yet the crucifixions may
not be the only or main symbolism. it is telling, though,
at least to me, that it is rare to find a cross-arm (cross)
electrical pole in front of a church. usually they do not
have crosses for some reason. i have only seen one,
and it was very large, and was a cross but no wires,
identical to an electrical distribution pole. which, if a
privatized world, would be the only interpretation of
this symbolism. but symbols seem to have a way of
being shared by cultures. so i tend to think of all of
the crosses on poles as pre-dating 'Christendom' to
rather possibly represent structural knowledge and
some building techniques-- such as tension systems
and rigging of cables (identical to ships). it is to me
a conflicting question, the cross symbol, as it can be
many things to many people. it fascinates me that it
is so ubiquitous yet, with a secular view, this would
allow that these are not Christian crosses as there
is more than one way to view this symbol, given all
of the knowledge. but fundamentalists who destroy
crosses may not feel this way, for and against, and
may try to banish the cross as a type of westernism,
which would be inaccurate. just as using 'media' of
television and radio to broadcast hate of the west,
while using the tools developed in these cultures.
kind of like saying 'numbers' are useless because
we hate another culture, a lot of nonsense. brian
It would be interesting to research the iconographic history of the
'Christian' cross prior to 14 September 325, that is, prior to
Helena's discovery of the True Cross.
--
The Design-L list for art and architecture, since 1992...
To subscribe, send mailto:design-l-subscribe-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx.
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Visit archives: http://lists.psu.edu/archives/design-l.html