The Blessing

The Sketch gallery is an event in itself but when coupled with Claire Hooper’s The Blessing, it is an unforgettable experience. Twelve screens simultaneously projecting video means that her work surrounds you 360 degrees--unusual for a piece of art and the first time I have seen anything like it. A strong theme seen throughout the video was the idea of an unknown power that has the ability to overcome you. This idea was seen in the man having an epileptic fit, the man dreaming (or having a nightmare?), and, more subtly, the theme of pyramids and triangles. Ancient civilizations such as the Egyptians thought the pyramid symbolized the rays of the sun and triangles were often used to send energy upward to a single point in the heavens. The triangle is also the physical shape of a deeply sacred number, the number three. To incorporate the idea of “The Blessing” think Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, although there are countless other examples. In The Blessing, Hooper uses a kaleidoscopic effect to emphasize the man having a seizure (an out-of-body experience) exemplifying the excess of mystical power. This idea of mysticism is shown again when the man is looking into the pyramid trying to find answers but to what question? The pyramid is also a prism that reflects light, or truth. Hooper’s work is powerful to the viewer because of scenes in the video that were shot in the same room we are sitting in. We become a part of the art, the art consumes us. In the Sketch pamphlet, a quote from Saint Teresa of Avila’s description of the 'Rapture' is used that encapsulates what Hooper’s installation meant for me, “you are being carried away you know not where.”