Your Lot in Life

Your Lot in Life

     by Teresa Sullivan

This collage is about the story of Sodom and Gomorrah from the Book of Genesis from the Bible. The inner part of the collage is about this story, while the outer part of the collage compares the story to America. In the story, Lot and his wife are told by God to leave the city and not to look back. Lot's wife turns to look at the destruction of the City and is turned into salt.



Referenced in Wikipedia:

Sodom and Gomorrah (pron.: /ˈsɒd.əm/;^[1] pron.: /ɡə.ˈmɔr.ə/^[2]) were cities mentioned in the Book of Genesis and throughout the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament and Deuterocanonical sources, as well as the Qur'an. According to the Torah, the kingdoms of Sodom and Gomorrah were allied with the cities of Admah, Zeboim and Bela. These five cities, also known as the "cities of the plain", were situated on the Jordan river plain in the southern region of the land of Canaan. The Jordan river plain (which corresponds to area just north of the modern day Dead Sea^[3]) has been compared to the garden of Eden,^[Gen.13:10] being a land well-watered and green, suitable for grazing livestock.
Divine judgment by Yahweh was then passed upon Sodom and Gomorrah along with two other neighboring cities that were completely consumed by fire and brimstone. Neighboring Zoar (Bela) was the only city to be spared during that day of judgment.^{[Deut.29:23][Gen.10:19]} In Abrahamic traditions, Sodom and Gomorrah have become synonymous with impenitent sin, and their fall with a proverbial manifestation of God's wrath.^{[4][5][Jude 1:7]} Sodom and Gomorrah have been used as metaphors for vice.

America's Sanctuaries collage

America's Sanctuaries collage

by Teresa Sullivan

America's Sanctuaries collage is a very unique piece of artwork created by Marc Gagnon. The piece is based on the literary work of American Script Writer and Producer Gene Roddenberry. Back in the 80s, he wrote a script which was essentially the history of the world. The time was the year 2008 where the economy was suppose to deteriorate which would lead to a great depression. By the year 2020, there would be a Sanctuary in every major city of the United States. In these sanctuaries would house the unemployed, indigent and eventually the mentally ill.  The clip below is from the show Deep Space 9 which shows life in the sanctuary walls. Today, there are some major cities in the USA considering the creation of these sanctuaries. Is this coincidental?

Deep Space 9 concerning the Sanctuary Districts
The name of Gagnon's collage is America's Sanctuary.

The Boston Massacre collage by Marc Gagnon

The Boston Massacre collage by Marc Gagnon

    Blog by Theresa Sullivan, Treasurer of Marc Gagnon Inc.

Marc Gagnon, Photographic Artist, who has over 114 art pieces in permanent collections did a piece on the Boston Massacre, a critical historical event in American History.  John Adams, the man who United a country toward the signing of the Declaration of Independence was the pivotal character in the Boston Massacre incident. Below is the account of the event and then the collage:

The town of Boston was a very uneasy city throughout the 1760's. This uneasiness quickly turned to belligerence in the early part of 1770. Tensions had been mounting from the beginning of the year with various clashes between British sympathizers and colonists. However, in early March the tensions erupted into bloodshed.   On March 5, 1770 a small group of colonists were up to their usual sport of tormenting British soldiers. By many accounts there was a great deal of taunting that eventually lead to an escalation of hostilities. The sentry in front of the Custom House eventually lashed out at the colonists which brought more colonists to the scene. In fact, someone began ringing the church bells which usually signified a fire. The sentry called for help, setting up the clash which we now call the Boston Massacre. A group of soldiers led by Captain Thomas Preston came to the rescue of the lone sentry. Captain Preston and his detachment of seven or eight men were quickly surrounded. All attempts to calm the crowd proved useless. At this point, the accounts of the event vary drastically. Apparently, a soldier fired a musket into the crowd, immediately followed by more shots. This action left several wounded and five dead including an African-American named Crispus Attucks. The crowd quickly dispersed, and the soldiers went back to their barracks. These are the facts we do know. However, many uncertainties surround this important historical event:

• Did the soldiers fire with provocation?
• Did they fire on their own?
• Was Captain Preston guilty of ordering his men to fire into a crowd of civilians?
• Was he innocent and being used by men like Samuel Adams to confirm the oft-claimed tyranny of England?

John Adams defended the British soldiers in a court of law. He defended them well and they were found not guilty as it was found that one of the people in the crowd (a colonist) shouted out "Fire," which resulted in the soldiers firing their flintlocks.