Years ago as a student of religious art at Yale University, I took a class on death and dying simultaneously with a class on sacred architecture. I became fascinated with the altar as a place of sacrifice and death.
In ancient Israel, animals were placed on an altar and offered as a sacrifice for sin. In the world today, animal sacrifice may be rare, however sacrifice and offerings happen all around us in other ways. A recovering addict may sacrifice the bottle or a tired parent may offer up her time. Eulogy for Mammon wrestles with ideas of sacrifice, offering, and the death of mammon in our lives, while using the ritualistic symbol of an altar.
The word "mammon" comes from Aramaic, meaning material wealth. The term is used in the New Testament juxtaposed to God. In context, the word can be seen as something in opposition to the divine. This body of work acts as a type of eulogy, commemorating the sacrifices and offerings that people make to bring themselves closer to the divine.
