“I love this Dante Alighieri quote: ‘Beauty awakens the soul to act.’
“A few months ago, a friend of the Jesus Center offered a gift of a person, Shannon McConney to use her creative gifts to complete the beauty part of the Jesus Center space. I realized quickly that Shannon was not merely a decorator, but an artist so I introduced her to my good friend, Jess Mercer (known for her work in therapeutic arts and installations up on the Ridge). Well, magic quickly followed.
“Together they have designed, created, crafted, and installed an interactive art piece in our women’s multipurpose room where we hold most of our classes for the entire shelter population. When someone comes into our space, we want them to experience something other than rules, walls, doors, windows, and a safe place to store their things.
“Those are all great, but what is emerging here on Fair Street is art, words, color, texture, interactive elements that will awaken together with the handmade quilts, warm welcome, beautiful meals a human to act on their own behalf to find a pathway to their best life. This wall of 400 tiny houses will serve to awaken the imagination of those who may still be stuck in the darkness that comes when all hope is lost. As they choose to write their name and put it on one of the little houses, they are allowing themselves to dream of a life blessed by God and full of goodness and beauty.” –Laura Cootsona, Letter to the Editor, Chico Enterprise-Record, December 11, 2021
“In Frontier With Church, the artist makes direct reference to the procession encountered by Dante and Matilda at the summit of Mount Purgatory, interpreted in the temporal contexts of proselytism, migration, and trade, on their way to paradise. With Matilda—who clearly prepares Dante for his meeting with Beatrice—Dante witnesses a procession which forms an allegory within the allegory, somewhat like Shakespeare’s play with a play, in which the characters are walking symbols rather than real people. Alexander’s tableau is thus intended to represent the earthly paradise, a borderline space between earth and divine sanctuary: a frontier with attendants, messengers, custodians, and cargo. The tension revolves around human figures rendered with extreme realis, concurring in the creation of the moment before Dante’s meeting with the woman who (allegorically) symbolizes the path to God. All the creatures of the tableau are life-sized and share the real space occupied by the Viewer/s. They have a spectral presence within that space which silently enacts a living history.”
