Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Postcard Assignment: Sistine Chapel

The Creation of Adam
Sistine Chapel
Roma



I think that there is a point when your mind can no longer process anything new. I've reached it. I'm in the Sistine Chapel (named after Sistux IV), a place I've seen my whole life and all I can do is sit here. We just saw the School of Athens. I didn't realize how pretty (I know) the Vatican is. So much decor. The faux stucco ceiling, colored light with pastels, more expensive than real stucco. The Sistine seems small, busy; I wonder what it's like when hundreds of people are packed in here. Even with 30 people, the whispers of voices and feet fill the room. I don't want to come back here as a normal person. I'm sitting under the lucky painting where Julius II was elected at conclave. I wonder what it looks like filled with cardinals. Do they take off the plastic that covers the bench? There is an open space between the two plastic benches, revealing a portion of the smooth stone underneath; Michelle and I touch it. I wish I could lie down and look up. Stand under the Creation of Adam. God is a giant brain. Why is God wearing clothes? Guess it would be blasphemous for him to be naked, but sill, clothes look silly. Michelangelo looks out from the ceiling, one eye covered.


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