Nina Berman

Nina Berman 

Nina Berman has explored the concept of newly constructed churches in America in her series entitled, Megachurches. These particular churches are massive and have a large congregation. In her accompanying text, Berman states that “every two days, a new megachurch emerges in America” (Berman, 2005). This shows the scale and popularity of these churches. Her images were taken in Florida, Ohio, Kentucky, Colorado and Arkansas between 2004 and 2005. A few of her images show a small section of the congregation but the images that stand out to me are the ones that show the buildings. The images that show the building also feature people, but only two. This image of the United States Airforce Chapel in Colorado (see fig. 1) is very eye-catching.

Berman took the image from just of the side of the church. It shows the straight lines and geometric shaping of the building which rises up to the sky. She has taken the image from a lower point, this gives the building an impressive profile, it fills the sky. The sky is absolutely clear and blue, this teamed with the glass and white building gives the image a very light feel. It looks almost ‘pure’. 

This next image is of the Ave Maria Oratory in Florida (see fig. 2). This particular church cost in the region of $24 million. The grandeur of the building is evident, you can see this is a building of importance. It is placed in the center of a residential area, and as such the tall structure raises high above it all. It looks at home there, the curves of the building seem to follow the survey of the road. The grey walls match the grey skies. The only problem is the Berman have cut the top of the building off in her image, this may be intentional of course. To me it may symbolise how the church is reaching up into the heavens to something we cannot see. 

Berman has given me a chance to see how artists have tackled the challenge of photographing churches. It is a documentary style approach, a bit different form my approach but I feel her images have been of use to me. I like the positioning she has used, she has taken a low angle, which were I would like my images to go. 

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Bibliography

Berman, N. (2005). Megachurches. At: www.ninaberman.com/megachurches (Accessed on 10th of September 2019). 

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Figures

Figure 1. Berman, N. (2004-2005). United States Airforce Chapel, Colorado. [Photography – Online]. At: https://www.thecaprareview.com/?page_id=1417 (Accessed on 10th of September 2019). 

Figure 2. Berman, N. (2004-2005). The Ave Maria Oratory. [Photography – Online]. At: https://www.thecaprareview.com/?page_id=1417 (Accessed on 10th of September 2019). 

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