Flat Panel LCD "Icons"?

[Spiller]

I remember reading years ago that Bill Gates has large panel liquid crystal displays (LCDs) throughout his house. Not only to watch video but also to view static images of artwork. That made me think they have an application in parish churches.

Now that LCDs are getting less expensive I was thinking how nice it would be to put LCDs in picture frames and place them in parishes as icons. A computerized library of digital icons could be created and sent to the LCDs as necessary depending on the feast/solemnity of the day. It would be wonderful to see pristine copies of world-famous icons right before your eyes in a church setting.

I don’t think I would ever put static stations of the cross in my dream church either. Rather I would put 13 framed LCD panels on the walls after I got permission to photograph some of the truly historic and wonderful station sets around the world. It would be nice to see the stations from St. Pat’s in NYC in my dream parish for example.

I might also created a small text box for each image so if anyone was interested, they could read about the history of the icon.

 

[OutinChgoburbs]

Provided the wireless net was proeprly connected, or then semi-harwired through CAT, this would be a really great alternative to changing out environment all the time.

 

[nicolep]

I agree with PP. Tactfully done, it would be a great alternative.

 

[b_justb]

Spiller:

Now that LCDs are getting less expensive I was thinking how nice it would be to put LCDs in picture frames and place them in parishes as icons. A computerized library of digital icons could be created and sent to the LCDs as necessary depending on the feast/solemnity of the day. It would be wonderful to see pristine copies of world-famous icons right before your eyes in a church setting.

I think this is a fantastic idea! You could have several in the Church. The feast of the Saint of any given day could show that Saint’s Icon. There are teaching Icons that show the various ministerial acts of Christ. Those could be displayed when the Gospel reading is about those activities. I liked your idea on adding text to tell people about the Icon too. Top shelf idea, mate.

 

[Michael_Welter]

I agree, this is a wonderful idea, if done properly. For example, we wouldn’t want the image to change during Mass, as it would divert attention away from the altar. However, changing the images weekly would work really well. Good idea!

 

[Digitonomy]

I may be a bit of a traditionalist, but I’m not crazy about the idea. For the same reason that I rarely watch mass on TV, and would much rather see a work of art in a museum than in a book or on the internet, I don’t think LCD or plasma screen icons are going to be as satisfying as the “real thing,” even when the artistic technique is superior to the icons I run into locally.

 

[rpp]

While I understand this, and can see where this may be nice, it also feels, gosh it is hard to express, it just does not feel right.

I so not see who such a display can evoke the same response as the genuine article that fades or discolors over time.

 

[Michael_Welter]

I agree that the flat panel display isn’t as good as seeing the original. However, for most Catholics, seeing the original simply isn’t an option. We can’t all travel to Europe to view the original icons. So this is a great way to bring the rich art history of the Church to the people.

 

[sbriton]

I’m not crazy about this idea. I think it can lead to other things that would be much worse. How about a huge LCD screen behind the altar showing different Crucifixes? No real Crucifix there, just an image from someone else’s church. Sound stange? The parish we just left is planning to install a large projection screen next to the altar to display religious imagery and lyrics to the hymns complete with a bouncing ball over the words. This would be a permanent screen, not a portable one. Cost is estimated to be around $7,000. I can see them reading your idea and thinking they could just put that projection screen in place of the Crucifix and save on having to replace it or even maintain it.

Just as the altar vessels should be of a durable material (not glass or plastic!) IMO, the stations and other icons in the church proper should also be durable. Imagine praying the stations when the power goes out and all the images disappear!

Interesting idea, just inappropriate IMHO.

Simon

 

[Michael_Welter]

Simon, you bring up some good points, all of which have to be guarded against. In my parish, we installed two large screens to the right and left of the Sanctuary, and project onto them song lyrics, responses and readings. As head of the Audio Visual Ministry, I wrote the standards for the what can be projected onto the screens during Mass, just to avoid the issues that you bring up. You can I think alike in this regard. For example, our slides have a black background, with plain arial, white font. No colors. No images. No animations. Absolutely nothing that could distract attention from the altar. By doing this, we save paper, as we don’t need songbooks anymore. We have found that those who opposed it, have learning to embrace the idea, but only because we are very careful to keep it simple, and respectful.

 

[Spiller]

While I understand this, and can see where this may be nice, it also feels, gosh it is hard to express, it just does not feel right.

I so not see who such a display can evoke the same response as the genuine article that fades or discolors over time.

Understand that this idea would include high definition digital images of many famous works. In simplest terms they would already be faded.

I would prefer a extremely high resolution photo of say The Miracle-Working Icon of Our Lady of Kazan then the typical icons I see at my parish. But the real advantage is to see a huge number of icons like Our Lady of Kazan – all at one’s Church.

 

[Spiller]

I may be a bit of a traditionalist, but I’m not crazy about the idea. For the same reason that I rarely watch mass on TV, and would much rather see a work of art in a museum than in a book or on the internet, I don’t think LCD or plasma screen icons are going to be as satisfying as the “real thing,” even when the artistic technique is superior to the icons I run into locally.

Your comments have absolutely nothing to do with being a “traditionalist.” It’s also not necessarily about superior artistic technique.

The more I think of this, the better it sounds. It would not only be wonderful to match the icons to a given feast/solemnity but it would also be wonderful to expose Catholics to the great liturgical artworks of he Church.

Most Catholics will never be exposed to the great icons of the Church – and particularly in a Church setting.

 

[Spiller]

I agree that the flat panel display isn’t as good as seeing the original. However, for most Catholics, seeing the original simply isn’t an option. We can’t all travel to Europe to view the original icons. So this is a great way to bring the rich art history of the Church to the people.

Darned close. And given the distance we are kept away from the originals and the anti-theft/vandalism deterrents used, it’s often superior.

 

[Spiller]

I’m not crazy about this idea. I think it can lead to other things that would be much worse. How about a huge LCD screen behind the altar showing different Crucifixes? No real Crucifix there, just an image from someone else’s church. Sound stange? The parish we just left is planning to install a large projection screen next to the altar to display religious imagery and lyrics to the hymns complete with a bouncing ball over the words. This would be a permanent screen, not a portable one. Cost is estimated to be around $7,000. I can see them reading your idea and thinking they could just put that projection screen in place of the Crucifix and save on having to replace it or even maintain it.

Just as the altar vessels should be of a durable material (not glass or plastic!) IMO, the stations and other icons in the church proper should also be durable. Imagine praying the stations when the power goes out and all the images disappear!

Interesting idea, just inappropriate IMHO.

Simon

You should be ashamed of yourself for polluting this thread with a huge load of red herrings. The constant negative note from some nattering nabobs of negativity really gets tiresome after awhile on these forums.

 

[rpp]

You should be ashamed of yourself for polluting this thread with a huge load of red herrings. The constant negative note from some nattering nabobs of negativity really gets tiresome after awhile on these forums.

Just because people disagree with you does not make them wrong. Nor is it something a person should be ashamed of. This person expressed an honest opinion regarding a matter so similar as to be indistinguishable, at least to me.

 

[Spiller]

Just because people disagree with you does not make them wrong. Nor is it something a person should be ashamed of. This person expressed an honest opinion regarding a matter so similar as to be indistinguishable, at least to me.

It’s not a matter of disagreeing. It’s a matter of coming up with what we call “stoppers” in the business world. You REALLY believe the comments are legitimate concerns or are they just “stoppers” thrown out to derail a conversation? All they really do is serve to STOP enthusiasm for new ideas.

Stoppers can be generated by just about any idea. I truly detest them. Legitimate concerns? Let’s get them all out on the table. But stoppers? Keep them to yourself. The picture of a crucifix and the bouncing ball comments were particularly negative and offensive.