In 2012, St. John's unveiled the Pilgrims Way Arch: a tile mosaic covering the original arch entryway to Xavier Hall. Renovations to the building completed in 2005 saw the creation of the Brother William Drinan, C.F.X. Center for Campus Ministry. The center stands directly across from the original entryway, with its door opening out to the arch. By decking the arch in iconography from the world's principal religions and spiritual traditions, the Pilgrims Way Arch symbolically welcomes all faiths into the Prep community.
Design Inspiration
The inspiration for an interfaith arch using an Islamic aesthetic came from the arch entryway itself which shares its shape and proportions with entries found in Islamic architecture. Led by Ms. Dale Bryant, Chair of the Fine Arts Department and a ceramicist, and Dr. Ann Terry, Religious Studies teacher and art historian, the project began in a World Religions course during the spring semester of 2012. Students carried the project through many stages, measuring drawings and cutting thousands of clay pieces that make up the mosaic.
Pilgrims Way Symbols
Inscription at Pilgrims Way Arch
Inscription
The inscription at the top of the arch—Our Heart is Wide Open—comes from Pope John XXIII’s opening address to the Second Vatican Council in 1962, a turning point in the modernization of Roman Catholicism.
The border around the inscription forms a spiral, a universal symbol of regeneration and life itself. The spiral is commonly associated with Mother Goddesses in a number of cultures, and in modern day Wicca. The white step band and the goldenrod lozenge band were made with 19th century stamps from India, originally used to dye fabrics.
Adrinkas and Chinese Pilgrimage
Adrinkas and Chinese Pilgrimage
The central square tile on the inside of the doorframe incorporates two Adinkras, sets of symbols from West Africa associated with the Asante tribe in Ghana. The Adinkras are flanked by the two Chinese characters that comprise the word “pilgrimage.”
The goldenrod tile highlights two Adrinkas. The knot-like Adinkra, a Mpataop, represents the unity of groups previously in conflict, and thus expresses hope for religions today locked in conflict. The second Adrinka, a Dwennimmen or ram’s horns, symbolizes strength combined with humility: Rams fight ferociously but also submit in humility to sacrifice. The Mpataop also appears in the Peace Labyrinth on the Prep campus.
Calligraphy
The cream-colored tile carries a calligraphic form of the Arabic word for “pilgrimage.” The small gold cubes to the left are Venetian gold glass smalti, the same mosaic cubes used in Byzantine mosaics.
Chagag
Large Hebrew letters at the base of the arch spell the word chagag, meaning both to celebrate and to make or keep a pilgrimage. These panels are larger than others and placed at the base of the design because Hebrew Scripture is fundamental to both Christianity and Islam.
Esher
Some of the designs in Pilgrims Way were drawn from Islamic art and related sources. These crosses come from sketches of Islamic tiles drawn by artist E.M. Escher while he travelled southern Spain the 1920s. Many of his famous geometric designs were inspired by Islamic art.
Namaste
Namaste, familiar to many in contemporary Western world as part of meditation and yoga practices, is a greeting among Hindus and Buddhists. The salutation is said while placing palms together in front of the chest and bowing one’s head. Suitable in any company, namaste literally means, “I bow to you.” Combined with the gesture, the meaning becomes “may our minds and hearts meet.” As a spiritual expression, it acknowledges and honors divinity in the other. Bowing to another’s understanding of divinity is a form of prayer.
Om
With the exception of the cross, the omkara is probably the most recognizable from today’s culture. It has become a visual cliché, evoking thoughts of meditation, Zen Buddhism, and yoga. This popularity belies its profound meaning in Hinduism and Buddhism. Inscribed within the iconic Sanskrit characters are the three states of human consciousness and the transcendent nirvana: the ultimate oneness that lies beyond human knowingness.
Vault of Heaven
Forty stars are arrayed across the upper intrados, a symbolic number evoked in the epic and transformative journeys relayed in the scriptures of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The Israelites wandered 40 years through the desert before arriving at the Promised Land. Moses and Mohammad spent 40 days in contemplation. The Lenten season lasts 40 days. The use of gold stars against a blue sky is a universal symbol for the “vault of heaven” used across cultures from ancient Egyptian tombs to Christian cathedrals.
Xaverian Rose Kufic Allah
Inside the arch, a detail from the seal of the Xaverian Brothers, the blue floretre tile (“in harmony small things grow”) alternates with the green Kufic tile. Kufic is an early, geometric form of Arabic. This Kufic design is drawn from the logo of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture, created by Karl Schlamminger, a German Muslim. The design forms an ambigram, or calligraphic palindrome, using the word “Allah” eight times. The type of square Kufic used here was typical of the 9th century. The two alternating motifs here echo patterns used in the home of Jacob Spring (now the Prep’s Administration Building).
The project began in a World Religions course during the Spring Semester of 2012. Students carried the project through many stages, measuring drawings and cutting thousands of clay pieces that make up the mosaic.
The project was led by Ms. Dale Bryant, then-Chair of the Fine Arts Department and a ceramicist, and Dr. Ann Terry, Religious Studies teacher and art historian. Bryant and Terry have collaborated for the last few years and went to Italy together to study ancient mosaic making technique.
The inspiration for an interfaith arch using an Islamic aesthetic came from studying the entryway that houses the arch. The shape and proportions of the entry echo those in Islamic architecture. Also, the Campus Ministry door opens to the arch, symbolically welcoming all religions.
Creating the mosaic arch was a complex, labor intensive, and multi-stepped process. Students began by studying the phenomenon of pilgrimage in different religions and explored the relationship between Islamic art and Islamic theology. As part of that process, they visited a mosque in Metheun to see tiles imported from Turkey and hear the Imam speak about his religion.
Careful planning went into each step of the process, from the architectural and visual designs, to selecting materials and execution.
An essential first step for this kind of project is to make measured drawings as a basis for planning designs and materials. These drawings were annotated with critical measurements and notes that provided each small component of the architecturally complex arch with a different designation.
Calculating
It was important to know the square footage of each part of the arch to determine the amount of clay needed and the number of different kinds of shapes required.
Templating
Full-scale paper templates were measured, cut, and hung in the classroom so the designs could be edited.
Research
While some students made these drawings and took measurements, others researched symbols of major world religions.
Tilemaking
After researching designs and finishing the necessary drawings and templates, it was time for an orientation in the studio, where a literal ton of porcelain awaited. Here Dale Bryant introduced the students to their next tasks. Students involved in the project were all members of the Class of 2012: Alexander Boulous, Christopher Crupi, James Frye, Adam Johnson, David Maher, Kevin Meas, Michael McLane, Emil Nuñez, Tyler Rossi, and Samuel Shaw.
Tool Fabricating
Most of the pieces in the mosaic were cut from clay using shaped cutters, some of which were made from strips of metal by students. Visible in the photograph are two stamps used in the border inscription. Near the base, homemade tools were used to cut border strips evenly.
Piece Cutting
For weeks, several students at a time worked in the ceramics studio, cutting thousands of pieces of clay in predetermined shapes. Before the clay could be cut, it had to be rolled into sheets and dried until moisture level was just right.
Once cut, the back of each piece needed to be grooved so it would fasten to the mortar when applied to the wall.
Linoleum Carving
For complex designs, symbols, and scripts, students created linoleum cuts, which were then used as molds to
create multiples. To do this, students cut multiple panels from sheets of linoleum. They then scaled the design to the tile, reversed it, transferred the drawing onto the linoleum and carefully carved the design. Here a student cuts the Sanskrit word "namaste" into linoleum.
Pattern Pressing
Once complete, the linoleum cuts were pressed into clay. Finally, the tiles bordering the inscription were stamped. In the photo above Ms. Bryant uses one of the antique textile stamps.
Cleaning
After the tiles were made, they were set on shelves to dry until "leather hard." The edges of each and every tile were cleaned before being pressed between pieces of sheetrock to dry flat. In the photo, leathery tiles await cleaning.
Bisque Firing
Once dry, each piece was loaded onto shelves in the kiln for bisque firing, which heats the tiles to 1800 degrees. This step removes all the chemical water, leaving the tiles ready to be glazed.
Glazing
Once out of the bisque kiln and cleaned, each piece was hand dipped in glaze and placed on a kiln shelf for the final 2232 degree glaze firing. This firing takes three days. 2600 triangles were cut, cleaned, bisque fired, and glazed.
Laying out by Section
Each section was laid out on the ground with paper templates so final decisions about the arrangement could be made.
Mortaring
A thin layer of mortar was applied to the wall for larger pieces.The back of every piece was "buttered" before being pressed into place.
Grouting
Prep alum Ray Malzone '83, a master tiler, volunteered to grout the arch.
