| Foreward by Kevin Lundahl, November 29, 2002 PRAISE JEBUS is a photoessay by Doug Shanahan completed February, 1998. It is composed of roughly 60 photos plus text stretched out over a 6 inch wide canvas, approximately 50 feet long. It was originally stored in a Heineken beer box, covered with purple construction paper. The intent was for the viewer to roll the pictures thru the box like film would advance in a camera. The box came complete with two sprockets and a crank arm. This box disintegrated, and was reassembled out of wood and metal in the summer of 2000. The pictures and pages curled up over time, so a decision had to be made on a more permanent archive method. The method used here, was to scan each segment on a MicroTech Scanmaker 4900, and connect each page together online. The result is 78 webpages and it takes between 1 and 2 hours to view in its entirety. It is quite a blast! This essay goes on the road to Las Vegas, Hollywood, Cardiff By The Sea, Tucson, and its dramatic conclusion back in Las Vegas. It can be very difficult to read at times, due to the authors horrific typewriter and atrocious handwriting. On coercing the author to redo and improve upon these, the response I got was unceremoniously apathetic. Shakespeare never did this, he said. Highlights include the concluding casino sequence, scripted onto dark red construction paper to denote the smoky casino carpeting, as well as cameo roles by the queens of hearts, clubs, and spades. El nino, "Titanic", and Charles Bukowski, figure prominently as well. Outstanding photos taken from vistas on Mt. Lemmon in Tucson are featured. A somewhat unusual recount of a San Diego Zoo visit brings to mind Kurt Vonnegut's doodling technique. I highly recommend checking out the "Alien Timeline" when called upon. A very satisfying view! |
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