JEFFREY SCHIFF

  • bio
  • contact

Kneelers

The Cathedral of Saint John the Divine, New York City  2001
steel, naugahyde, foam rubber, and plastic

These structures are based on “kneelers,” common articles of ecclesiastical furniture that accommodate Christian prayer. Each directs the viewer in a particular practice of prayer. They engage the structural vocabulary of contemporary exercise machines in the form of the prayer kneeler, suggesting different programs for spiritual exercise. The Kneelers were made for the Cathedral of St John the Divine. Visitors are invited to privately use the structures in the public arena of the Cathedral.

essays and reviews






 
Related Posts
Everyday Chidambaram
Everyday Chidambaram
1998-2002 black granite, household objects (soap, plastic kitchenware, sponge, etc. Variable Dimensions In Everyday Chidambaram, granite plinths, based on details of Indian temple architecture, were customized to house the disposable objects of daily rituals—plastic ...
READ MORE
Pedestals
Pedestals
painted wood, found objects
READ MORE
Double Vision: Propositon #14 
(64"x49"x24")
Double Vision: Transactions of the American Philosophical Society
Zilkha Gallery, Wesleyan University  2011Double Vision is a 5-part project that exposes how unconscious projections from America’s colonial origins shape perceptions of its current reality. In 1786, one year before the ...
READ MORE
Rome/Bologna Drawings
Rome/Bologna Drawings
Ink on paper 2009
READ MORE
Double Vision: Text photographs
Double Vision: Text Photographs
digital photographs mounted on sintra approx. 50"x 40" each Enlarged photographic prints of three narratives from the published Transactions of the American Philosophical Society: Two Hearts found in one Partridge; Account of ...
READ MORE
Networks
Networks
1992-3 oilstick on paper notecards variable The Network drawings are mappings of an intuitive passage from one self-created place to another, the formation of relationships out of nothing. They are intentionally structural and ...
READ MORE
Schemata 2
Schemata
2009 terra cotta, hemp, plaster Terracotta plates, bowls and pots dropped on the floor and smashed, their fragments linked by line in their new locations and proximities.
READ MORE
Everywhere Chidambaram
Everywhere Chidambaram
1998-2002 Nature Morte Gallery in New Delhi (1998) Bose Pacia Gallery in New York (2000) Everywhere Chidambaram developed as a reaction to two fundamental yet opposing features of India's character: tolerance of chaos ...
READ MORE
collaboration with Aki Sasamoto
Praying Project
Collaboration with Aki Sasamoto Exit Art, NYC  2005 Block of soap with puja offerings, water, brass bowl, speech A performative extension of Everything Chidambaram, a large block of soap cast with puja offering ...
READ MORE
Kill van Kull
Kill Van Kull
Snug Harbor Cultural Center, Staten Island, NY  1991 steel, rubber on limestone columns dimensions indeterminate (11' spears) Snug Harbor is a complex of classical buildings in various stages of ruin and renovation. Directly ...
READ MORE
Everyday Chidambaram
Pedestals
Double Vision: Transactions of the American Philosophical Society
Rome/Bologna Drawings
Double Vision: Text Photographs
Networks
Schemata
Everywhere Chidambaram
Praying Project
Kill Van Kull

  • Installations
    • Double Vision: Transactions of the American Philosophical SocietyDouble Vision: Transactions of the American Philosophical Society
    • The Library ProjectThe Library Project
    • from L’Encyclopédie: Miriotierfrom L’Encyclopédie: Miriotier
    • Mobile GlobalMobile Global
    • Vertical HoldVertical Hold
    • Potter’s FieldPotter’s Field
    • Everywhere ChidambaramEverywhere Chidambaram
    • Everyday ChidambaramEveryday Chidambaram
    • Sole ContactSole Contact
    • Earth AgainEarth Again
    • Deux Ex MachinaDeux Ex Machina
    • If Ever…If Ever…
    • Kill Van KullKill Van Kull
  • Public Commissions
    • DestinationsDestinations
    • Rail of JusticeRail of Justice
  • Sculpture
    • Carpet RubbleCarpet Rubble
    • ContingenciesContingencies
    • DisThermiaDisThermia
    • Lean-Tos and Floor-PilesLean-Tos and Floor-Piles
    • SchemataSchemata
    • EmbedsEmbeds
    • Casting BlocksCasting Blocks
    • KneelersKneelers
    • DevicesDevices
    • TransparenciesTransparencies
  • Performance
    • Praying ProjectPraying Project
    • ColossusColossus
    • Second MesaSecond Mesa
  • Interactivity
    • Sole ContactSole Contact
    • Potter’s FieldPotter’s Field
    • KneelersKneelers
    • Everywhere ChidambaramEverywhere Chidambaram
  • Photo Work
    • InterruptionsInterruptions
    • Contingencies: PhotoworksContingencies: Photoworks
    • reConstructionsreConstructions
    • from L’Encyclopédie: Miriotier Photoworksfrom L’Encyclopédie: Miriotier Photoworks
  • Drawings
    • Ink MapsInk Maps
    • Rome/Bologna DrawingsRome/Bologna Drawings
    • Bellagio Rockefeller DrawingsBellagio Rockefeller Drawings
    • The Library Project: YeastThe Library Project: Yeast
    • NetworksNetworks
    • Color MapsColor Maps
  • Archive
    • Odds and Ends
    • I.C.A. ProjectI.C.A. Project
    • W.P.A. ProjectW.P.A. Project
    • RevisionRevision
    • Second SightSecond Sight
    • A Courtyard, an Axis, an AmbulatoryA Courtyard, an Axis, an Ambulatory
    • High MesaHigh Mesa
    • New GroundNew Ground
    • Separate GroundSeparate Ground
    • O Sole MioO Sole Mio
    • If Ever…If Ever…
    • Second MesaSecond Mesa
    • PossessionsPossessions

Kneelers

August 21, 2014 by jschiff@wesleyan.edu

The Cathedral of Saint John the Divine, New York City  2001
steel, naugahyde, foam rubber, and plastic

These structures are based on “kneelers,” common articles of ecclesiastical furniture that accommodate Christian prayer. Each directs the viewer in a particular practice of prayer. They engage the structural vocabulary of contemporary exercise machines in the form of the prayer kneeler, suggesting different programs for spiritual exercise. The Kneelers were made for the Cathedral of St John the Divine. Visitors are invited to privately use the structures in the public arena of the Cathedral.

essays and reviews






 

You May Also Like

Inscriptions
Embeds
Casting Blocks

Copyright © 2026 · Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in