Koster.com: Shades of Purple

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Shades of Purple

This is fascinating:

It's well known that the American sytem of electing a president involves entire states going completely to one candidate or another.

But some scholars at UofM have mapped the election results county-by-county, with the color of the county (red, blue, and shades of purple in-between) indicating the strength of the political leaning, and the size of the county indicating relative population. It is then a more accurate visual mapping of the political leanings of the american populace for presidents.

So in the 2008 Obama-McCain election, the map looks like this:

Note how most of the country is purple. The strongest Democratic centers are on the caosts and major cities.

Compare this to 2004 Bush-Kerry:

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Stance

The “Stance” sequence shows how a single visual element changes as the worship service unfolds. The mannequin, representing our posture before God, changes positions as the congregation’s liturgical task changes. This sequence also intentionally leaves space for text, but can also serve as a plain banner. These images are courtesy of Jubilee Fellowship Christian Reformed Church in St. Catharines, Ontario.

Psalm 23

This sequence presents the first part of Psalm 23 as an artistic rendering of plain text. Simple shapes, such as colored lines, are used as well.

Lament Sequence

This is a sequence of images used in a service based on a psalm of lament. The backgrounds were used as "banners," meaning they never had text or lyrics over them, though they could be used that way.

Renewed on the Journey

This Liturgical Sequence was developed for the opening worship of a regional worship conference. The theme was "As people of faith on a journey, we come to be renewed in God's strength." The first four images were the basic backgrounds used. They were designed to follow the major movements of the service. The rest of the images show how the backgrounds were used with text overlaid. Note that the text varies in position and color, depending on whether the words were God's words to the congregation, or the congregation's words in response to God.

Lord's Prayer

This sequence of images is intended to lead the congregation through singing or reciting the "Our Father" prayer. The words follow the lyrics of a song version of the prayer, as found in the "Sing! A New Creation" hymnal. The images provide not only lyrics, but suggest a series of arm gestures that embody the petitions of the prayer. Thus the screen leads the congregation in singing, moving, and praying simultaneously.

Kids' Mosaics

The “Kids’ Mosaics” sequence is an example of found art. Children in the congregation had earlier created paintings and paper mosaics during Lent. Several of these were selected and organized to follow the liturgical pattern. They were photographed under even light and cropped. This sequence of photographs became a congregational favorite. These images are courtesy of Jubilee Fellowship Christian Reformed Church in St. Catharines, Ontario.

Kids' Paintings

The “Kids’ Paintings” sequence is an example of found art. Children in the congregation had earlier created paintings and paper mosaics during Lent. Several of these were selected and organized to follow the liturgical pattern. They were photographed under even light and cropped. These sequences of photographs became a congregational favorite. These images are courtesy of Jubilee Fellowship Christian Reformed Church in St. Catharines, Ontario.

Globe & Cross

The “Globe and Cross” Liturgical Sequence is good example of a composite image that builds as the service progresses. Beginning with a nearly blank screen, elements are added to the image at each stage until reaching a final, full image. The images are either darkened or lightened when used as a background, allowing the overlay of white or black text.