“Patriotism & Prayer, War & Peace”

Created in late summer 2003, this “book” is actually a Jacob’s Ladder toy, based upon the toy that early American children enjoyed. It was the only toy allowed by Puritan families for their children to play with on Sunday since its name is derived from a biblical reference. Building upon this historical background, I have created my version of the Jacob’s Ladder to create a dialogue between concepts of Patriotism, Prayer, War and Peace. As the top piece is turned, the other pieces flip over, hiding and revealing different voices involved in the dialogue, their volume and pitch emanating from the typographic design. There is no such think as only black and white when it comes to the debate on these issues. And so, even while the different views are hidden and revealed, the text underlying the white bands still can be read as it seeps through our subconscious.