Information about the art trail. (where do I start?)

In some ways the Via Luminosa is a bit like a treasure hunt. Some images will be very obvious, others will be situated in corners or upon windows of buildings.

1- Christ Enters the City. The art trail will begin in Blossom Street, just outside Micklegate Bar. St Bede's centre is situated next door to the Bar Convent museum and this is the scene for number 1 . The first art installation will be upon the window of the centre, which for a few hours, becomes a window into history, revealing the image of a man riding on a donkey and crowds waving palm branches. Those "in the know" knew that Jesus Christ was signalling that he was the promised Messiah, a religious-political king who would save the Jewish nation, and were furious. The crowds though, loved it, waving palm branches and shouting "hosanna": and other slogans of praise. The donkey images here were shot in Petra, where donkey and camel are the only permitted means of transportation among the ruins. The Palms were photographed in Jerusalem on the Mount of Olives. When you have finished viewing this piece, continue towards Micklegate Bar and enter the city yourself. Then walk along Micklegate until you see the ancient church of Holy Trinity on your right. It has a set of stocks in the churchyard.

Number 2 - The Betrayal is set in the churchyard of Holy Trinity. The images will be visible upon a shining cube covered in white cloth. The story this piece tells is the sad tale of someone who betrayed one of his closest friends for cash. Judas Iscariot went to see the Jewish priests, who offered him cash if he would betray his rabbi and friend, Jesus Christ. They gave him silver. He promised to kiss the one they should arrest. A kiss of death. The footage of money and kisses is a poignant symbol today as we live in the midst of a credit crash. We have suddenly discovered that money slips through our fingers all too fast and that honest kisses last so much longer. The footage was shot on a Canon EOS and animated in After Effects. When you have finished watching the piece, cross the street and continue down Mickelgate until you reach the Oxfam shop on the left hand side. The next piece is shown on a television in the shop window.

3 - The Last Supper - Oxfam shop window, Micklegate.
The night before he knew he was going to die Jesus took bread and wine and declared "this is my body, this is my blood'. This is why Christians today believe they encounter Christ as they celerbrate communion with bread and wine, remembering his broken body (broken as bread) and blood poured out like red wine. This footage was produced by One Small Barking Dog who are a group of multimedia artists based in Birmingham who produce multimedia resources for worship. We are delighted to be able to share their imagery of bread and wine. When you have finished here, continue to the traffic lights at the bottom of the street, and take a left turn around the corner into George Hudson Street. 20 George Hudson Street is on the right hand side of the road not very far from the corner. The images will be in three televisions situated in the window of the building.

4 - Agony in the Garden - The window of 20 George Hudson Street.
After his last meal Christ went to a garden to pray and said " Take this cup of suffering away from me". He didn't want to die, yet, after an agonising time of decision-making, agreed to do it anyway. The imagery here is of cups, processed in different ways, representing the cup of suffering that sometimes we too have to take, in order to help others. When you have finished viewing this footage, continue to the end of the road and turn right, crossing Lendal Bridge. Opposite the entrance to the museum gardens is a pedestrian island. Cross the road here and look into the garden through the railings. You will see the next piece projected upon a cube within the garden.

5 - The Arrest - The Museum Gardens (this venue is now confirmed)
Judas led the soldiers to the garden to arrest Christ who reminded them that if they continued to walk the way of violence it would destroy them too. We are fortunate to be able to show this footage in a garden, surrounded by bars, which subtly remind us of prison bars. The imagery was shot entirely using items from the Yorkshire Museum against a background of 2000 year old olive trees from the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem. When you have finished viewing this video, cross the road once again and walk towards the minster, try not to look left as you walk up Duncombe Place, we will be viewing this video later. Walk between the church of St Michael le Belfrey and the Minster, but once again, do not look at the footage to your left or right, instead focus on the column which will be ahead of you, opposite the statue of Constantine outside the Minster.

6 - Whipped at the Pillar- The Roman Column.
The next morning, at his trial, Pilate had Jesus whipped, perhaps to try and appease a bloodthirsty crowd and save Christ's life. Jesus received 39 lashes. Rather than using video projection for this installation, the lighting of the pillar itself has been changed to represent the stripes and pain of the lashes. However if you look closer you will see the image of the scourging set into the pavement beside the column. When you have finished looking at the pillar, take a U turn and follow the road back to St Wilfrids Church in Duncombe Place. You will see the next piece projected onto the side wall of the church.

7 - Crowned with thorns - St Wilfrid's Church
After Jesus had been whipped the soldiers mocked him. They decided to crown him king, but with a crown of thorns rather than gold. They placed a red robe upon him and beat him up. The imagery here includes close up footage of a crown made of Israeli thorns. When you have finished here, go to the traffic lights and turn down Blake Street, heading for St Helen's Square.
The next piece will be projected onto a window of St Helen's Church and be visible from the square.

8 - Condemned - St Helen's Church
Faced with a crowd on the verge of rioting, Pilate was finally forced to condemn Jesus Christ to death. So rather than making the decision himself, he washed his hands to signal that the decision wasn't his fault. Here the footage of Pilate is shot from below. We look up through the bowl into his distorted face. The footage is surrounded by public domain imagery from the Prelinger Archive, of modern disasters that we would sooner wash his hands of. Once you have viewed this video, walk towards the mansion house on the opposite side of the square and turn left into Coney Street. Head for the ornate clock which overhangs the street. The next piece of footage will be visible within the garden of this ruined church, St Martin Le Grand.

9 -Christ carries the cross- St Martin-Le-Grand, Coney Street.
Christ is forced to carry a heavy cross to his place of execution. It is likely that he stumbled and fell under the weight at least once as he required help, some say he did so three times. These images were shot in Coney Street, reminding us that this drama took place in the centre of a town amongst the shoppers and the sellers, not in a dark corner or in secret. Yet for many spectators it was just another execution on a busy Friday and as unusual as someone carrying a ladder up the street today.
When you have seen this video, take the next turn left (there is a Starbucks on the corner) into New Street, and then take the next right (there is a caffe Nero on the corner here). Cross St Helen's Square and you will see the next piece upon the televisions visible within the windows of Richer Sounds.

10 - Simon lends a hand - Richer Sounds, St Sampson's Square.
Three of the gospels in the bible tell that the soldiers compelled Simon of Cyrene, a man from North Africa, to help Christ carry the cross. This act, although it was forced upon him, was an act of kindness to a man in trouble. Surrounding the central image of Simon and Christ carrying the beam of the cross, are images of hearts and hands representing the loving hands of those who help to carry the heavy loads of others by coming alongside and caring for them. Our world would be a much harder place without them. When you have finished viewing this video, walk towards the Roman Bath pub. You will see the next set of footage on the wall opposite VJs art bar.

11 - The weeping women - VJs Art Bar.
The gospels tell that as Christ walked to his place of execution, he saw the women of Jerusalem weeping for him. He said to them " Do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children". In this piece, ancient artworks of the weeping women of the bible morph into modern images of the women of Jerusalem today; Christian nuns, Muslim mothers, Jewish teenagers. They all stand alongide one another portraying the women who wept and who still weep in the troubled city of Jerusalem until such times as peace comes to the wounded city. When you are finished, follow the snicket into little stonegate.
Go up little Stonegate into Stonegate itself, which is a cobbled street. Turn right and keep a close look out on the left hand side of the street as this next place is difficult to find. You will see a little open doorway with a sign above it pointing to the Norman Courtyard. The next footage is visible in the courtyard itself.

12 - Jesus is Stripped - The Norman Courtyard.
When Jesus reached the place of execution all his clothing was removed, given away, and soliders played games of dice to win his underclothes. Nakedness is still shocking in our culture, which is why a carefully placed (fictional) loincloth is often added to pictures of the cross to spare our blushes. This footage is shot from the waist above, peeling back the layers of clothing until the final poem is revealed, written on the actor's back, and reminiscent of whip scars.
"Naked indignity, dressed in red scars,
By his stripes we are healed."
When you have finished looking at this video piece, return to Stonegate, and walk to the end of the street, cross Petergate and continue almost to the end of the road. The minster will be ahead of you. Look at the wall on the right hand side, where the next piece of footage will be projected.

13 - Nailed to the Cross - Minster Gates.
Finally Christ is nailed, rather than tied, to the cross by the wrists and feet.
This piece by Nic focuses on the tools of the event, The carpenter's nails, the hammer, the saw and the pliers which would have constructed the cross and the loving hands of Christ who was the stepson of a carpenter himself. Now turn left and focus on the left hand side of the street, look at the back corner of St Michael le Belfrey, where you will find the crucifixion image constructed out of lights and hanging by the wall.

14 - Christ dies on the cross - St Michael le Belfrey. Once Christ had been nailed to the cross, he cried for his enemies to be forgiven "For they do not know what they are doing". Finally he died. This image is made of lights. The colour of the lighting of the cross is green, which some may find strange, yet in medieval art Christ's cross was often depicted as being green, for green is the colour of life and this was a reminder to medieval pilgrims of the Christian promise of eternal life through the cross of Christ. When you have finished viewing the image, turn around and look at the South Transept of the minster.

15 - Jesus rises from the dead - For Christian believers the death of Christ was not the end of the story. Three days later
women came running to the other followers of Christ, declaring that they had seen him alive. The other apostles were cynical, yet they too became convinced. And years later they died rather than renounce their belief that Christ was alive. This footage depicts the appearance of Christ to the disciples, and the angels that surrounded the tomb announcing "Why are you looking for the living amongst the dead. He is not here, he is risen," The images were shot on a Canon EOS in York Minster, by kind permission of the Dean and Chapter, and processed in Keynote.