Storefront Churches by Camilo José Vergara - Presentation Transcript
storefront churches Vergara
photos by Camilo José
"By returning many times over the past thirty years to document
the same buildings, I was able to show how ordinary structures
assume, modify, and shed a religious character, how traditional
churches—if they fail to adapt to new congregations—are
demolished, and how new buildings are designed and built from the
ground up as churches. I explore how religious leaders create, over
time, an environment that inspires devotion, and I seek the reasons
that dictate their choices of objects, texts, and imagery."
-Camilo José Vergara
First Zion Hope Missionary Baptist Church, 1980
253 Bergen Street, Newark, New Jersey
First Zion Hope Missionary Baptist Church, 1991
253 Bergen Street, Newark, New Jersey
First Zion Hope Missionary Baptist Church, 1994
253 Bergen Street, Newark, New Jersey
First Zion Hope Missionary Baptist Church, 1997
253 Bergen Street, Newark, New Jersey
First Zion Hope Missionary Baptist Church, 2009
253 Bergen Street, Newark, New Jersey
1981
3339 Third Ave, Bronx, New York
Inglesia de Dios Pentecostal M.I. Church, 1990
3339 Third Ave, Bronx, New York
Inglesia de Dios Pentecostal M.I. Church, 1994
3339 Third Ave, Bronx, New York
Inglesia de Dios Pentecostal M.I. Church, 2009
3339 Third Ave, Bronx, New York
Greater Holy Light Church, 1992
7316 S. Broadway, Los Angeles, California
Jesucristo es el Camino, 1996
7316 S. Broadway, Los Angeles, California
Jesucristo es el Camino, Inglesia Cristiana Pentecostes, 2006
7316 S. Broadway, Los Angeles, California
Holy Mission Baptist Church, 1992
1409 E. Vernon Ave, Los Angeles, California
Holy Mission Baptist Church, 2002
1409 E. Vernon Ave, Los Angeles, California
Residence, 2006
1409 E. Vernon Ave, Los Angeles, California
St. Peter’s Pentecostal Tabernacle Deliverance Center, 1980
Home St. at Westchester Ave, Bronx, New York
St. Peter’s Pentecostal Tabernacle Deliverance Center, 2002
Home St. at Westchester Ave, Bronx, New York
St. Peter’s Pentecostal Tabernacle Deliverance Center, 2009
Home St. at Westchester Ave, Bronx, New York
Iglesia Pentecostal Unida Int., 1987
4181 Park Ave, Bronx, New York
1ra Casa de Dios Puerta del Cielo., 2002
4181 Park Ave, Bronx, New York
2002
Ashford St. at Sutter Ave, Brooklyn, New York
Free Mission Church for all People, 2004
Ashford St. at Sutter Ave, Brooklyn, New York
St. John Evangelist M.B. Church (formerly Buick dealership), 2001
63rd St east of Throop, Chicago, Illinois
St. John Evangelist M.B. Church (formerly Buick dealership), 2009
63rd St east of Throop, Chicago, Illinois
House of Faith Church of Holiness, 2003
401 Saratoga Ave, Brooklyn, New York
House of Faith Church of Holiness, 2009
401 Saratoga Ave, Brooklyn, New York
Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses, 1981
S. 10th at Brenner St., Newark, New Jersey
Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses, 1998
S. 10th at Brenner St., Newark, New Jersey
The Church of the Prophesy (former Robert Treat Savings & Loan), 1992
530 Clinton Ave, Newark, New Jersey
St. Paul’s Church of the Prophesy (former Robert Treat Savings & Loan), 1992
530 Clinton Ave, Newark, New Jersey
Greater Monument Church, 1991
1544 Berkeley, Ford Heights, Illinois
Word of Faith Deliverance Ministry, 2009
1544 Berkeley, Ford Heights, Illinois
Evangelistic United Church of God, 1980
11 Blum Street, Newark, New Jersey
Evangelistic Glorious Church of God in Christ, 2002
11 Blum Street, Newark, New Jersey
Evangelistic Glorious Church of God in Christ, 2009
11 Blum Street, Newark, New Jersey
Divine Temple of Love Tab, 2001
727 Kaighns Avenue, Camden, New Jersey
Divine Temple of Love Tab, 2004
727 Kaighns Avenue, Camden, New Jersey
Victory in Praise Worship Center, 2009
727 Kaighns Avenue, Camden, New Jersey
St. Michael of the Highway Church of Christ of the Apostolic Faith, 2005
looking north on 7th Street towards Florence, Camden, New Jersey
St. Michael of the Highway Church of Christ of the Apostolic Faith, 2007
looking north on 7th Street towards Florence, Camden, New Jersey
City Methodist Church, 1989
Washington St at 6th Ave, Gary, Indiana
City Methodist Church, 1993
Washington St at 6th Ave, Gary, Indiana
City Methodist Church, 2007
Washington St at 6th Ave, Gary, Indiana
City Methodist Church, 2009
Washington St at 6th Ave, Gary, Indiana
Stranger’s Home M.B. Church, 1978
617 West Evergreen, Chicago, Illinois
Northside Stranger’s Home M.B. Church, 2009
617 West Evergreen, Chicago, Illinois
Mural by Kent Twitchell, 1984
Twitchell was hired by a local Catholic priest who believed that the image of Christ would put a damper on gang violence.
11107 S. Vermont Ave, Los Angeles, California
Mural by Kent Twitchell, 1998
11107 S. Vermont Ave, Los Angeles, California
Heal Camden, 2005
Broadway at Carl Miller, Camden, New Jersey
Heal Camden, 2007
Broadway at Carl Miller, Camden, New Jersey
Heal Camden, 2009
Broadway at Carl Miller, Camden, New Jersey
This exhibition of Camilo José Vergara’s photographs is
on display at the National Building Museum until
November 29, 2009
National Building Museum
nbm.org
Camilo José Vergara has been compelled to document more
Camilo José Vergara has been compelled to document America's inner cities for nearly forty years. He photographs the landscape of urban poverty, choosing to capture the subject matter head on and in an even light. Trained as a sociologist, his work melds photography with oral history and reveals realities unnoticed by many.
In this set of photos, he chronicles "storefront churches." These churches do not always appear as traditional houses of worship, but often emerge from the retrofitted shells of former storefronts, garages, factories, warehouses, domestic dwellings, and public institutions.
Although traces of a building's secular origins often endure, its religious purpose is proclaimed through the addition of symbols and architectural motifs associated with traditional sanctuaries to the façade and interior. Vergara continues to survey these transformed structures and the conditions, beliefs, and practices that shape them. less
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