Altars and Icons: Sacred Spaces in Everyday Life [Hardcover]

Jean McMann (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 1998

Don't we all crave a refuge from daily life, a haven of tranquility, regardless of our creed? Altars and Icons draws together 40 eclectic personal shrines in the first photographic celebration of its kind. Here are altars -- formal and casual, secular and religious, heartfelt and whimsical -- created to evoke contemplation, inspire creativity, amuse, encourage, or honor the memory of a loved one. Amalia and Carlos Vasquez celebrate the Day of the Dead in a bright-hued altar of roses. Harrod Blank makes his car an emotional sounding board, adding a new element (bottle cap, figurine, birthday cake) each time he feels the urge to express himself. Eleanor Coppola offers a sunny spot for family memories, while in other homes a kitchen table commemorates Kwanza and a living room altar showers praise on a beloved cow. Including interviews with the people who fashion these remarkable shrines, as well as plenty of how-to tips, Altars and Icons is inspiration for creating your own sacred place.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Since ancient times, humans have revered certain objects as reminders of the spiritual and have honored them in shrines and altars. Author and photographer Jean McMann explores this tendency in all its complex modern forms, both religious and secular, in this tribute to altar making. Each artist--for that is what they are--tells the story of how a bookshelf, a mantel, a garden, or even a car became a repository of memory, inspiration, luck, and prayer. From Andrew Romanoff's memorabilia of ancestors who ruled Russia to Violet Ruth Super's shrine to Elvis, a moving purity of feeling underlies each pebble and postcard.

From the Back Cover

Bringing together over forty eclectic personal shrines, Altars and Icons offers a diverse and vibrant vision of sanctuary. Amalia and Carlos Vasquez celebrate the Day of the Dead in a bright-hued altar of roses and marigolds. Harrod Blank turns his car into a retreat on wheels, adding a new element--a bottle cap, a tiny figurine, a birthday cake--whenever he feels the urge. Both formal and casual, secular and religious, heartfelt and whimsical, here are altars created to evoke contemplation, inspire creativity, honor memory, amuse, encourage or rejuvenate. Including interviews with the people who fashioned these remarkable shrines, Altars and Icons is luminous inspiration for creating your own sacred place at home, at the office, or wherever you need it most.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 124 pages
• Publisher: Chronicle Books (April 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0811818160
• ISBN-13: 978-0811818162
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 7.6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,446,760 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Nice, but needed a broader perspecitve, January 5, 2001

By 

Shannon "elflass" (Dallas, Texas USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Altars and Icons: Sacred Spaces in Everyday Life (Hardcover)

I bought this book for a friend for Christmas, as we are both hoarders of odd objects and possess casual versions of "altars" in our respective homes. I found the photography to be very attractive and the overall idea of the book to be sound (which was why I purchased it as a gift), but I wish the creator(s) had branched out a bit from the idea of altars bound to Christian ideas; there seemed to be many. I think that a global approach would have made this book meatier and more enjoyable.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Fairly Nice Little Book, April 2, 1999

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Altars and Icons: Sacred Spaces in Everyday Life (Hardcover)

Fun to look at the altars photographed for the book, but majority of them have Southwest/Hispanic feeling, which seems to infer that that's the only style of altar around. Not so. Many people are building/assembling altars with a wide range of materials. Author could have done a lot more with her topic by showing a wider variety of altars.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A graceful, thoughtful look at how we remember., February 19, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Altars and Icons: Sacred Spaces in Everyday Life (Hardcover)

What a wonderful book. Jean McMann's luminous photographs, paired with her subjects' words, combined to create an enlightening, moving experience for me. I enjoyed the many different kinds of stories and shrines, from the simple little computer shrine, to a more elaborate wedding mantle, to the very moving shrines to deceased loved ones and beloved pets. This book makes me realize that creating concrete ways to remember and commemorate important events and people is a natural, almost involuntary part of human nature. We create shrines, big and small, all the time without realizing it. The simple way we arrange family photos on our living room mantle, the way we arrange a vase of flowers next to a candle next to a souvenir from a meaningful trip...that's a shrine. The realization of this has helped to bring spirituality and grace into my life.