Artist
Ann Mansolino
Signs From God is a photographic project documenting the messages on church signs across America. These signs are a common part of the American cultural landscape, and their messages - which address issues as diverse as family, sex, pop culture, politics, consumerism, war, the price of gas, and the afterlife - both reflect and seek to influence America's values at any given time. The brief and often humorous messages on American church signs frequently blend into the mass of consumer-oriented signage of American cities, becoming virtually indistinguishable from offers of 2 for 1 cheeseburgers or discounted oil changes. The signs change with the seasons and with the news, and at times, especially in relation to current events, they contradict one another, while all simultaneously claiming to be speaking for God. The prevalence of church signs and of related institutions, like drive-in churches and drive-through prayer kiosks, suggests that way to salvation in America today is quick and easy and can be found without having to leave the comfort of one's car. Signs From God is a body of work that currently contains over 300 images and is constantly growing, as I seek a fuller photographic representation of this uniquely American means by which a nation markets religion to itself.
Among my other current projects is Thresholds, an ongoing series of black and white photographs in which I investigate issues of memory, personal and family history, and identity through interactions with the natural and built environment. These constructed portraits function as visual metaphors for emotional and psychological states, exploring the relationship between the internal self and external ideas of place. Images from this series can be seen on my website: www.annmansolino.com
I currently live and work in Michigan, though how I got there -- by way of California, Ohio, Ireland, Russia, and Singapore -- is often baffling, even to me.