The Ultimate Cathedral

"Abstract: This article examines the development throughout history of the means that man has used to locate himself at the center of the Universe. It surveys cathedrals throughout history, from the prehistoric era from the Pyramids to the Tabernacle, to the Gothic cathedral, the Sistine Chapel, the Panopticon, the Eiffel Tower, the radio and television station, up to the cyberspace era. In parallel there is an analysis of the human icon as expressed in art, through the beliefs in the various periods. The icons and structures reflect the scientific knowledge, technology, and philosophy of their respective periods that seek to create aesthetic effect through compressing space and time. The conclusion of the article is that we are part of the ultimate cathedral developing in the Universe, whose building blocks are the communication networks, like cyberspace that link diverse subjects and objects in a closed space in the manner of Georg Riemann's geometry. Existence in the ultimate cathedral is the continuous artistic act of a hyper-subject." From The Ultimate Cathedral by Mordechai Omer and Avi Rosen, September 2006.