Reliquaries, mosques, temples & churches -sculpted from bullets. (45 photos)

May 10, 2011 | In: Art, Foreigners, Mind Blowing

These badasses sculptures were carefully constructed bvy San Francisco artist, Al Farrow. Check out his website HERE to learn more.

Artist, Al Farrow website

dee

First.
Tom

#44 Nice touch…
foshizzle

this is so real -> without religion we would be a huge step closer to world peace and a world without weapons.

but as time will pass religion will fade. even if it takes millions or billions of years. if u compare humanity with a person, it would still be a kid.

llano2

I am agnostic, but you are soooo wrong. What religion was Hitler, Stalin etc, etc, etc…

DaddyD

Mostly Christian.

V4Vendetta14

You couldn't be more wrong you ignorant fuck. There was no higher power than the state with both Hitler and Stalin. Stalin went so far as to execute all religious figures, along with 20 million of his own people.

Camus

You are also wrong. You are correct in saying Stalin was definitely the definition of state atheism.

However, Hitler was definitely opposed state atheism and was raised Roman Catholic and used religious Christian symbolism in his propaganda.

Lets not forget the crusades, Osama Bin Laden and many more whose deaths have been related to religion.

Religion is a tool. It itself is neither good or evil. It is inanimate. It can however be used as a tool, to commit horrible atrocities or large scale altruistic acts of humanity.

Walker

Nice post,

However I do agree with you for the most part. I just cannot see how the suspension of critical thinking and believing in something which there is no evidence for can be good.

Don't get me wrong there is a lot the religious organizations that do charity work for the poor and unfortunate. That is great.

It just when you get down to the core beliefs in which there is a boat load of scientific evidence to the contrast; I just do not understand how this is benefits our species.

Vagina Jones

Well Walker, to play 'devils advocate'.

There are two points to be made.

1. Not all religions are the same. I have never seen scientific evidence negating Buddhism, (just as an example)

2. Science is great and can provide you with concrete facts. But only to a point when trying to understand existence. It shuts off at the big bang, to paraphrase 'in a void there was a chance fluctuation causing a 'bubble' of intense heat that began a negative runway pressure that expanded exponentially creating the universe.' In other words, 'there was nothing at first. Nothing randomly changed into a little something, that blew up and made everything."

Science really tries to explain 'how', religion tries to explain 'why'. I am personally not religious, but I am also not atheist, because atheism is also taking a stance on faith it cannot prove.

That being said, I think some religions were created for the purpose of creating order and control, (which they did) and then subsequently became corrupt. Other religions came up from a need of addressing that corruption, but by being written down (defined) also became an instrument to corrupt.

I do agree with you however, that being presented with clear scientific evidence in matters such as 'evolution vs. God snapped his finger literally, and then we appeared', but choosing to dismiss it instead for their beliefs, will probably not help move society forward.

http://www.facebook.com/people/Dayna-Vaughan/1319192166 Dayna Vaughan

Jones, there may not be scientific evidence that there is something beyond this life, that God exists- But what keeps hope in those of us that believe in SOMEthing, is faith.

Vagina Jones

Dayna, actually there is scientific evidence that there is 'something' beyond this life. We know energy is never created nor destroyed', therefore we know that (for example) the energy which makes up the electical cloud that controls the pulses throughout our brain that give us our thoughts, memories, etc will continue to exist as they always have since (at least) the inception of the universe. The same can be said for the energy that makes up our bodies, cells, atoms, etc.

What form that continuance takes, (if any form at all) is what boils down to a matter of faith. Faith in a God, gives some people hope, stability, and peace. It provides an anchor in a sea of confusion. Others see that need for an anchor as a weakness or flaw, and still others don't feel it matters one way or the other. Surpriaingly all three can feel just fine.

TeamAmerica

CRAP

Materialistic / Objectivistic thought falls into a deeper fundamentalism than religion. When you say you can't scientifically proof something, it means you cannot grasp it (YET) within certain limits given by the subjective-individual-conceptual mind. It DOES NOT mean it doesn't exist or that it's not possible.

Certain phenomena fall out the capabilities of conceptual mind. They cannot be experienced by conceptual thinking. It is true that humanity still needs to develop more, but it needs to start taking religion seriously. That's not the opposite of science: religion and science are different aspects, different tools for understanding reality, and they can both be useful together.

PS: Buddhism, just like many other religious system, can perfectly coexist with scientifically accepted epistemic-logical systems.

Walker

Hitler and Stalin created their own religions, getting their followers to worship them in place of a god. The religions were Hitler's National Socialism Party (which was not socialism at all) and Stalin's style of communism (which was very corrupt at the state level).

Mr. Bruto

nice follow up to the original comment. llano2 u need to check yourself (and the facts) b4 u wreck yourself-

kurt

"Hitler, Stalin, etc, etc," were their own religion. They viewed themselves as saviors of their respective peoples. You don't need an unseen diety to have a religion. "Religion" in a broader sense is believing and being a part of something so much larger than self. The problem, then, with religion is that no one can ever be proven to be right or wrong, and that means that the person that ends up being "right" is the person who hits the hardest and makes his opponents cower. They always say "history is written by the victor," and the victor never pens himself as a criminal.
Walker

There are thousands of cemeteries around the world packed with brain washed solders who thought God was on their side. Our enemy's pray to God to defeat us, we pray to God to defeat our enemies. Well someone has to be wrong, sounds like someone is wasting their time. Could it be everyone?

Vagina Jones

Good post. Can God be rooting for both sides?
FinsterisaFAG

Excellent point, Walker! God can't be on both sides, or maybe he/she/it is just against us all??

Katie

Uhhh. Hitler only claimed to be a Roman Catholic to get elected. After the Third Reich came into power religion disappeared. Stalin was an atheist and tried to get rid of religion. But, Stalin was also a fucking hero and without him the entire world could have very well fallen into the hands of Hitler. So shut your ignorant fucking mouth, kay?
Yucky

Hitler was Roman Catholic, dumbfuck.

FinsterisaFAG

who gives a fuck … now, moving right along …

http://www.facebook.com/people/Cristi-Palincas/100001225207844 Cristi Palincas

"even if it takes millions or billions of years"

That's silly. Humanity won't last that long.

Mr. Bruto

good point-

Timin Phoenix

That is such a cliche statement. Some of the worst killers in history didn't really have any religion to speak of. Hitler and Stalin thought all religion a joke. The Khan's movement East didn't happen on account of religion. And there are countless other examples.

I'm an atheist myself, but I detest simple minded statements aimed at the religious.

Marios145

No they didn't have any religion, they just created a kind of religion which suited their needs
name

Why do people keep saying Hitler was an atheist? He was not he ordered origin of species burned because he thought it contradicted a creator for fucks sake.

evan

WANTING TO BE WORSHIPPED SOUNDS VERY HUMAN. IF A GOD WANTS TO BE WORSHIPPED AND GOD EXISTS THEN HE SOUNDS LIKE SATAN.

Problem?

Ignorant. Worship isn't just singing praises all the time or fucking devoting everything to your God. Admiring the beauty of the world is praise. Being thankful for things in your life is praise.

name

Reading the bible gives me a different impression. It sounds like you are reading modern enlightenment values into a text where they don't exist…

FinsterisaFAG

That's the stupidest fucking thing I have ever read! And believe me, I"ve read a LOT of Chive posts, so trust me – yours is the dumbest!

Larry

Oh, man. You think without religion we wouldn't need knives or guns?? Pull your head out of your ass.

marry

he said A STEP closer to a world without weapons… pull your head out of your ass

Frank

Since it is a physical impossibility to have a world without weapons, that is the same retarded thinking. Get your head out of your cunt.

more guns

well the only sensible answer…

Problem?

It's not religion that's the problem, it's the people who take it too far.

WinningChiver

#19 Using bullets to construct religious buildings seems fitting as they're used to promote religious beliefs as well…
Ripple

#31 guns and god together at last!
xXbeermonkeyXx

nice to see that bullets can be made into something artful instead of just being used to destroy. its kinda like a redemption of sorts
Anakrusix

Wow. Just uh… Keep it away from fire.
gofistyourself

praise the lord and pass the ammunition !!

http://www.facebook.com/people/Cristi-Palincas/100001225207844 Cristi Palincas

I shouldn't have… but I laughed at that. I could just hear this in one of those cliche movie voices.

Whatsup

Ode to the boondock saints,…I Think so!!!!!!

Dave Gal

And Shepherds we shall be
For thee, my Lord, for thee.
Power hath descended forth from Thy hand
Our feet may swiftly carry out Thy commands.
So we shall flow a river forth to Thee
And teeming with souls shall it ever be.

In Nomeni Patri Et Fili Spiritus Sancti."

theragingmonk

Holy time consumption
bless1

#14,#40- like the statement bening made here.

asdf

thats interpretation, not a statement

Frank

Win.

Evelyn Ponce Quintero

i saw these in person in the de young museum! so cool!

name

About how big are they?

Bob

Like this big!

beerclinton

I'm definitely going to check his stuff out at the Catherine Clark Gallery in SF.
Jeremy

Notice the mosque is the only one blown up. Wonder what his reasoning behind that was.

mojo2975

Probably recreating the Al-Askari Mosque in Iraq that was destroyed during the sectarian violence.

E.V.L.

Religion is the main reason there's so much killing in this world – how ironic that this guy should build church sculptures using guns and bullets. Epic statement!!! Beautiful work!

Fredrick

Please explain the irony.

ManicMan

Really? You're that stupid that you need the irony spelled out for you when it's pretty much the whole theme of this post – read the comment again, dumbass!

Fredrick

Yes, please explain the irony.

Claude M.

No, evil, religion is not the main reason there is so much killing in the world.

Ego, greed, fear – these are the main reasons people kill each other. Religion, unlike atheism, actually condemns murder. Atheism does not condemn murder or killing or war. It does not condemn stealing, rape, assault, slander and libel. The only thing atheism condemns

is beliefs that condemn murder, rape, etc and promote justice, grace, compassion. The reality is that if more people tried harder to live by the core principles of their religions, the world would be better, but, if there were more atheism, it would far, far, far worse.

NotPaula

Atheism does what? I'm sorry Claude, but there are no doctrines for athiesm. Atheism is simply the absence of a religious doctrine or principle, or held belief in a deity
Religion (or the forcing of) has been the cause of countless wars, and mass killings. Have you any knowledge of the Crusades of Europe back in the middle ages? What about the present day Jihadists, who's 'core principle' is to kill all infidels, you included! You can't tell me that religious persecution doesn't exist – it does and it's on both sides of the fence: You're either getting killed for what you believe, or you're getting killed for not believing as they do.

Frank

Sounds like it's intolerance that is the cause of the killings, not religion.

I think to say religion, or guns, are the cause of killings is to absolve the responsibility of the murderer.

FinsterisaFAG

Frank is absolutely right except I would like to clarify that when it comes to 'religion causing wars and deaths', it is intolerance WITHIN those religions that teach killing those who don't believe as others do. But yes, ultimately it is intolerance.

Apollos

cool.

Now show us some boobies!
The Biscuit

Deep
El Chiverino

Gotta say, a pretty impressive post. Guys got a lot of talent.
Glenn

Sorry…#40 Uzis…

Ferret

very fitting that is an Israeli gun

wkdfrog

If James Bond retired and needed a hobby…(other than shagging)…
Dave Gal

The coolest thing about this post is that every time I look at it, I see a gun part I didn't see before.
Timin Phoenix

It's nice collection of works, but it's promoting a cliche that so many like to spout at the expense of actual thought.

Religion doesn't equate to war and violence, with the exception of one. Oh I know it's politically correct to act as if the people in Texas at their church BBQ or some folks meeting in PA for mass are the same as millions in the Middle East, but they are not.

As to the Stalin and Hitler, they hated the religious. Jews were of course some of the favorite targets, but Priests, Jehova Witnesses, and others were killed also.

Then add to it the simple wars of aggression and conquest throughout the ages. Many happened without there being any religious motive per se.

But you go right ahead and keep saying how the religious of today are equally bad. If it helps you with your Daddy Issues, and your inherent guilt in sleeping in on Sunday Mornings, I guess its ok.

By the way, I am an Atheist, but "Lord" how I hate statements made which are just so much filler pretending to be thoughtful.

DistractedIndividual

Much too long to read…I'm sure you have some good points though……

Timin Phoenix

It's ok, some people like you just are more challenged at reading than others. Again, there are plenty of comic strips to read. Hang in there little buddy.

http://thechive.com/ Turduckenn

I define ignorance as "inability to perceive one's own stupidity"
I just thought of another definition – "Timin Pheonix" …sounds better I think

anonymous

shut the fuck up and enjoy the art.

Claude M.

take your own advice

name

Hitler didn't hate religion. He just hated people who weren't part of his religion (a weird apocolyptic blend of paganism, occultism and christianity). Don't forget that he had science texts like Origin of Species burned because they contradicted his religious beliefs.
http://www.bentduckcafe.com Bruce

If I want to read a story i'll buy a book Timin. Keep your posts short or GTFO. Cos' no-one here gives a fuck about your TLDR argument.
matt

I'm an atheist too, however if you think only one religion leads to war and violence, you're mistaken.

Ever hear of the Crusades?

Bob

Oh, that war to take back land that was taken by the "other" religion?
At least 1000 years later, Christians have learned something along the way.

Chris

I agree… in fact, the non-religious seem to be about as passionate about religion as they think religious people are. It is somewhat amusing until you realize its just the same old dialog we have heard since day one.

Brother Maynard

That is awesome, just the talent and patience alone to create this is astounding.
Nicholas

“Peace is steel. Steel was peace. Peace is made of steel. So keeps you a peace and load your steel.”
http://www.lazythekid.blogspot.com LazyTheKid

A someone who loves firearms and theChive, calling a round of ammunition a "bullet" is just wrong. The bullet is the projectile that is fired though the barrel. The round, however, is the bullet + the brass casing + the powder + the primer. Clearly these masterful works of art include all the pieces of a round of ammunition.

A comparison: its like me saying "The Hard Goodbye" when I'm referring to Sin City as a whole. It is an integral part of the story but it isn't the complete story.

Side note: 99.9% of the time, the unit holding the ammunition is a magazine, not a clip. They are not interchangeable just the words bullet and round are not interchangeable.

Sorry, but sometimes it just needs to be said. Anyway, beautiful art but the but I disagree that religions bring war…just the fundamentalists do.

the_junglist

You forgot to warn people against calling a "supressor" a "silencer."

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