Victory, Now on to the Roses

Many of the fanatical PSU football pilgrims who congregated at the ritual battle held roses in their teeth. This was done as a symbolic act indicating that if PSU were to be victorious they would travel to Pasadena CA to partake in the finall territorial clash between the Big 10 and the Pac 10. Photo by Margaret Brown Vega.

Rituals in Monumental Sunken Plaza Architecture

At the start of the ritual mock battle the crowd, which includes two individuals wearing military clothing, salutes the nation. A thin electronic banner of the flag of the United States of America is displayed on the monument. T

It is snowing, the band is on the field, the majorettes are wearing next to nothing, and camera rolls while the crowd salutes the flag. It is considered a good omen if the band leader flips and does not fall. If the band leader falls it is a sign that the team will not perform well.

Photos by Margaret Brown Vega.

PSU Football Pilgrims Feasting Before the Battle

Football as metaphorical war? The linking of military insignia and the PSU football corporate brand would suggest so.

PSU Football Pilgrims Travel with the Corporate Brand

The recreational vehicles, which transport and house PSU football pilgrims, are "branded" with the corporate symbol.

Shrines to Lions and Ancestral Leaders

Outside the stadium (monumental architecture) football pilgrims erect small shrines to the Nittany Lion (the totemic figure) and Joe Paterno (ancestral leader).

Lion Shrine Land Grant Trophy/Big 10 Championship Game Day

PSU football pilgrims make a ritual journey to the Lion Shrine before "the big game". Part of the Brand Nittany Lion Corporate Symbol Study. Photo by Nathan Craig.

Corporate Sylted Cozy

Discarded PSU Nittany Lion can cozy, two empty containers of the "silver bullet", a copenhagen tin, and a pack of Newports. Unarranged association of found bojects located on the PSU campus. Part of the Brand Nittany Lion Corporate Symbol Study.

Performative Archaeology

Ritual reproduction requires restricted repetition. Tradition involves constrained improvisation according to agreed upon rules of conduct. By trying out cooking a turkey in a hole in the ground a group of anthropologists from PSU decided to challenge the culinary conventions of the National Ritual of Giving Thanks. The aim was not necessarily contrarian, but rather a reflexive desire to explore other options. No variables were isolated or measured at any point in these experiments. The project was done purely for fun and experience of pit oven cooking. Photos by Margaret Brown Vega.

Honoring the Ancestors as Worlds Collide

An ancient Andean monument has been gouged by looters seeking precolumbian treasures; modern squatters (many Indigenous peoples from the highlands) who have migrated to the coast seeking a better life use the looter's pit as a bathroom and trash dump. Disembodied human arm and leg bones (many with flesh still attached), shredded funerary textiles, and shattered pottery are mixed in with modern human fecies, shreds of paper used for wiping, and plastic trash.Photo by Nathan Craig.

A Study of Lion Multivocality

Symbols are polysemic or "multivocal" meaning a given token may have very different meanings. After taking a new position at Pennsylvania State University and having a long time interest in the symbols of Rastafarianism, Nathan Craig was prompted to assemble and juxtapose alternate uses of the Lion as a totemic symbol of power and inspiration. This collage is a study in two general modalities of meaning that surround lions, the African Lion and the Nittany Lion.

Cement Safari

One hunter stalks prey to shoot visual captions (these photos) of the high powered capture (the photographers long lenses) of captives (the animals). Photos by Nathan Craig. Part of the Blackberry 8100 Series.