Mark Peterman's Freemasonry: A view inside the Craft
The Scottish Rite auditorium, Santa Fe, New Mexico, copyright Mark Peterman
"Freemasonry has a long history as a mysterious fraternal organization and is also referred to as “The
Craft”. Many consider it a secret society because it contains rituals that are private only to its members. One of the core beliefs that a Freemason must have is a belief in God. Many of the symbols used in Masonic Temples also share a religious significance although freemasonry is not associated with any organized religion.
Freemasonry makes use of the architectural symbolism of the tools of the operative stonemason. Freemasonryis based on philosophical building and use of symbolism to teach moral and ethical lessons of the principles of Brotherly Love and Truth.
A member of the Knights Templar of the York Rite, copyright Mark Peterman
There are independent Masonic organizations throughout the world and world-wide membership is estimated at around six million individuals. Masonic Temples are prominent buildings in every major city across the UnitedStates. Often people know of these places but have never ventured to see what is inside. While thephilanthropic efforts of Masonic organizations are well documented, the meeting places, visual language of the spaces and appearance of the members is not well known.
This project is a visual study of Freemasonry, the individuals who are members of the various
organizations and the spaces where the meetings take place." -- Mark Peterman
Mark Peterman explores narratives with photographs and multimedia. Although his work is at home in the post-modern world it is very informed by history. A desire to be creative on a daily basis fuels his curiosity about the human experience and he documents things in sketchbooks as a way of remembering his life.
Since he was young, he has been recreating the world around him through photographs and is continually refining his artistic vision by drawing on influences from music, literature and art. Mark's work reflects a graphic, story-telling quality with a cinematic feel, drawing on his design background while studying at the Kansas City Art Institute.Mark enjoys photographing ordinary people who do interesting things. Although he is primarily a still photographer, he hasrecently started incorporating multi-media and motion into his work. Recent project themes include examining how ones memory is effected with the passage of time, exploring family histories on film and spending time in the meeting spaces offraternal organizations.
View more of Mark Peterman's Freemasonry work below.
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The original stonemasons depicted in a mural in the blue lodge