JOSHUA SILVA
logo design|freelance
Chime-Era
Chime-era was a exhibition I produced depicting four historicaly great bells in an abstract setting. Using only images of texture, I reconstructed the bells and modeld the backgrounds after the history of each.
Sigismund
The Royal Sigismund bell of the Wawel Cathedral in Poland it the largest of the five bells that
hang there weighing 9,650kg. Aside from national holidays the bell was rung on very
import days in Polish history such as the German invasion of Poland in 1930. The bell is rung
manually and must be operated by 12 men. The task takes an immense amount of strength
to pull. There has even been a report of one of the ringers being pulled from the floor and
flung out the window where they fell to their death. The bell is quite magnificent and is said to be heard ringing for miles.
Pummerin
The Pummerin bell of Vienna hangs in St. Stephan’s Cahedral. The Old bell was cast from
208 cannons that were captured by invaders after the Second Turkish Siege of Vienna.
When it was placed in the south tower the weight of the bell was too much for the structure of the tower and was only rung by swinging the clapper. A fire occurred during wartime vandals, which brought the bell crashing down along with the tower. The new Pummerin, which still hangs now, was given as a gift and was cast out of the remaining cannons of the war. The Pummerin became the largest bell in Austria and the third largest in
Europe. It now sits in the North tower and is rung electronically.
Maria
The Maria Gloriosa, otherwise known as the Erfurt bell of Germany. Is the world’s largest
free-swinging medieval bell. The bell was cast 5 times and the 5th is the current dweller of the cathedral. This is a very religious bell and is only rung on specific days. Certain days include
Easter Sunday, The International Day of Peace, the Feast of Assumption, and Nov. 10th also
known as St. Martin’s Day. Because of this it is a very rare and enjoyable experience to
hear it.
Dhammazedi
this bell is know as the great bell of Dhammmazedi, which is located in Yangon, Myanmar. It is said to be the largest bell ever casted beding made of silver, gold, copper, and tin. it was 12 cubits high, 8 cubits wide, and weighed 294 tons. It hung in the Shewdagon Pagoda berfore Arakanese Froces stole it. In an attempt to haul the bell across the Bago river the weight became to great and the bell was lost to the murky depths. To this day the residents of Myanmar take boats out to dive for it while others wait on the shore hoping that this will be the day the bell is rediscovered.