We typically think of stained glass as an art form that is most often seen in churches. Stained glass has been around for more than a thousand years. But in stained glass, as in other kinds of art, it can be representational, which means it looks like something we can easily recognize, or we might say that it “represents” something. On the other hand, it might be abstract. Oxford dictionaries defines abstract art as “art that does not attempt to represent external reality, but seeks to achieve its effect using shapes, forms, colors, and textures.”

The photo above is of a stained glass window, actually one of a pair of very similar windows, in the First Presbyterian Church of Alpena. I would propose a question. Is this stained glass window representational or abstract? And if you think it does represent something, “What is it supposed to be?” Let me know what you think.