ABSTRACT
The morning star is of course no star but the second-closest orbiting planet to the sun, Venus, the closest planet to our own home, Earth. Venus is associated with femininity, just as our other neighboring planet, Mars, is associated with masculinity. Both planets have their own place in Greco-Roman mythology, much of the foundation for people's contemporary civilization. The worship of sufferers, the reminder of their sacrifice, to benefit a greater good, and in the case of Christ to suffer for all so they may be forgiven for their failings, is rich material, referenced not only in the era when the Church was the main patron of the arts but also photo-journalistically later on. Broken things relate not only to people but also to environments. Think of the rustbelt, failing infrastructure, inner city areas that are no-go zones, upper-class ghettos where everything matters but the kids who live there.
