Can you correctly identify the following?

First up:

Which of the following correctly identifies this object?

1. The Nobel Peace Prize design for 2009, created by a crippled, homeless child from Uganda.
2. Part of a collection of artwork by former U.S. president Jimmy Carter that is being displayed throughout the Middle East.
3. A special commemorative medal designed by Rowan Williams and handed out after the Lambeth Conference.
4. The cross design that is in several hundred rooms in the newest Catholic hospital in the state of Oregon.

And this?

1. Sen. Obama's proposed design for the renovated Oval Office if he is elected President of the United States.
2. A set design from a proposed new Star Trek movie, with a view from the newly designed captain's deck.
3. A meeting room in the Center for Ecological Responsibility and Sustainable Global Resources in Switzerland, where Hans Küng is working to save the world and write the seventh volume of his memoirs.
4. The view from the altar in the chapel of the newest Catholic hospital in the state of Oregon.

And, finally:

1. A meditation chamber in the home of Deepak Chopra, author and spiritual guru, with artwork created by a 103-year-old Buddhist monk.
2. The foyer of the recently renovated DMV in my hometown, Plains, Montana, featuring melted glass from impounded pick-up trucks.
3. A family room for athletes in the Olympic Village in Beijing. Dont' see you see Michael Phelp's reflection?
4. The backdrop/artwork behind the altar in the chapel of the newest Catholic hospital in the state of Oregon.

I realize this is very difficult, challenging, and otherwise intimidating. Don't get frustrated if you can't figure out where these images are from. Just keep on carefully mulling over the possible answers. I'm sure you can figure it on your own, without any help from me or anyone else.

Addendum (Thursday, August 14, 2008): Some background to what you see above:

The hospital, Sacred Heart Medical Center at Riverbend, in Springfield, is about ten minutes from my house; it opened on August 10th. It is an impressive building. And is appears to a very well-designed one, with a number of features indicating an admirable desire for the hospital to have beautiful artwork and be surrounded by natural beauty. So far, so good.

But Sacred Heart Medical Center has for many years either distanced itself from its Catholic origins (it was created in 1936 by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace), or has simply ignored those roots altogether. To the point that the word "Catholic" is incredibly scarce on its website—a search turns up one use of "Catholic" and that is in relation to a "Meditation for Cancer Patients" program held at St. Jude Catholic Church, easily the most , uh, squishy of the parishes in this area. Even the history page never mentions Catholicism and the word certainly has never been used, as far as I can tell, in any of the hospital's recent and current literature.

There were rumblings and rumors about the new chapel, and the fears that it would completely eschew anything remotely Catholic (not to mention generically Christian), turned out to be well-founded. The hospital does have a simple cross on the bell tower in front; that and the name "Sacred Heart" are really about the only clear connections to the hospital's Catholic origins. And, really, how many people, especially non-Catholics, have any clue what "Sacred Heart" refers to? (Perhaps it now refers to hearts that have been operated on at the sacred facility built upon sacred ground once inhabited by sacred native peoples?) The hospital, of course, does provide a wealth of information about how "green" the facility is. In fact, one gets the impression that, based on some of the literature, that the most important thing about the hospital is that it is "green", itself a popular form of non-religious religion here in the Northwest:

When PeaceHealth’s volunteer Governing Board chose to locate its new hospital at RiverBend, one of the first steps it took was to adopt environmental stewardship principles to guide the design and development of the site. PeaceHealth conducted detailed site studies, resulting in a depth and quantity of research that far exceeds the most stringent requirements.  To safeguard the area's natural environment and assure that its beauty is preserved for both enjoyment and healing, PeaceHealth has made a number of important commitments.

It hardly needs to be said (okay, maybe it does) that while stewardship of the environment and concern for natural habitat are commendable, it would be nice if a Catholic hospital would act as though being Catholic was at the heart of the hospital is all about. Perhaps something about the rich heritage of Catholic hospitals, hospices, shelters, orphanages, and such, all founded because of the belief that every man, woman, and child is precious in the eyes of God and is created with an innate dignity given by God. And something about how the Church seeks to carry on the healing work of Jesus, which included physical healing, but always with the understanding that such healing is temporal and should orient us to our eternal destination, which involves spiritual transformation and healing, possible only through the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ. 

Instead, Catholicism is apparently a source of either embarrassment or perhaps even scorn for many of the people associated with Sacred Heart Medical Center. They don't want to offend; they want to be inclusive. When the hospital had its grand-opening and ribbon cutting ceremony, it was billed as  "religious celebration" and featured a number of religious groups (many of them non-Christian), as reported by the Daily Emerald:

The grand opening of a state-of-the-art hospital came complete Friday with a ribbon cutting ceremony, a religious celebration and tours of the facility.

Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend, set on 181 acres along the McKenzie River, will begin accepting patients August 10.

PeaceHealth spokeswoman Roz Ramberg said 1,200 chairs were filled with visitors for the celebration, and several hundred others came later to tour the hospital.

PeaceHealth Oregon CEO Mel Pyne told the celebration audience they were "standing on sacred ground, on a site that reminds us that God has been good to Oregon."

Later Elder Nick Sixkiller, representing the Native American community in a multi-denominational religious ceremony, said the hospital was on the ancestral land of the Callapuya tribe. "Generations of people have been healed here," he said.

Huh? Why was the ground considered "sacred"? Because it had been lived on by Native Americans? It wasn't clear. Nor, I suspect, was it meant to be. It was the sort of trendy Northwestern, New Age-y blather that passes for being "spiritually deep." The Sacred Heart Medical Foundation newsletter had this to say about the event:

Appropriately, Sacred Heart music thanatologists (harpists who have brought comfort to many patients) provided welcoming music. Representatives of many faith traditions joined in blessing the project and the site’s four corners. The moving ceremony symbolically united the community in honoring the site’s sacred healing purpose. Joyful sounds from the University of Oregon gospel choir perfectly captured the enthusiasm of the gathering for the new hospital. Before leaving, attendees were invited to write a hope, prayer or blessing for RiverBend to be incorporated in the hospital’s foundation.

My guess is that if a Muslim or atheist or Scientologist hospital had such an event, it wouldn't have bothered with this vaguely pantheistic nonsense. But, then, there aren't too many Muslim, atheist, or Scientologist hospitals being built, at least not around here. And it's increasingly unclear if there are any Catholic hospitals in the area.

Comments

[Carl E. Olson]

My apologies to those who left comments on this specific post. I went to add the addendum and somehow messed things up, losing those comments. Sorry about that!

[rd]

score one more for the great pacific northwest.

in the part of the U.S. where i come from, the chapel in the government-run hospital has a more-Catholic look and feel than the pictures you posted here, carl.

could it be that the cross in the picture is a reflection of the faith in that environment? if not watered down, then melted down.

[Nick]

I'm so sorry*. For non-Oregoninans, let me assure you there are solid Catholics in Oregon (even in Portland), even if we don't get much of a voice up here. We are doing as much as we can. I had no idea it was just as bad down in Springfield, but I guess I shouldn't be surprised.

The multiple choice options were absolutely hilarious, that's what I call comic relief.

*Not that I have to apologize for another person's mistakes (eg watering down the faith), but just to soften the blow.

[Cristina A. Montes]

I was hospitalized once, and the corpus on the crucifix in the room was in an abstract style. When I saw it, I thought, "Good grief! If there's one occasion where I would appreciate a realistic-looking crucifix to remind me of the supernatural value of suffering, it's here and now, while sick in the hospital."

[Carl E. Olson]

What is unclear to me (and I haven't looked into it very much) is the exact relationship between the hospital and the Archdiocese of Portland. It's not fair, I know, to put all or most of the blame for this on the Archdiocese. On the other hand, the chancery here has been a mess for quite a while, and you'll find a wide, wide range of parishes. The parishes in Eugene/Springfield area are a microcosm of Portland, ranging from solid, traditional parishes to lackluster, bland parishes to overtly nutty parishes. The Archbishop did come down and say Mass at the hospital chapel this past week. I'm guessing that everyone is being polite and no one is rocking the boat.

Oh, one more thing: a friend (a Deacon) who has seen the chapel in person, told me that there is, in fact, a tabernacle. It is kept in a small side room, which my friend described as a "closet" that resembles a "sauna," with the unusual looking tabernacle situated in the middle.

[Nick Milne]

Wait, stop everything:

Elder Nick Sixkiller

What hope do the rest of us have when there are men out there with names like that? I'm going back to bed.

[Teófilo]

What you propose to identify as a "a set design from a proposed new Star Trek movie, with a view from the newly designed captain's deck" is incorrect. It is actually Empero Palpatine's proposed conference room in a new Star Wars midquel, (after the prequels but before the sequels).

-Theo

[Gail F]

Well I don't know about you, but I stay away from any event at which music thanatologists provide welcoming music. I know what it is supposed to welcome you to...

[Rita Eberle]

Anyone living in Eugene knows that the City tries to be all things to all people but rarely succeeds. The Chapel was meant to be non-denominational and it succeeded, but it is a bit too much of a knights of the round table theme to me.