An overriding theme in his paintings is the coming together of creativity and destruction, where creation is bound up with devastation and the trauma of history. Eck, Diana L. A New Religious America. A new drop immediately begins forming and the cycle continues in infinite repetition. Gordon Parks’s photographs bear powerful witness to Black lives in America, The Apollo 40 under 40 podcast: Mohamad Hafez, The week in art news – world’s oldest animal painting found in Indonesia, The week in art news – Indian Supreme Court approves plans for new parliament complex, In 18th-century Europe, bizarre oranges and lemons were collector’s items. He was vehemently atheistic, and commentators have often closed down discussions of religion in his work. Paul Tillich, “Art and Ultimate Reality,” in Art, Creativity, and the Sacred: An Anthology in Religion and Art, ed. This involves thinking about the different ritualized practices that the images and objects are employed in, including liturgy, meditation, and other forms of instruction that they occupy in people’s lives. Bacon was documenting the spiritual malaise of a humanity that has been made level with the animal in the absence of God. But in spite of the decline of organized religion in Western Europe, there has been growing interest in spirituality in areas of cultural life, especially in art. In his version of history painting, he used the forms of Nazism, such as architectural structures reminiscent of the edifices of Albert Speer and related sources such as Wagnerian opera and Norse myth, to negotiate between the past and present, the private and political. On one reading, the communal act of contributing to something that was greater than the self was in itself a spiritual act. Typical installations consist of site-specific spaces that have been flooded by light. In his 1911 work, Kandinsky emphasized his staunch belief in the redemptive qualities of the spiritual. Even though the artist used his own body as the mold for each cast, the finished figures were impersonal, which facilitated identification with them. 10. Interior (1981) is a stark reminder of the Nazi regime and represents a room in the New Reich Chancellery. Chris Townsend, “In My Secret Life: Self, Space and World in Room for St. John of the Cross, 1983,” in The Art of Bill Viola, ed. 26. As is characteristic of his work, particular references take on epic proportions. The associated artists developed greatly varying stylistic approaches, but shared a commitment to an abstract art that powerfully expresses personal convictions and profound human values. Contrary to the shortsighted views of secular art critics, one thing is clear: religion is alive and well in contemporary art. Houshiary’s most celebrated work (in partnership with Pip Horne) is her commission for the East Window of St. Martin in the Fields, London, which is of a cross being formed around a circular motif as a result of the warping of the metal framework. One of his most powerful works, Zim Zum (1990), which takes its reference from the Kabbalah and refers to the contraction that must occur (zimzum) so that creation can take place, is depicted at once by this simultaneous sense of emergence and withdrawal. This is facilitated by seating that invites relaxation and absorption, for this is not art that can be passed over but requires time. and trans. Unveiling (1993) is especially problematic as it draws attention to her beauty. Most contemporary artists are drawn to secular sources—ordinary objects, motifs, symbols and metaphors—but in the encounter with them, transformation occurs. Religion & Spirituality 135 (November–December 2010): 15. Spirituality is felt rather than simply understood. In the examples discussed, perceptual knowledge cannot be relayed secondhand, and the viewer has to interact with the artwork in various ways before understanding can be achieved. Robert Rosenblum, Modern Painting and the Northern Romantic Tradition: Friedrich to Rothko (London: Thames and Hudson, 1978). Max Weber, From Max Weber: Essays in Sociology, ed. 18. The interaction with the artwork also involves the potential for a transformation of our perception of mundane reality. Her book, based on painstaking research into the motivations of artists from 1800 to the present, propo… This involves the expansion of context where art works are exhibited, as well as the blurring of boundaries between the sacred and the secular. The artworks under discussion detail the scope and breadth of art that can be described as spiritual by virtue of its revelatory, revitalizing and contemplative capacities. Themes of interest include the War on Terror, the fragility of the body, consumerism, and human rights. Required fields are marked *, The work is central to the identity of the cash-strapped school, A decade after the uprisings that led to the downfall of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, the clocks he loved remain, The Syrian-born, US-based artist talks to Gabrielle Schwarz about his sculptural dioramas of cities ravaged by war – and offers a message of hope for the future, Plus: Bozar damaged by fire | and City of London to remove statues with slavery links, Plus: Smithsonian scales back $2bn redevelopment plan | Naomi Beckwith appointed deputy director and chief curator of Guggenheim | and Champs-Élysées to be turned into ‘extraordinary garden’, On Tuesday, the Supreme Court of India dismissed objections to the construction of a new parliament complex in New Delhi. : an Introduction to the shortsighted views of secular art critics, one thing is clear: is. 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