- March 29th, 2008
- Filed under Current Events, Exhibitions, Musings
I was recently given the book River Grace by Makoto Fujimura, a contemporary artist whose art and life changed with the terrorists attacks of September 11, 2001. The book was a frank autobiography by a popular living artist who described his walk of faith and the influence it has on his art. This was a first for me. You might think being behind-the-scenes of exhibitions, artists interviews and the creative process, the topic of faith would come up more often.
I am a Christian. I am also an artist and creative, and what I do is driven by my faith experience. — Makoto Fujimura said in a 2007 article by Associated Press reporter Eric Gorski
One might argue that the origin of art is religion and that the two have been interconnected throughout history. We certainly have a fair share of religious art. So why is it that today art has become a secular topic? It seems strange in my opinion that someone’s career in art doesn’t merit a discussion of beliefs or nonbeliefs or their inspiration or guiding force. In a time where people in film and music, and even sports and politics openly discuss faith, why do the visual arts shy away from sensitive questions and stick to the “creative process”? Perhaps it’s because it makes us uncomfortable?
Whether or not one believes in God, whether we describe ourselves as theists, atheists or even anti-theists, we all live in a world that is profoundly influenced by concepts of god. — 100 Artists See God exhibition introduction
The 2004-06 traveling exhibition 100 Artists See God, organized by Independent Curators International in New York, involved inviting 100 artists “to picture the divine.” According to the project description, the collaboration brings the topic of faith “to the forefront of artistic debate and acknowledges the prevalence of religion and spirituality in contemporary art, culture and politics both within and outside of the United States.” What emerged from the exhibition was a wide range of religious imagery, from traditional depiction and analytical assessment to humorous and completely unconventional interpretations of god. For example, artist Damien Hirst created shelves of drugs to represent “god.” Another work by Paul McCarthy shows two men out in the woods peering under dried up brush with a stick. Mirror #8, a 1972 work by Roy Lichtenstein, was also part of the exhibition. (Click here to see works from 100 Artists See God.)
Closer to home, a 2007 exhibition at the Indianapolis Museum of Art called María Magdelena Campos-Pons: Everything is Separated by Water, touched on the influence of Santería faith in the artist’s life and its depiction in her work. While that show, which explored a non-mainstream faith as one aspect to an artist’s work, was well received, another smaller local gallery show that based an exhibition around the exploration of artists’ views on faith and spirituality was not as successful, particularly with church communities. (The gallery asked to remain anonymous.)
Should we encourage a dialogue on faith, whether or not we have one? 100 Artists See God is a intriguing example of how it can be done. Is Indianapolis ready for this conversation? And likewise, is the religious community ready to take the arts seriously?
March 29th, 2008 at 10:01 am
You wrote this at an interesting time as I have been having similar conversations recently. I’m currently working on a project with an artist who will be doing an installation on Mass Ave whose work directly deals with faith by making what has become a very private ritual (such as prayer) and turning it into something very public. I’m really interested to see how not only the general public reacts to this, but also how the smaller ‘art world’ reacts.
March 29th, 2008 at 12:54 pm
Interesting topic that I don’t hear discussed often. Thanks more making me think today!
March 29th, 2008 at 10:12 pm
The book (and topic) sounds interesting. I’d like to read it myself. Looked it up on Amazon, but they don’t appear to have anything by that name. I just recently checked out the book 100 Artists See God, but haven’t had the time to look through it yet.
March 30th, 2008 at 6:48 am
You can purchase the book at http://www.rivergrace.com. All proceeds benefit the International Arts Movement.
March 31st, 2008 at 9:06 am
I think it’s fascinating that the subject of faith in public life was all over the IndyStar this morning just a couple of days after this post was published. Must be something in the air.
March 31st, 2008 at 9:50 pm
This is a very timely topic. The twin pole stars of the western intellectual and artistic traditions have long been Athens and Jerusalem, but the arts seemed to have recently inverted Tertullian’s famous dismissal of the relevance of the Greeks to Christianity. I don’t think it is any secret that much of the arts world is perceived as highly left-wing and generally hostile to Christianity. And I think there’s more than a grain of truth to that. At the same time, modern evangelical Christianity has also become more overtly political, at the same time it has maintained a sort of anti-intellectual stance. (As they said in my church growing up, “God said, I believe it, that settles it.”). And as of course we’re reminded with the situation in Carmel with some women wanting to cover up the Evan Lurie door handles, there’s a certain streak of prudishness as well.
I think both of these are breaking down. Artists and intellectuals who have strong faith (or, quelle horreur! are Republican), less and less feel a need to hide. Meanwhile we see the rise of Christian individuals and groups with decidedly non-orthodox views, such as gay Christian rock bands, Christian environmentalist groups, and the like. I think these can go a long way towards healing the rifts that have occurred in our society in the last decades.
I think it also bodes well for the arts. The west has repeatedly had to return to its roots for inspiration. I think we’re well past due for another refresh cycle.
April 28th, 2008 at 9:33 pm
I am a graduate student in Brown University’s Public Humanities program. I am currently working on a paper about how art museums can reinterpret the works of art in their collection in a way that restores its religious context and how by doing this museum might broaden their audiences and create a safe space for interfaith dialogue. Would anyone be willing to speak to me for about 20 minutes about their projects?