Ecclesiastical Art and Artefacts
Vivekananda and the Unity of Religions: Exposition of Maya
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Chris Zajner
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the Advaita Vedanta philosophy of Vivekananda in order to visualize if his vision of a universal spirituality was tenable in his time, and if this idea still has relevance today. Vivekananda’s interpretation of reality and his understanding of maya can, I argue provide insight into the nature of the religious experience, and logically do result in his conclusion of the inherent unity of all religions. Using the notion of maya, and the false dichotomy of the phenomenal world and the real I wish to analyze whether or not a similar model can be used to understand the plurality of religions and spiritual experiences which exist in the world. Specifically with this model in mind, I will look at the use of religious symbols to convey ideas and meanings which have some ability to effectively communicate some sort of spiritual ideas or experiences.
From Artefact to Art: Imagining a "Religiously Literate" Society through Contemporary Literary Practices
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Irum Irum
Modern religion as a set of institutionalized beliefs and practices is a development on the devotional elements of oral narratives and narrativized history which have been passed down from one generation to the next. This is as relevant to scriptural religions as non-scriptural ones. Over the course of time, however, the relationship between the sacred and the literary has become obscure to the point of being accused as blasphemous. Revered characters and stories of wisdom literatures (oral and written) have been claimed by one or another religious group and made into canonical history. Among the many consequences of this canonization, two are worth noting for the purpose of this discussion: first, they have become religious artefacts whose worth have ceased to exist except as part of a rote religious memory. Second, considering them as products of divine or ancestral creativity or historical events of unmatched significance, the notions of religious creativity are thought to be non-existent for worshippers in this age. I argue that fictional re-contextualization of these traditional metaphors can lead to a more integrative approach to understanding lived religious experiences. De-shelving these religious artefacts and re-shelving them as metaphorical wisdom of the present age can be seen as both a form of commemorative worship whereby sacred is integrated in everyday life and an attempt to make the religiously-exclusive a world heritage. My case studies will include novels written by contemporary Muslim Anglophone writers that reimagine religious names and themes in ahistorical scenarios and impart knowledge for modern readers.
Light as a Symbol and an Art Medium: Challenges of Making Contemporary Ecclesiastical Art
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Pavlína Kašparová
Light as an ancient symbol adopted by many religions, Christianity included, recently became an independent medium of art which has the power to grasp attention and to achieve strong emotional reactions from its audience. Over the last few years, there was a boom in light installations used in fine art, architecture and the entertainment industries. Some of them were also presented at (or inspired by) sacred places, for example, Miguel Chevalier's installation Dear World… Yours, Cambridge, King's College Chapel, Cambridge, UK, in 2015 or the cathedral-like installation by Luminarie de Cagna light design company in Ghent, Belgium in 2018. However, only a few had the capacity to serve also for liturgical purposes without taking too much attention away from the liturgy. This conflict is a challenge for those contemporary light artists who want to revive this symbol in Churches. Practice-based research in theology and fine art reveals and develops new approaches in creating ecclesiastical art using light as a contemporary medium and a strong transcendental symbol, which can become a way of re-thinking the position of the visual arts in Protestant Churches and bring more contemporary art into the Catholic Church. In the presentation artwork in progress will be shown, allowing artists, church ministers, and others to understand the process of making art using the medium of light and following the Catholic Church requirements for the visual arts.
