Intro to the JRSP Company of Ideas Forum Art and the Sacred скачать в хорошем качестве

Intro to the JRSP Company of Ideas Forum Art and the Sacred

‘Art provides a means to experience the sacred beyond prescriptive narrative’ Jeffrey Rubinoff The history of art is inseparable from the history of religion. These two fundamental human practices have been connected for tens of thousands of years. They may even have emerged together during prehistory, when – as far as we know – objects and images were believed to possess talismanic force and used to propitiate or repel powerful spirits. As spiritual beliefs became more organised in the ancient world, artists created effigies of their gods and deities, and converted sacred stories into pictures. For some, images were valuable pedagogical tools – Pope Gregory famously called them ‘bibles for the illiterate’ – but others, fearing the risks of idolatry, destroyed vast quantities of religious imagery in Europe and the Middle East. As western societies secularised, connections between art and religion weakened. But from the nineteenth century onwards, the art world increasingly appropriated many of its effects. From Kazimir Malevich and Wassily Kandinsky to Bill Viola and Marina Abramovic, many modern artists aspired – often explicitly – to create numinous or transcendental works provoking quasi-religious experiences. At this year’s Forum we will explore the old and complex relationship between art and sacred, with conversations ranging throughout history and across the world. Over two stimulating days delegates will interrogate a cluster of related questions, including: How has art influenced the evolution of religion and spirituality? Can non-religious art be sacred? And how do western and non-western traditions compare?