vlion: cut of the flammarion woodcut, colored (Default)
vlion ([personal profile] vlion) wrote2016-02-27 12:47 am
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art quote

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Art is philosophy, and some modern philosophy that informs certain types of modern art is antithetical to Christian philosophy. Certain types of distortions, or a preference for ugliness, jar with traditional notions of beauty or truth. A picture is worth a thousand words, so they often make statements. Loaded within some styles are notions of relativity and plasticity, whereas Christian philosophy as I understand it is more interested in the eternal verities and absolute non-subjective truth. I think this is best shown by clear lines and shapes with discernible representational figures. The abstract does speak to the unknowable infinity and the mysteries of the spiritual, but to most it's just confusing and leaves too much to the imagination. For those reasons, I don't think a sculptor like Henry Moore is the best choice for a religious sculpture.
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--- http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showpost.php?p=20687176&postcount=1

Some truth here re Christian sensibilities and (post-)modern art.
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foxfirefey: A fox colored like flame over an ornately framed globe (Default)

[personal profile] foxfirefey 2016-02-27 10:32 pm (UTC)(link)
Recently I ran across a link collecting some pictures of beautiful Iranian mosques, which I imagine to be the counterpoint to Christian sensibilities! Aka as this quote says:

"The absence of icons in Islam has not merely a negative but a positive role. By excluding all anthropomorphic images, at least within the religious realm, Islamic art aids man to be entirely himself. Instead of projecting his soul outside himself, he can remain in his ontological centre where he is both the viceregent (khalîfa) and slave ('abd) of God. Islamic art as a whole aims at creating an ambience which helps man to realize his primordial dignity; it therefore avoids everything that could be an 'idol', even in a relative and provisional manner. Nothing must stand between man and the invisible presence of God. Thus Islamic art creates a void; it eliminates in fact all the turmoil and passionate suggestions of the world, and in their stead creates an order that expresses equilibrium, serenity and peace."
vlion: cut of the flammarion woodcut, colored (Default)

[personal profile] vlion 2016-03-07 03:46 am (UTC)(link)
*Fascinating*. It's absolutely the case that explicitly Christian visual art is typically the domain of the liturgical churches, which ikons and other images of the saints; something which the Reformation (and, presumably, Islam) have considered as a method of idolatry.

Tangentially, one thing I really wish was done more was explicit and non-propaganda-based critiques of religions and the mentalities effected: we have Marxist analyses, feminist analyses, etc. I would argue that religious belief (even, let us say, the Church of the NFL, or the Church of Patriotic America (weeping eagles on Facebook included)) is the biggest and deepest prism we look through in our daily lives; it informs art, ethics, heroes, myths, cognitive dissonances, etc.

Anyway... thanks for the quote, something to ponder.
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