Pope Art
“Art cannot be ‘produced’, as one contracts out and produces technical equipment. It is always a gift. Inspiration is not something one can choose for oneself. It has to be received, otherwise it is not there. One cannot bring about a renewal of art in faith by money or through commissions. Before all things it requires the gift of a new kind of seeing. And so it would be worth our while to regain a faith that sees. Wherever that exists, art finds its proper expressions.”
- Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, Spirit of the Liturgy (1999, Ignatius Press)
Sorry, but I couldn't resist the title after reading this article by former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict, about his thoughts on art and the Church. This dude has some deep thoughts on the spiritual dimensions of art, most of which I found very refreshing. Pope B's article isn't light stuff, so give yourself an undistracted 15 minutes to engage his words if you plan on reading the article. Oddly, his article about art has stirred questions in me about the soul of design (a.k.a. it's purpose?) and its relationship with the Church universal.
Pope Benedict chronicles the transition of art from a mystical experience connects a person with the unseen Divine, to a historical devotional that narrates past events. The Pope cites the shift from Platonic thinking, where there is an interconnectedness between the physical and the spiritual, to Aristotelian thinking in the 13th century as a key turning point with art and the Church. Aristotle saw "the thing, composed of matter and form, exists in its own right. Through abstraction (we) discern the species to which it belongs. In place of seeing, by which the super-sensible becomes visible in the sensible, comes abstraction. The relationship of the spiritual and the material has changed and with it man's attitude to reality as it appears to him." In other words, Aristotle disconnected and objectified art from its transformational and mystical components. This shift and disconnection is important for understanding the heart of design. Why?
You see design didn't develop into a full fledged, mature profession until the last 100 years. That means design was born and raised in Aristotle's house and hung out with his Industrialization and the Enlightenment buddies. Design never knew the Platonic connection between the seen and the unseen, the spiritual and the physical. Unlike art which has this Platonic (and the Pope argues even Scriptural) connection in it's family photo album, design has no recorded memory of this experience from its art parent. I suspect think is one reason why so many designers go to art to search for their "roots". If you looked in the front of design's family Bible, would it look like this?
- God creates Man, Union
- God and Man, Divorced
- Man and Experiences, Married and have child: Art
- Art and Money, Married and have child: Design
- Design and Advertising, Marketing and Business Lovers and have ?
Art in the church went from the transformational and mystical to the abstract and sensible. Design as a whole seems to be going the opposite way. Having started with only known Aristotle's abstract and sensible, there is a deep desire among designers to explore the transformational and mystical in design. I know I'm trying to understand the connection between what I'm doing in design with the Unseen. I would go so far as to say that both design and art are ultimately searching to reunite God and man.
Interestingly, the Reformed, Western, Protestant Church has not placed much emphasis on art at all, although many of the world's great artists were deeply connected with the Church and their faith. However in the last 20 years, there seems to be a reawakening of the arts (to include things like drama, dance, etc.) in the Church. This reemergence of art in the Church is mostly relegated to special groups of people within the Church and has not yet found expression as a central node of transformational worship. I know you can point to examples in the post-modern, emergent church where this is happening, but in relation to the whole, we're talking about a small but growing slice of the pie.
What's more fascinating to me is the growth of design in the Church over the last 10 years. Just check out your church payroll. There you'll find all the usuals like pastor, missions director, youth minister and of course the venerable music minister (or worship pastor). What you probably won't find is an artist or an art pastor. But if you are at a large church will likely discover a full time or part time graphic designer. They might be buried in the communications department or stuck in the administrative section because no one knows what to do with them. But they are there. What does this mean? How does the Church view designers? What will the role of design will be in the post-modern church? Will design be relegated to marketing the Church's business, or will design help those inside and those outside the church see God with their hearts as the art of the first century Church did? This is our story to write.
- Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, Spirit of the Liturgy (1999, Ignatius Press)
Sorry, but I couldn't resist the title after reading this article by former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict, about his thoughts on art and the Church. This dude has some deep thoughts on the spiritual dimensions of art, most of which I found very refreshing. Pope B's article isn't light stuff, so give yourself an undistracted 15 minutes to engage his words if you plan on reading the article. Oddly, his article about art has stirred questions in me about the soul of design (a.k.a. it's purpose?) and its relationship with the Church universal.
Pope Benedict chronicles the transition of art from a mystical experience connects a person with the unseen Divine, to a historical devotional that narrates past events. The Pope cites the shift from Platonic thinking, where there is an interconnectedness between the physical and the spiritual, to Aristotelian thinking in the 13th century as a key turning point with art and the Church. Aristotle saw "the thing, composed of matter and form, exists in its own right. Through abstraction (we) discern the species to which it belongs. In place of seeing, by which the super-sensible becomes visible in the sensible, comes abstraction. The relationship of the spiritual and the material has changed and with it man's attitude to reality as it appears to him." In other words, Aristotle disconnected and objectified art from its transformational and mystical components. This shift and disconnection is important for understanding the heart of design. Why?
You see design didn't develop into a full fledged, mature profession until the last 100 years. That means design was born and raised in Aristotle's house and hung out with his Industrialization and the Enlightenment buddies. Design never knew the Platonic connection between the seen and the unseen, the spiritual and the physical. Unlike art which has this Platonic (and the Pope argues even Scriptural) connection in it's family photo album, design has no recorded memory of this experience from its art parent. I suspect think is one reason why so many designers go to art to search for their "roots". If you looked in the front of design's family Bible, would it look like this?
- God creates Man, Union
- God and Man, Divorced
- Man and Experiences, Married and have child: Art
- Art and Money, Married and have child: Design
- Design and Advertising, Marketing and Business Lovers and have ?
Art in the church went from the transformational and mystical to the abstract and sensible. Design as a whole seems to be going the opposite way. Having started with only known Aristotle's abstract and sensible, there is a deep desire among designers to explore the transformational and mystical in design. I know I'm trying to understand the connection between what I'm doing in design with the Unseen. I would go so far as to say that both design and art are ultimately searching to reunite God and man.
Interestingly, the Reformed, Western, Protestant Church has not placed much emphasis on art at all, although many of the world's great artists were deeply connected with the Church and their faith. However in the last 20 years, there seems to be a reawakening of the arts (to include things like drama, dance, etc.) in the Church. This reemergence of art in the Church is mostly relegated to special groups of people within the Church and has not yet found expression as a central node of transformational worship. I know you can point to examples in the post-modern, emergent church where this is happening, but in relation to the whole, we're talking about a small but growing slice of the pie.
What's more fascinating to me is the growth of design in the Church over the last 10 years. Just check out your church payroll. There you'll find all the usuals like pastor, missions director, youth minister and of course the venerable music minister (or worship pastor). What you probably won't find is an artist or an art pastor. But if you are at a large church will likely discover a full time or part time graphic designer. They might be buried in the communications department or stuck in the administrative section because no one knows what to do with them. But they are there. What does this mean? How does the Church view designers? What will the role of design will be in the post-modern church? Will design be relegated to marketing the Church's business, or will design help those inside and those outside the church see God with their hearts as the art of the first century Church did? This is our story to write.
posted by fivemcclungs at 12:13 PM
5 Comments:
I was very surprized to read the initial quote as coming from the cardinal. That's very pleasing that he recognized the spiritual dimension of making art.
That he is so vilified only means that he knows that its by both faith and intellect that he will guide his church.
As for Design in the scheme of things, perhaps commerce makes it more of comissioned art - lower case A - Art. Because of its seemingly ephemeral nature it is not meant to deal with larger issues of Life. It has a built-in contradiction of being utilitarian.
One might say that the Sistine Chapel ceiling was utilitarian to the Curch's dogma too, but I wouldn't necessarily think that a marketing committee would have come up with that work of genius...
This is one of the best pieces I've ever read -- and reread -- on Christianity and the arts. Thanks for pointing us to it.
Additional comment: At the moment, I don't find most art in the church to be more than marketing, or at best emasculated. As a designer myself, art needs to serve, but it is also charged with challenging and opening us to new visions, not unlike the Holy Spirit. But both tend to be actively ignored or neutered within much of the church. Until the gifts of ALL of us are allowed to function through the power of the H.S., the church will, I'm afraid, continue to be somewhat irrelevant to much of the world.
As an independant student of art and design (seperately), a student of Western thought and theology at Saint John's College, and a liturgical dancer there is a great divide within myself which seperates those things which touch the holy, from those which still feel distinct and distant from the deeper and knowledgable mytic side of my life. Many say that there is a insurmountable divide between reason and faith, and also, between design and art. I find that the more my art becomes an infleshing of my faith the easier it is to make from my faith an expression of reason which springs out of spiritual knowledge. In art I am able to think out the holy by acting it out. I see design as distinct from art in its specific audience. Although I feel that art is communication, design is communication that is by its nature intent on having the user act out the designer's thought. Designs say 'like me,' 'pick me up'... What if a design could say 'be holy as God is holy, for one moment seek to Know as you are known."
I hope that makes sense, your article struck a chord in me and I hope to read the linked article by the Cardinal (now Pope) tomarrow when I am more awake. Thank you. Oh and thank the newsvine seeder.
Jonni,
Glad you enjoyed the article. The Pope's is much better than mine, although quite a work out on the intellect (as it should be).
Keep dancing.
Post a Comment
<< Home