Of Paint, and Pottery, and Perception; Looking at the Effects of Religious Arts

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 Of Paint, and Pottery, and Perception; 

Looking at the Effects of Religious Arts


I may be biased towards the power of art. I work in the gallery four hours a week, I set up exhibitions, I love to draw, and I long to spend my hours immersed in an art museum. However, I think many would agree that art has a lot of power culturally. In this instance, I will be looking specifically at the power of art in a religious aspect since so many religions tend to use art. If we look at one of the most famous examples, the Renaissance, we see an emergence of not just art but extremely emotional depictions of religion from The Last Supper to The Birth of Adam. Art tends to be a very popular way of creating connections between religion and the “masses” because humans are such visual creatures. The Sistine Chapel is a great specific example of this because it is not only filled with art but is also a public space that (theoretically) anybody can visit, meaning that the art is open to anyone who can reach it. During times like the Renaissance, when religious texts themselves weren’t easily accessible either because people could not afford them or because of illiteracy issues, art was a way to make religion feel like it had a more direct affect.
“Hinduism is an imaginative, an "image-making," religious tradition in which the sacred is seen as present in the visible world — the world we see in multiple images and deities, in sacred places, and in people.” — Darśan, Seeing the Divine Image in India, Diana L. Eck, 10

Hinduism is a perfect example of the visual in religion. Worship tends to be highly visual, meaning that art is ever present in their practice. Home shrines are a particularly good example of this as they tend to be filled with statues, imagery, and other sources of art and color. The Hindu faith also has multiple ways it depicts its deities, both in humanoid forms and in the form they would be found in the world. Overall, it is just an interesting way to look at how art has a profound impact outside of just the “art” world. I think a lot of people tend to think of art as extremely inaccessible, which has contributed to the rise in the use of AI. People think art is difficult to make and experience, so they turn to what they deem easier, but what many don’t think about is all the ways art is open to anyone. All you need is a phone and your finger, a pencil and paper, even a stick and a patch of dirt, anyone can make art even if it isn’t traditionally “good”. Art is for everybody and everybody should be for art!


 

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