Religion and Art

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Chapter 8

• Religion and Art

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Moses said, Show me your glory, I pray. And
he said, I will make all my goodness pass before
you, and will proclaim before you the name, The
LORD and I will be gracious to whom I will be
gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show
mercy. But, he said, You cannot see my face
for no one shall see me and live. And the
LORD continued, See, there is a place by me
where you shall stand on the rock and while my
glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the
rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I
have passed by then I will take away my hand,
and you shall see my back but my face shall not
be seen. --Judaism Exodus 3318-23
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And let a person fix his mind in this manner,
and awaken deep faith and joy, and make an image
of the Buddha with all its signs. Then he gains
merit which is vast, and great, and measureless,
and limitless, and which can be neither weighed
nor counted. --Buddhism The Merit of Making
Images
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Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ
Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did
not regard equality with God as something to be
exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form
of a slave, being born in human likeness. And
being found in human form, he humbled himself and
became obedient to the point of death--even death
on a cross. Therefore God also highly exalted
him and gave him the name that is above every
name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee
should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the
earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus
Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the
Father. --Christianity, Philippians 25-11
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From the beginning all beings are Buddha. Like
water and ice, without water not ice, Outside us
no Buddhas. How near the truth, yet how far we
seek, Like one in water crying I thirst. How
vast is the heaven of boundless samadhi! How
bright and transparent the moonlight of
wisdom! What is there outside us, what is there
we lack? Nirvana is openly shown to our
eyes. This earth where we stand is the pure lotus
land, And this very body, the body of
Buddha. --Zen Buddhism Hakuin Ekakus Chant in
Praise of Zazen.
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Should there be images of God/gods/goddesses? One
of the Ten Commandments of Judaism (and
Christianity) tells people not to make images.
Why does that seem so different from the passage
on making images in the Buddhist excerpt?
Consider how the biblical passage Exodus 3318-23
deals with the problem.
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Philippians 25-11 has always been a key text in
the debate about imaging God. Use an example of
a representation of Jesus Christ to elucidate
this.
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The Dome of the Rock, one of the oldest Islamic
works of architecture, carries a mosaic band
above the arcades with an Arabic inscription
(Kufic). Why does calligraphy receive such a
heightened status in Islam? Use the inscription
above the Arcades on the Dome of the Rock in
Jerusalem as an example.
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What is your impression looking at the statue of
the Buddha seated on a Lotus flower? Please
describe it. What can one learn from it?
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Illustrate how language is used in the Chant in
Praise of Zazen by Hakuin Ekaku. Try to explain
the significance of the wording and structure of
the poem in the context of Zen Buddhism. From
the beginning all beings are Buddha. Like water
and ice, without water not ice, Outside us no
Buddhas. How near the truth, yet how far we
seek, Like one in water crying I thirst. How
vast is the heaven of boundless samadhi! How
bright and transparent the moonlight of
wisdom! What is there outside us, what is there
we lack? Nirvana is openly shown to our
eyes. This earth where we stand is the pure lotus
land, And this very body, the body of Buddha.
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Why do you think the picture of Chinese
calligraphy is considered religious art?
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As Nataraja the Lord of the Dance, Shiva exhibits
a manifestation of primal energy, designating the
aspects of creation, preservation and
destruction, illusion, and release. How does this
representation differ most significantly from
images or symbols referring to God in the
monotheistic traditions?
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Art and Religion

• Often art has served a religious purpose.
• (A corrollary might be that in more secular
  contexts art can become a religion itself for
  some people.)
• The best way to think about this is
• (a) consider the powerful nature of art itself
  (to humanize the world fo us and to present
  things to us in a humanly approachable
  way.--Noel Carroll)
• (b) consider the role of art in mediating the
  absolute for us.
• Art as
• open concept--no criteria necessary or
  sufficient, but criteria none-the-less
• game
• ambiguous

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Various Religious Views

• Hinduism
• Monotheism(s)
• Judaism
• Christianity
• Islam
• Buddhism

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Judgment (Autun, France)
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Gaugin. Spirit of the Dead Watching
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Munch. Madonna
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Untitled. Shirin Neshat.
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