Contemplations of the Spiritual in Art (Cultural Interactions: Studies in the Relationship between the Arts)

This Essay Collection Exploring The Relationship Between Spirituality And Art Is The Result Of A Conference That Took Place In December 2010 At Liverpool Cathedral. During This Two-day Event, Artists, Clergy And Academics From Different Disciplines Including Theology And Art History Came Together To Discuss The Relationship Between Spirituality And Art. One Of The Objectives Of Both The Conference And This Collection Was To Clarify What Is Meant By Spiritual Art Or, Indeed, What It Means To Describe An Artwork As Being Spiritual. The Essays Expand On This Issue By Addressing The Following Questions: What Is The Relationship Between Spirituality And Art In The Context Of The Art Gallery, Religious Institutions And The Academy And At Personal And Social Levels? How And Why Does Art Convey Spirituality And, Conversely, Why And How Is Spirituality Made Manifest In Works Of Art? Many Of The Contributors Examine The Spiritual Aspects Of Particular Artworks, Artists Or Artistic Traditions, And Ask What We Mean By The Spiritual In Art. The Volume Articulates The Interdisciplinary Nature Of The Subject And Explores Pressing Concerns Of The Contemporary Age--amazon.com. Introduction / Rina Arya -- The Spiritual And The Aesthetic / Matthew Rowe -- Friedrich Schlegel : On Painting And Transcendence / Franco Cirulli -- Creating The Sacred : Artist As Priest, Priest As Artist / Nicholas Buxton -- Immanence, Transcendence And Liturgical Space In A Changing Church / Peter M. Doll -- Out Of Nothing : Painting And Spirituality / Michael Evans -- Outsider Art And Alchemy / David Parker -- Necessarily Selfless Action : An Enactment Of Simone Weil's Notion Of Attention As A Practice Of Detachment Through Observational Drawing / Dino Alfier -- Installation As Encounter : Ernesto Neto, Do-ho Suh And Kathleen Herbert / Ayla Lepine -- Fragile Visions : Reading And Re-reading The Work Of Geoffrey Clarke / Judith Legrove -- Painting The Questions : Barnett Newman's Stations Of The Cross / Maxine Walker -- Painting In A Godless World : Contemplating The Spiritual In Francis Bacon / Rina Arya -- Spirituality And Modernism / Harry Lesser -- The Spiritual In Contemporary Art / David Jasper. Rina Arya (ed.). Includes Bibliographical References And Index. This essay collection explores the relationship between spirituality and art, the result of an interdisciplinary conference on the topic including artists, clergy, theologians and art historians. This collection seeks to clarify what is meant by spiritual art, or indeed, what it means to describe an artwork as being spiritual. "As this work demonstrates, the conversation about the spiritual in art is far from over, and this collection of essays will help invigorate that debate in fresh and timely ways." (Taylor Worley, Theological Book Review 26.1, 2014)