Christian Art in the Age of Aquarius |
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Here be dragons. And doves. |
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People in our modern age have difficulty recognising their own ancient Christian heritage. Very few of us were raised with any exposure to old Western Christianity and to the elements of liturgy, tradition, and art that contributed to the creation of illuminated manuscripts and books valued by Europeans in their own cultural heritage. When Charles III was crowned in May 2023, the archbishop presented His Majesty with a book that is fundamental to the identity of the English people. And yet, the majority of the English now alive would not recognize it. The Gospels of St Augustine made an appearance at the coronation, signalling homage to the man who converted the Anglo-Saxons and their king to Christianity. The book is a relic of the baptism of England, and yet the English world has forgotten this part of its own origin story. Art is crucial to reviving memory, and to restoring identity. Christian art is likewise the crux of our meditation this week, as the Ark focuses on the role of creating (poesis) as an act of devotion and means to revelation of sacred truth that cannot be found in any other form. Art as devotion? That is Professor Fulton Brown's assertion: that Western Civilization emerged as an act of devotion in the making of art for God. This week DCR focus on the art of illuminating the Gospels in a very unique form. |
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Hosanna, Superstar! This week the Mosaic Ark focused on the iconic Jesus Christ Superstar and wondered why it is so hard to explain why we love Christ. Taking our cue from the hippy rock opera, we meditated on the desire for a saviour that even we struggle to define ourselves. So how do we preach the Gospel? Like the cast of the film riding a bus through archaeological sites, the Ark has sailed an anachronistic Internet to find ourselves disciples of Christ between two worlds at once: that of ancient Christendom and high tech Western Modernity. How do we unite the two disparate worlds to bring Western Civilization to the Cross? This week we muse on the 1973 film to discover that artists hold the key to bring Modernity into the holy trip of the Apostles. Psychedelic? Try poetic! | | |
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Drawing the Veil Explaining Christ in art takes courage. It takes the courage of a panda to grasp for the sacred things when you feel unqualified to grasp them. But that is what our panda did in Aurora Bearialis, after ascending to the summit of the Holy Mountain in rapture. How does art help us to experience the transcendentals? In our book, DCR portrayed Christ as the Griffin, a majestic creature which terrifies and yet draws the bears towards himself. Sound familiar? Take a look at how our panda joyfully pierces the veil of the Temple to find himself face to face with the Light of the World. | | |
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Smartbooks The Art of Prayer In the ancient West, Christians were obsessed with making beautiful art books. Okay, they didn't call them ”art books", but books of prayers. These books called Books of Hours are almost totally forgotten by Western Civilization, which is like forgetting about smartphones a few years from now. So ubiquitous were these custom-made prayer books that almost everybody in Europe who could read had one, regardless of how often they actually used them, and like our phones they were on the hand (and on the tongue) of every Christian. The books were a tool for daily devotions, something on hand for reflection and prayer. So what were these Books of Hours? Professor Rachel Fulton Brown has written the reference guide to this forgotten technology in Mary and the Art of Prayer, explaining the importance of the psalms and the Ave Maria in the cultivation of the Christian European nations. How did ancient Christians chant David's psalms to realize Christ? What importance did devotion to the Virgin Mary have in this realization? Learn the lost art of prayer with Professor Fulton Brown! Mary clothed with the Sun, Book of Hours, Regenstein Library Special Collections MS 347, fol. 199v | | |
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