Search for the Sacred

Part 1

How do we describe the unknowable?What are the big questions that religion addresses?

Hindu god, Ganesha, remover of obstacles

Religions in the World How do you think our global population today is divided?

• Judaism (Middle East) 1700 BCE • African Tribal Religions 1500 BCE• Hinduism(India) 1500 BCE• Shinto (Japan) 700 BCE• Zoroastrianism (Iran) 600 BCE• Confucianism (China) 600 BCE• Buddhism (India to China) 525 BCE• Jainism (India) 500 BCE• Taoism (China and Japan) 400 BCE• Christianity (offshoot of Judaism) 33 CE• Islam (Arabia, Middle East) 600 CE

The lines between gods and humans are often fuzzy….

How have artists tackled this issue of the human versus the divine?

Iranian prehistoric earth goddesses, made from molds

Anthropomorphic=Suggesting human

characteristics, motivation or character

Cursed be he to whom a line is merely up or down. Wm Blake,

"Cursed be he to whom a "line is merely up and down.” Wm Blake, 1757-1827

Michelangelo’s god in a white beard

The human imagination is very creative when representing gods…

Shiva, Hindu god of destruction and transformation, dancing atop the demon of ignorance

Aztec “Two God” of Creation

“God spoke to Howard Finster—or so the story goes—in 1976, as the Southern preacher and self-described ‘master of 22 different trades’ was painting a repaired bicycle. A splotch of paint on his thumb formed what resembled a human face, and Finster heard a voice tell him to “paint sacred art.” Finster obeyed.” Lauren Weinberg, Time Out Chicago, August 5, 2010

“God is just another artist, like me.” Salvador Dali, 1

904-89

Dali, The Birth of a God

The Unknowable often takes on the characteristics of animals

Tibetan Monkey god—A new buddha appears at every age to show Enlightenment. In Tibet, he came in the form of a monkey.

Zoomorphic = using animal

forms to symbolize qualities

Chi wara—antelope and chameleon represents sun and earth. Bambara group of Western Africa uses the figure in rituals for a bountiful harvest. Baby on the back shows fertility and survival.

The Unknowable can be a color….

Hindu god, Krishna, is an avatar= descent of a deity

Or a shape…

Gauguin, Day of the Gods, 1894, at the Art Institute of Chicago

Or the simple zip of a color into a shape

Barnett Newman, Onement #1, 1948

Or completely invisible, an implied line…

Caravaggio, The Calling of St. Matthew, 1559, oil, 127x130”, Rome

Consider the composition of the Last SupperHow do the elements help to relate the story?

DaVinci, Last Supper, 1498, pigment on drywall, Milan, Italy, 181”x346”

Disciple John or Mary Magdalene?

The painting has survived bombings, doors that eliminate Jesus’ feet, prisoners scratching out disciple’s eyes

Dali, Last Supper, 1955Oil on canvas,, 105”x65”, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DCWhat compositional alterations has Dali made?

And all is well in Legoland