Professional paper
Red God: Reflections on Yearning, God and Abstract Art
Stipe Odak
orcid.org/0000-0002-2975-723X
Abstract
In this article the author gives a theological reflection on abstract art and its role in liturgical service. An analysis of nostalgia as a special kind of yearning is given as a pre-amble to discussion on the connection between art and transcendence. Through a deeper analysis of historical role of visual art, the author emphasizes its importance in development of human civilization and cultural patterns. Observing visual art as a special way of speaking about God, special attention is dedicated to development of theology of image in Judaism and Christianity. Abstract art as an oppositional movement to traditional art is perceived as a possibility of new visual expression based on fundamental semantics of colors and relations. Th eological scopes of abstract art and possibilities for new liturgical iconography are comprehensively explored. Finally, a theological importance of pre-figural elements – color and light – is elucidated in the context of theology of light.
Keywords
Abstract art; liturgical art; theology of image; nostalgia; iconoclasm
Hrčak ID:
72419
URI
Publication date:
30.9.2011.
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