I have realized that both art and religion are relevant today, in fact, religion is still rising with the addition of religions such as Scientology, which emerged less than 90 years ago. People rely on religion to guide them through their every day and to save them from all the evils in the world. Even though religion is not as highly accepted as it was back in the ancient world it is still vital to our lives. We see the rise in religions through the constant building of places of worship for the many new followers. Sadly, there is a lot of controversy in religion today because people fail to accept religion for what it truly is without compromising their religious beliefs with their political thoughts. We see religion alive today during Christmas and Easter in malls, parks, and other city attractions. For example, Valley Fair and Santana Row, one of the biggest malls in our area, puts up a Christmas Tree every year during the holidays and has Santa there for the children. This helps keep religion alive in not only the adults but also the children.
Art, very much like religion, is also alive in today's world. Although, it is not in the same form that it was in the 15th century art still shapes everything around us. All the beautiful music, buildings, novels, poems, sculptures, etc. are our forms of art which keep us alive and sane. Artists of today still rely very much on ancient art to find themselves in each individual piece that they make. Art is a form of expression for the individual and in my opinion will forever stay alive and be relevant to our lives and the lives of the generations to come. Art is a greater power that we do not have any control over, yet it has all the control over us. It shapes who we are and who we want to be, because we express our true selves through art.
Through my own experiences I have seen that art and religion will forever be relevant in people's lives and forever help them express themselves.
I also see art as being one of the fundamental forms of expression that humanity has used since primitive times that is often used to express religious, political, or personal views.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the more generic religious art seen and sold during the Christmas and other holiday seasons also shows the prevalence and spread of religious art today.
Your comments also made me think of how important art has built upon itself over the millenium, especially in relation to the changing cultural atmosphere that is often shaped by religion's evolution and conflicts. To a certain extent, it is impossible to separate the Renaissance art and religion in shaping today's art, even when it is secular.
I must agree with you that religion is alive during Christmas in malls and parks. Vasona park in Los Gatos displays an abundance of Christmas decorations and beautiful lights. It's a must see!
ReplyDeleteYou have a great point here...religion has indeed influenced art to this day with our celebrations of Christmas and Easter. I think that it is fairly widely accepted for most people that things like Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny related to them are purely secular. Even if one does not subscribe to the religion that 'originally' spawned these holidays, it is sad to see that the acceptance of diversity in religion has deteriorated in our country to the extent that many public places must now display "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas". True these holidays are a religious tradition for many people, and that's perfectly fine with me. But beyond that, for many, they are simply an American one. Personally, they remind me of my childhood and Christmas will always be my favorite time of year...and, whether or not I believe in angels, there will always one on top of my tree.
ReplyDeletecurious, are the representations of religion more/less spiritual than the examples we have been reading about...
ReplyDeletemany people have claimed that Christmas for example has become an example marketing and commodities...that somehow, the true spirit has been lost. Does religious art or art that represents religion still have a the same affect as the Last Supper? Masaccio's Trinity?