Transforming Christian Thought in the Visual Arts : Theology Aesthetics and Practice

This volume explores how the visual arts are presenting and responding to Christian theology and demonstrates how modern and contemporary artists and artworks have actively engaged in conversation with Christianity. Modern intellectual enquiry has often been reluctant to engage theology as an enriching or useful form of visual analysis, but critics are increasingly revisiting religious narratives and Christian thought in pursuit of understanding our present-day visual culture. In this book an international group of contributors demonstrate how theology is often implicit within artworks and how, regardless of a viewer’s personal faith, it can become implicit in a viewer’s visual encounter. Their observations include deliberate juxtaposition of Christian symbols, imaginative play with theologies, the validation of non-confessional or secular public engagement, and inversions of biblical interpretation. Case studies such as an interactive Easter, glow-sticks as sacrament, and visualisation of the Bible’s polyphonic voices enrich this discussion. Together, they call for a greater interpretative generosity and more nuance around theology’s cultural contexts in the modern era. By engaging with theology, culture, and the visual art, this collection offers a fresh lens through which to see the interaction of religion and art. As such, it will be of great use to those working in Religion and the Arts, Visual Art, Material Religion, Theology, Aesthetics, and Cultural Studies. Additional ISBNs036744321X, 1003008968, 0367776081, 9780367443214, 9781003008965, 9780367776084Transforming Christian Thought in the Visual Arts: Theology, Aesthetics, and Practice 1st Edition and published by Routledge. ISBNs for Transforming Christian Thought in the Visual Arts are 9781000386073, 1000386074 and the print ISBNs are 9780367443214, 036744321X. Additional ISBNs include 036744321X, 1003008968, 0367776081, 9780367443214, 9781003008965, 9780367776084.