The meaning of life , the origin of
life and the cause, nature and purpose of the universe , human nature
,ethics , devotional and ritual obervance and the moral code
governing the conduct of human affairs. These are universal aspects
of the human condition and the foundations of religion.
Tristan Griffin , a third year art
student majoring in sculpture at Murwillumbah Tafe Colledge, has
spent the first semester of 2014 exploring the relationship between
religions , contemporary society and the human condition through a
series of sculptures.
Students were presented with the units,
Originate a Body of Independent Creative Work
, Evolve Ideas for Professional
Creative Work and Originate and Develop Concepts and were asked to
conceive, develop and realise three sculptures in Semester 1 working
on an aspect of the human condition.
Griffin
believes it is essential that an artist’s work reflects their
heart, it comes from what they know , the things that are important
to them in their lives , their beliefs and personal taste. Their best
works will be those that resonate with what they think, do and say in
their lives.
So
It was natural for Griffin to chose Religion as the aspect of the
human condition as it is such a large part of my own life. He serve
as a Deacon at C3 Kingscliff , a progressive pentacostal church , and
participates in many related events in the community. By making
contemporary religious art griffin is able to open a dialogue with
his viewers enabling him to share the good news of the gospel and
scriptures with a broader audience.
Alan
Kaprow’s essays into total art have influenced Griffin’s choice
in majoring in the field of sculpture. Kaprow suggested that art had
the potential in not only acting as a “mirror of time” but to
allow the viewer to experience it by use of space, time, sound, smell
and light. Griffins attempts to apply this ideal while focusing on
grab factor , sound concept and technical competency.
Griffin’s work has been
aesthectically and conceptually influenced by artists that delt with
the existential aspects of the human condition such as Antony Gormley
, Ron Mueik , Lindy Ivemay, Bill Viola and Damien Hurst.
Antony Gormley, Bill Viola and Ron
Mueik’s exploration of the human form and human condition informed
Griffin’s approach to his art making him aware of the importance of
scale, form, spaciality and the potential to make “an
attempt to materialise the place at the other side of appearance
where we all live.”1
Antony Gormley and Lindy Ivemay’s
diverse approach to representing the human form both with the
displacement and sculptural construction as well as texture and
surfacing have transformed Griffin’s technical approach to
portraying the human form. Jeff Koons and Damien Hurst’s approach
to their practices , with both taking advantage of 2D and 3D
disciplines led to Griffin choosing in his own practice to use
whatever medium that strengthens the artistic concept he wishes to
portray.
Griffins research during 2014 extended
into contemporary Christian religious art , which proved difficult as
there seemed to be a trend among the painters to focus on abstraction
and expressionism with focus on traditional Christian images ie the
cross. In the sculptural field there were even fewer examples with
many “Christian” works being made by non believers, for example
David Mach’s sculpture entitled Die Harder
.
David
Mach , Die Harder , sculpture
“When was the last time you saw an
explicitly religious work of contemporary art? Odds are you can’t
remember. If you can, it’s because it will have stood out like the
Pope in a brothel. Religious art, when it’s not kept safely
confined within gilt frames in the medieval departments of major
museums, is taboo.”2
Art that is religious is different from
art that is talking about religion. For the sake of argument
religious art needs to be art about that religion and preferable the
artist making that work needs to believe in that religion
. Art that is talking about religion is
acceptable, often adorned with a vestment of anthropology or social
science.
Even established artists such as Bill
Viola and Damien Hirst face opposition when dabbling in religious
work. Bill Viola says “some of the critics just went crazy... here
I am a contemporary artist... making a work about a catholic saint”3
,when talking about the title of his piece titled room for saint
john of the cross .
Bill
Viola , room for saint john of the cross , installation
Andres
Serrano , Piss Christ ,Photography
One of the most well known and
controversial example is Piss Christ , a 1987 photograph by
the American artist
and photographer
Andres Serrano.
It depicts a small plastic crucifix
submerged in a glass of the artist's urine
, aluding to the effect commercialism has had on the catholic church.
Traditionally there has been emphasis
in religious art on the depiction of the story of Christ and the
apostles. But very little emphasis on the application and
understanding of the scriptures themselves. Griffin’s work is
focusing on the lessons that were being taught in the scriptures.
Lessons that “produce love, joy, peace, patients, kindness,
goodness, faithfulness, humility and self control.” 4
An artists that was Christian and
working with religious art is American painter Thomas Kinkade (1958 -
2012). Thomas Kinkade Rendered his paintings in highly
idealistic American scene painting values, his works often portray
bucolic, idyllic settings such as gardens, streams, stone cottages,
lighthouses and Main Streets and also depict various Christian themes
including the Christian cross and churches. The fine-art world
overwhelmingly derided Kinkade's work as little more than
commercially successful kitsch.
Kinkade said he
was placing emphasis on the value of simple pleasures and that his
intent was to communicate inspirational, life-affirming messages
through his work. A self-described "devout Christian"
Kinkade said he gained his inspiration from his religious beliefs and
that his work was intended to contain a larger moral dimension.
Thomas
Kinkade, along the lighted path , Painting
After facing difficulty finding
Christian artists , Griffin focused his research into meta narratives
, seeking and finding answers.
Grand narrative or “master narrative”
is a term introduced by Jean-François
Lyotard(1924- 1998) in
his classic 1979 work The
Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge, in which Lyotard
summed up a range of views which were being developed at the time, as
a critique of the institutional and
ideological forms of knowledge. Post
structuralist writers such as Jean Baudrillard(1929 – 2007) and
Michael Foucault(1926 – 1984) discussed futher the Postmodern
Condition.
Jean
Baudrillard wrote
that we live in a media dominated world and meanings are mediated for
us. Lives gain meaning through consumption and we ‘become’
products” , this can be seen with artist branding and
commercialism.Foucault
wrote Truth is relative and gained through a societal process known
as a discourse ,for example the nature of femininity has been a
social discourse of the late C20th and the view has shifted.
The church system has been struggling
in the face of the The Postmodern Condition , many traditional
churches have seen their followers numbers dwindle where as
charasmatic churches, such as the Pentacostal movement, have
flourished as they reflect contemporary society.
The critical questions in faith has
shifted from “what is true? To “What makes me feel good”
It is accepted that the societal
effects of Post modernism, deconstructavism and Post Structuralism
can been seen everywhere and religion and society have become
dichotomous. We live in an age of independence , an age where
“meaning and truth is created”5
by the individual , morality is relative , perversions celebrated and
personal choice rules .
We live in an age where Religion is
seen an oppressive bureaucracy and No religion has the right to
pronounce itself right or true. religion is broadly seen today by
many progressive thinkers to be a cause of intolerance and war ,
faith-based political fanatiscism , backward-thinking attitudes to
women or sexuality and having moral contradiction to the ways people
want to live their lives.
For
Griffin the Post modern condition created a sense of disorientation
and confusion in the face of an apparently meaningless and absurd
world. Contemporary art ,as it thrives on the questioning of
current ideas and trends , acting as a visual stimulus to
contemplation , allowed Griffin to grow in his faith and share it
with others in a way that is relevant.
Its
not easy to make work about what you believe in , especially when
those beliefs are in opposition with societies beliefs. For Griffin
“an artist isnt paid for his labor, but for his vision.” 6
and “Vision is the act of seeing what is invisible to others”7
Hold onto that vision and do not allow lables (such as painter or
sculptor) to stop you from pushing and searching new pathways of
expressing your ideas simply because they have never been done. In
doing so , you will be able to re-define the labels and yourself as
an artist.
1
Antony Gormley
2
frieze magazine , Believe it or Not 2010 by Dan
Fox
3 Bill
Viola , Cameras are soul keepers , video
4
Galatians 5:22 GNB
5 Richard
Rorty
6
James MsNeill Whistler
7
Johnathan Swift
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