Faith Art

AY2018/2019 Semester 1

This course is designed to situate art and artists in a number of diverse spiritual contexts and in so doing allow students to explore art history through a variety of human beliefs. This will include, but is not limited to: the rituals of worship, sacred spaces, divine objects, images of magic, illuminated manuscripts and so on. For example, case studies will: demonstrate how stained glass windows tell us biblical stories; ask what kind of secrets the faceless Venus of the Stone Age hides from us; suggest which tunes Islamic calligraphy `sings' to our eyes; analyse what Jocho's Amida Buddha has been telling us throughout the centuries, and much more. Course Content How do we define religious/sacred art? What makes art, a space/ architecture religious/sacred? What makes art and architecture religious/sacred in the contemporary world? Defining the basic features of art/architecture of Bahai Faith, Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Sikh Faith, Jain Faith, ancient and indiginious religions from Africa, America and Pacific. Comparing and contrasting religious art/architectures from different time periods, geographies and cultures. These topics will be discussed and critiqued in class lectures and tutorials. You will give a short 10-minute presentation and write a 2,000 word essay discussing a given topic.