 | It's time to get back to things Catholic like bashing church art since Vatican II. At first I thought to entitle this post "abstract art" in Latin, but upon consulting a Latin dictionary I found there is no word for "abstract." Abstract art is ars quod nulo sensu percipi notio mente sola concepta or “art removed from the sphere of the senses.” Amazing what Latin tells us about ourselves, isn't it? Abstract art isn't entirely removed from the realm of the senses. Such as it is, it obviously presents something to the senses. |
Consider a church that removed a beautiful Crucifix and replaced it with a big, red wall. The Crucifix is a symbol of so many of the treasures of the faith: the mystery of the Incarnation, the price of our redemption, the eternal high priest, the wisdom, power, and humiliy of God. I could go on but you get the point. The big, red wall is a big, red wall. "It's the blood of Christ, Sal." No, it's a big, red wall. And near the big, red wall is a priest who never preaches about the Eucharist. You could say it is anything! It's a sunset, it's a sunrise, it's red, red wine. The point is the meaning isn't evident. Anyone can say it is about anything. They could even say red is blue or green if they wish.
An example are these visages of the Stations of the Cross. Aside from the Roman numerals there is nothing literally symbolic them. Are those the women (all two of them!) of Jerusalem weeping as the head of Jesus passes along the way? I think these stations are wretched. Welcome to that 70's Parish.
