Art and Religion in the Space of Modern Culture: Project of the Russian Academy of Arts

The Russian Academy of Arts presents an exhibition project “Art and Religion in the Space of Modern Culture” which launches a major interdisciplinary research and educational as well as museum and exhibition program of the Russian Academy of Arts aimed at the consolidation of artists, scientists, representatives of Russian Orthodox church in the discussion of urgent problems of modern culture development, ways of overcoming dehumanization of social space, new artistic forms of understanding of Russian spiritual heritage. The project’s curator: Academician of the Russian Academy of Arts Nickolai Mukhin.

The principle goal of the exhibition project is to show the originality of processes of interaction of cultures, historical connection and succession, philosophical comprehension of the centuries-old Christian tradition in the 21st century in the context of the rebirth of Russian sacral culture exemplified in contemporary works of art.

Processes taking place in today’s Russia at the turn of the 21st century in many aspects resemble turns of previous epochs in Russian history, its most dramatic events, when the society in general, and an individual in particular had to face a choice time and again. These parallels are drawn up in the political, economic and cultural aspects and continue a centuries-old spiritual way.

“Many times our ancestors gave way to the barbarian temptation to profit by innumerable wealth of Tsargrad. Fortunately and to their credit, in their thirst for military trophies and gains they have not lost the most significant: the Russians understood the essence of the greatest treasure of Byzantium. It was not gold or precious stones and not even arts and sciences. The most important treasure of Byzantium was God. Having visited all the countries known at that time, it was in Byzantium, that the ambassadors of Prince Vladimir realized a real interaction between God and man, as well as a possibility of a live contact with another world. “We do not know where we were – in the heaven or on earth”, - said our amused ancestors about their presence at the divine liturgy in the Empire’s patriarchal basilica – Hagia Sophia. They highly appreciated the treasure to be obtained in Byzantium. And it was on this wealth, that our great forefathers created neither banks nor capital or even museums and pawn-shops but Rus’, Russia – a spiritual heiress to Byzantium”. (From the film “Byzantine Lesson”, Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov).

The spiritual space of Russian culture contains specimens of the triumph of faith and rapid degradation, spiritual impoverishment and extraordinary moral heights. The faith and its artistic depiction is a main point in the complicated process of the rebirth of spiritual tradition, not once broken at the state level in Russian history, but nevertheless preserved in the hearts of true believers. Many times the history has been re-written to please new rulers, new tastes and new rules, however, a miraculous escape happened time and again opening to new generations a unique spiritual culture and its visible images.

For each new generation a real finding of Orthodox relics is not only a discovery of the treasury of Russian and Byzantine religious art, deep scientific and artistic study, but also a centuries-old experience of self knowledge and comprehension of the surrounding world, personal mission, as well as a possibility to obtain a spiritual power and inspiration.

Today, many researchers and artists turn to the legacy of Byzantine art seeing in it a potential for gaining a strength of spirit, formation of a national identity. “Byzantine education for us is not simply a private factor, significant as any education in any field, but also an opportunity to revive our national self-consciousness and dignity, to realize who we are. That is why for us Byzantium is something very determinative and of great importance. It is on the Byzantine foundation that the rebirth of our identity can be accomplished”. (A.M. Lidov, art historian, Academician).

There is a circle of common sources inspiring writers, philosophers, architects, painters, composers. These are monuments of the Christian spiritual idea, Old Russian and Byzantine religious art. The new stage of study of Byzantine art worldwide has been proved by major exhibition projects shown in New York, London, Paris, such as the “Holy Russia” in the Louvre and the State Tretyakov Gallery (2010), “Athos” in Petit Palais (Paris), publication of fundamental papers “Byzantium. Faith and Power (1261-1557)” (2004) emphasizing the urgency of the phenomenon of common features of Byzantine and Russian art for contemporary art.

The new role of the religious art is connected with radical changes in the world view and attitude of the society to religion, regaining of faith after a long period of prohibition. For the rebirth of religious art and churches in Russia at the turn of the 21st century a symbolic event was a recreation of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow. Today’s leading artists of monumental painting were involved in the revival of the Cathedral’s icon and wall painting under the supervision of the President of the Russian Academy of Arts Zurab Tsereteli. Now, the recreated Cathedral can also serve as a museum of modern religious painting and real school for many masters of religious art. The iconographic schemes and ornamental themes of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior have been further developed in wall paintings of Orthodox churches both in Russia and other countries.

In the first decade of the 21st century Russian academicians executed a number of projects on the interior decoration of Orthodox churches abroad including St. Nickolas Patriarchal Cathedral in New York (U.S.A); Church of Ascension in the city of Ub (Serbia) and Church of Transfiguration in Zagreb (Croatia); Church of St. Modest of Jerusalem on the Holy Mountain Athos (Greece); wall painting in the residence of the Jerusalem Patriarch Bartholomew (Israel); Church of St. Anthony the Great in Mexico (Mexico) and many others. Chairs of Religious Art have been set up in academic institutes whose graduates are now leaders of independent icon-painting cooperatives.

Researchers have only started studying the history of the Orthodox church of the 20th- early 21st century. The circle of this period’s religious artworks is a vast cultural stratum that needs systematization and comprehension: creation of images of newly proclaimed saints, compositions depicting the history of modern Russia, application of innovative technologies and materials in church art, “hierotopic” non-linear studies of world culture.

Russian art is impossible without its connection with Christian ideas. Artists have always been exited and inspired by traditions of creating morally purifying art. The necessity to preserve the tissue of the historical past, aspiration for generating a national idea, searches for finding a pivot under conditions of existing discords in the society are the essence of Russian culture and its nerve. Today, one can speak about the ascent of the religious art in Russia in spite of all critical periods in Russian history and sometimes problem situations in the development of church art. We keep up artistic traditions, strive for philosophical understanding of the Christian heritage, as well as have a recognized culture of handicraft and professionalism, that distinguishes a piece of art from a talented amateur work.

The exposition of the project “Art and Religion in the Space of Modern Culture” includes works of architecture, monumental art, icon painting, sculpture, painting, installation, video-art created by contemporary Russian artists such as Zurab Tsereteli, Eugene Maximov, Nickolai Mukhin, Alexander Rukavishnikov, Alexander Burganov, Konstantin Khudyakov, Irina Starzhenetskaya, Anatoly Komelin, Leonid Baranov, Sergey Milchenko, Natalya Zakharova, Gor Chokhal and others. Without claiming for totality the exhibition features works of modern art created in Byzantine tradition. The integral picture of modern cultural space is accompanied by the music of Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeyev) and documentary films of Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov).

Art can not stop developing and the search for a language adequate to the epoch is a natural process. Neither churches built before, nor the language of painting or musical works of previous times can be mechanically cloned and be demanded in such a form at the beginning of the new millennium. At present, the burning issue of discussions is limits, the measure of the possible in art, ways of depicting the spiritual tradition. Disputes on this theme and results of heated debates are consonant with the resolution adopted in the 8th century by Fathers of the Seventh Oecumenical Council: All that is a reminiscence of God pleases Him”.

Nowadays, guided not only by the talent, exquisite aesthetic perception, innovative thinking, but also by understanding of his destiny, spiritual upbringing and responsibility for himself and the society every artist is free in choosing his own way, which “leads to the temple” or in the opposite direction.





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