Religion and arts

1. Religion, Art, Music and
Literature

2. What Is Art?
– Expressive Culture—manifestations of
human creativity
Many cultures lack terms that can be
translated easily as “art” or “the arts”
• Arts include music, theater arts, visual
arts, storytelling, and literature

3. What Is Art?
 Aesthetics—“qualities perceived in
works of art...; the...mind and emotions
in relation to the sense of beauty” (The
Random House College Dictionary)
• Art—“the quality, production,
expression, or realm of what is beautiful
or of more than ordinary significance;
the class of objects subject to aesthetic
criteria”

4. What Is Art?
– Jacques Maquet (1986) claims an artwork
is something that stimulates and sustains
contemplation
Such an artistic attitude can be combined and
used to bolster religious attitude
Much art done in association with religion
Art may be created, performed, or displayed
outdoors in public or in special indoor settings
• Art and Religion

5. What Is Art?
 Art and Religion
– Rites of passage often feature special
music, dance, song, bodily adornment, and
other manifestations of expressive culture
In any society, art produced for its aesthetic value as
well as for religious purposes

6. Early forms
 Music came from early chants of
prayers. Collective and resonated
example Samveda
 Literature – Prayers – Rigveda
 Mythology
 Paintings and Statues- Fertility goddess
 Dance –Santal/Oraon
– Shiva , Krishna

8. Manipuri Dance

10. Twelve Gods in Turkey

11. Ancient Age
 Samuel, David and Solomon musicians
– in Hebrew Mythology (songs of
Solomon, songs of deliverance etc.)
 Singing trainings by the prophets
 A number of Greek Gods and
goddesses
 Gods for music and dance
 Vedic gods –Narad
 Buddha -Amprapali

18. Middle Age
 Statues and Paintings for worship
 Islam banned worshipping statues
 Islamic Calligraphy developed
 Recitation

21. Buddhism, Taoism and
Confucianism

24. David
Michelang
elo
created
his
masterpie
ce David
in 1504.

25. Sistine Chapel
About a year after creating
David, Pope Julius II
summoned Michelangelo to
Rome to work on his most
famous project, the ceiling of
the Sistine Chapel.

26. Creation of Eve Creation of Adam
Separation of Light and The Last Judgment

27. La Pieta 1499
Marble Sculpture

28. Moses

29. The Last Supper

31. Dance

33. Music

34. Music