The role of religious thought and influence on the development of Western art and culture - Term Paper Example

?The role of religious thought and influence on the development of Western art and culture A religion is very much a part of the believer’s identity,and as such will find a way into the creative life of the individual in many ways. Some artists may feel the need to use art to express their emotions towards the religion in question, and create poetry and paintings to illustrate how they feel in a direct and conscious manner. Other artists (or even the same artist at a different time) may even try to conceal their religious identity in their artwork, but at times it may still be evident and thus influential. As such, there are many examples of religious thought within the realm of Western art and culture, and these may come from less than obvious sources. The most populous religion in the Western world is Christianity, and it is true that this religion has had a large influence on Western art of all types. However, it would be wrong to assume that this is the only religion or religious movement that has exerted its effects on culture, as Islam and Eastern religions have travelled to the West and left their mark. Additionally, new religious movements can also be felt within some more contemporary examples of artistry, and these will be explored throughout this paper. The thesis is that art will prove to have been heavily influenced by several religious traditions throughout the ages and Christianity will prove to be more influential than most within the context of Western art and culture. Christianity As previously mentioned, Christianity has the most followers within the Western world, and as a result has had a large influence on the art found within this culture. Another reason why Christianity has produced such a substantial amount of artwork is that often depictions of holy scenes or leaders are forbidden in other religions but actively encouraged within many denominations of Christianity. There are several historical periods that have produced more Christian-based artwork than others. Probably the most famous and influential of these was the Renaissance, which is interesting because this was also an era of producing decidedly anti-Christian or atheist works. Although production of this type of work may not seem like an influence that Christianity has had on Western culture (rather the opposite), rebelling against the religion is still an important effect and as such these works will be discussed also. One of the most famous artists of the Renaissance period was Leonardo da Vinci, and he produced a number of paintings that reflect Christian ideology. Some of the most famous of these are The Last Supper, Virgin of the Rocks and Baptism of Christ, all of which were painted at the latter end of the 15th century (Janson & Janson, 2004) These works continue to have an astounding presence within the culture of today, and Leonardo da Vinci is one of the most mysterious and intriguing artists of this time, not least because some of his Christian based works seem to mask areligious messages. Many artists have cited da Vinci as an inspiration, meaning that these works continue to have a message today. Another figure within the Renaissance art world was Machiavelli, who was a political philosopher who created numerous works of poetry and literature. Interestingly, Machiavelli was a humanist and did not officially follow Christianity. However, given the religious climate at the time, Christianity indubitably affected the writing of Machiavelli, despite much of it being reactionary, and as such this can be classified as a lasting effect that Christianity has had on literature (Virolli, 1998). Although this was a time in which many pieces of art were for the Church or felt the need to appease the Church, there are other times in which Christianity has had an effect on art and culture in the West. For example, within modern times, a lot of work has been of an atheist nature, but many artists do still produce images in a religious vein. For example, Henri Matisse, a prolific French painter, produced a stained-glass window installation for a Church, suggesting that Christianity continues to have an effect on the visual arts in modern times. Additionally, religious literature is also being produced, with C.S. Lewis being an influential writer of this type. His series The Chronicles of Narnia is often seen as an allegorical Christian work due to Lewis’ role as a Christian apologetic (McGrath, 2001). Christian music is also important in the modern West, with there being several bands of all popular music genres producing music praising Jesus (Grout, Burkholder & Palisca, 2006). For example, the band Underoath is formed of all Christian members and influences of this can be found throughout the music. This suggests that Christianity still plays a major role in Western society, and perhaps always will due to its encouragement of creativity. Of course, as Christianity is such a large and influential religion, it is impossible to document all the roles that it plays in art and culture in the West, but the examples above show just how influential it has been to date. Islam Islam is a difficult religion to define, as it has its stronghold in the Middle East. It is an Abrahamic religion, like Christianity, and as such it is tempting to classify it as a Western religion, but many would suggest otherwise. However, despite this confusion, Islam has still contributed in many ways to the development of Western art and continues to do so today. Similarly to Christianity, it is possible to define historical periods and movements that define the role that the religion has had in the West. One of the main developments in the case of Islam was the Victorian Britons. The Victorians had a great appreciation for art and of course the British Empire began to develop throughout this period, and the combination of the two led to Islamic art being available in the West on a large scale for the first time. The most collected decorative items were the carpet and ceramics, of which the Victoria and Albert Museum in London continues to have a huge collection of (Heinemann, 2007). Whilst these are not necessarily religious art, they do come from the Islamic world and have brought with them several ideas and styles that have influenced Western culture greatly, and as such cannot be ignored. Again, the modern period has been an interesting time for the role of Islamic art in the Western World. The internet has allowed people from the West to access and appreciate Islamic art on a greater scale than ever before, having access to much of this via webpages. Art of all varieties can be found on the internet; visual, architectural, poetry and literature. Additionally, the spread of Islam to the West has meant that there has been an explosion in Islamic architecture, some of which has inspired buildings of other faiths. Many mosques, even in the West, are highly ornate. For example the Shah Jahan Mosque in London was built in 1889 and is highly decorative, featuring styles commonly found in the Middle East (Gilliat-Ray, 2010). Another interesting role of Islam in the West is dependent on the fact that Islam prohibits images of the prophet Muhammad, and as such any images of him produced by Western artists causes considerable controversy. For example, cartoons published in Jyllands-Posten in Denmark were negatively received by much of the Muslim community. This reaction seemed extreme for those used to Christianity, which freely welcomes artistic interpretations of the Holy Book, and as such Islam has a completely different role in Western art and culture. It will be interesting to see if these reactions, as well as the increasing availability of Muslim art, will integrate further and help develop Western artistry further. Buddhism and Shinto Another interesting connection that Victorian Britain made was with Japan. Again, the Victorian love of art and architecture ensured that many of the voyages to Japan came back loaded with artistic objects and ideas that have played a role in Western culture from that moment (Heinemann, 2007). The two dominant religions of Japan are Buddhism and Shinto, which cannot be separated because they interact in many complex ways. As with Islam, much of the art brought to Britain by the Victorian travellers was not as obviously religious as the Christian art, but contains religious undercurrents that have shaped the way the Western world sees Japanese religion and how this plays a role in Western culture today. One of the most prolific visual artists of Japanese religion was the Buddhist monk Enku. Enku created over 12,000 carvings of the Buddha in the 17th century, none of which are exactly identical. Statues similar to these can be found in many secular Western households today, where they are seen as cultural or merely as visual art (Chandra, 2003). Carvings of Buddha are a large part of Western culture, and as such Enku can be said to have played a direct and important role in the shaping of it. The Victorians saw some of these statues, and many others that were very similar, and brought them back to the United Kingdom as objects of interest (Heinemann, 2007). Other areas of Japanese religion that the Victorians may have inadvertently imposed on Western culture include the Japanese garden. Many gardens in this style can be found all over the Western world, although originally they were places of solitude and rest for followers of Shinto or Buddhism. Now they are seen as merely peaceful or artistic, but again it is evident that Japanese religion has played a large role in some areas of Western culture. During the Victorian era, the famous Japanese drawing style known as manga began to appear. Thanks in part to the development of the internet, mange has exploded in popularity within the Western world in the latter part of the 20th century and as such has an important role in Western culture. The related style of animation, anime, has also gained in popularity, suggesting that multimedia arts can also be shaped by outside influences. Whilst anime and manga may not seem overtly religious (and in many ways they are not), due the high prevalence of Shinto and Buddhism in Japan it is impossible that anime and manga will have escaped this influence. Combining all these factors, it is evident that Japanese religion has played a huge role in the development of Western art, and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. However, it is important to note that Japan has only relatively recently had contact with the Western world and as such the effects of Japanese religion cannot be as influential as that of Christianity. New Religious Movements New religious movements cannot be left from a discussion of art and culture in the West. Unlike the other religions discussed, new religious movements are a conglomeration of different beliefs that are often grouped together for practicality. New religious movements are, as the name suggests, a recent phenomenon, but this has still had an effect on art and culture. The Hare Krishna movement, for example, has had a large effect on Western music (Grout et al, 2006). The Hare Krishna chant is central to the movement, and can be found in songs written by The Beatles, as well as being referenced in a number of their songs, for example I Am the Walrus (Bromley, 2007). Hare Krishna is discussed in a wide range of literature, including works by Tom Wolfe and Peter Karey (Bromley, 2007). Scientology is another important movement within this definition and it too can be found within numerous examples of popular culture. For example, The China Town Death Cloud Peril, a work of fiction, portrays the early life of L. Ron Hubbard (Bromley, 2007), the founder of the movement. Although this is not directly related to the movement in any way, it does suggest that the Church of Scientology has permeated the Western psyche to a huge extent. Television is a relatively new cultural expression of creativity, but it too has been influenced by various new religious movements. Family Guy, for example, has an episode parodying the Heaven’s Gate Movement. The Simpsons, a hugely influential and popular American TV show, also has an episode dedicated to the exploration of cults, named The Joy of Sect (Bromley, 2007). Due to the wide range of these movements and their relative newness, it is hard to define precisely what role they have played in the development of Western art, but the numerous mentions of these movements within popular culture suggests it has played a significant part. Conclusion To conclude then, it is evident that a wide range of religions and religious ideas have heavily influenced Western culture and art, not all of which could be discussed in this paper. However, the prevalence of Christian art and music throughout history suggests that this religion has played the most important role in the development of Western culture, although other religions may become increasingly influential with time. It is also important to note the wide range of media available for expressing religious ideas or doctrines; music, literature, poetry, film, animation, visual, architectural and ceramic. Influences on all of these can be found within every religion and every era, from the Renaissance to The Beatles, and it is important to note this diversity to truly understand the development of Western culture, and how it is an amalgamation of many other cultures, each of which has had an influence on several aspects of culture. Another point raised by this paper is that art does not have to be religious for religion to play a part in its development, as reactions against religious doctrine or a conscious aim to remove religion from the creative arts suggests that religion is still playing a role in development. All these factors suggest that Christianity, Islam, Japanese religion and new religious movements have all been significant in the development of Western art and architecture and their prevalence in society today suggests that this will continue for the foreseeable future. Works Cited Gilliat-Ray, S. (2010). Muslims in Britain: An Introduction. Cambridge University Press. Grout, D. J., Burkholder, J. P., & Palisca, C. V. (2006). A history of western music. W.W. Norton. Heinemann. (2007). Victorian Art. Trans-Atlantic Pubns. Janson, H. W., & Janson, A. F. (2004). History of art: the Western tradition. Prentice Hall Professional. McGrath, A. E. (2001). Christian literature: an anthology. Wiley-Blackwell. Sasibala, & Chandra, L. (2003). Buddhist art: in praise of the divine. Lustre Press. Viroli, M. (1998). Machiavelli. Oxford University Press. Read More