Hilary White: Spiritual Intersections between Art and Faith
Expose Art Magazine
The arts as early as the 4th century of the Byzantine era through the early Gothic period of the 12th century were created and commissioned for the sole use of the church. Most artists of this time were limited to creating images that were deemed “useful” to extend the gospels to the poor and illiterate including the visual depictions of the old and new testaments in places of worship. During the end of the Gothic period a more pluralistic view of art emerged.
In the early 19th century a phrase was coined “Art for the sake of Art”. Which became a sort of mantra for the creative individuals of that era. This new movement meant a total disengagement of art from any religious, moral, or utilitarian function, art meant to stand alone as a means unto itself.
My work is an attempt to wrestle with these two approaches, creating out of the struggle to join my personal faith in God into my mixture of influences; insecurities, doubts, vanities, and culture. The work is an exploration of theology and imagination, Christ working through chaos and diluted ethos to establish hope, a reconciler for the graceful and the grotesque.
Using symbolism exploring Biblical text, diagrams from scientific hypothesis, and visual psychedelia produced by an influx of cultural influence seemingly aimed at searching for the “unknown” the work serves as a catalyst to further reflect upon topics of belief and wonder as intellectual and spiritual intersections between fact and faith.
