New Christian art? The socio-political context

Abstract

The text is an attempt to indicate the areas of metaphysical competence of the latest art. It points to the fact that it is possible to bring current artistic practices and contemporary religious sensitivity closer together. It contains an outline of the historical changes that have led to today's divergence of the art that is close to religious circles from the institutional mainstream. At the same time, the paper shows that artworks with metaphysical and religious meanings occur in many different areas of today’s artistic circulation and are created also with the use of the latest art media. It emphasizes the role of properly understood tradition, capable of constantly updating its forms while maintaining unchanging spiritual values. The author draws attention to the socio-political context of the influence of art carrying the so-called universal values and the need for a dialogical approach to the programmes od activity of public cultural institutions.

Keywords

• contemporary art
• religious art
• sacred art
• christianity
• metaphysics
• social dialogue
• public policies
• cultural policy
• artistic tradition
• cultural institutions