Pope Seeks to Restore Alliance between Art and Faith
(10 Sep 09 - RV) On November 21 in the Sistine Chapel, Benedict XVI will meet painters,
sculptors, architects, musicians, masters of the theatre and film from around the
world.
The meeting
was presented Thursday morning at the Holy See Press Office by Archbishop Ravasi President
of the Pontifical Council for Culture.
In 1964 Paul VI, was the first Pope
to reach out to the artistic world when he met with artists and called for a new alliance
between the divine inspiration of faith and the creative inspiration of art. This
wish was reiterated in a letter addressed to artists ten years ago by John Paul II.
Now, it seems its time to try again.
Art – says Archbishop Ravasi –
has increasingly become dedicated to experiments with form and language and has abandoned
"the idea that the artwork embodies a transcendent vision of being":
"Art
has become sophisticated, at times incomprehensible. It is has become an exclusive
stylistic research, and often self-referential. Sometimes it tends towards provocation
but overall has placed the great religious canons on a shelf to collect dust”.
Aware
of this distance between art and faith, in meeting with artists on November 21 Pope
Benedict XVI hopes to establish a dialogue towards a new and "fruitful alliance" between
“art and the Church”
"Ideally the Pope is taking the plunge in launching the
dialogue. How will the artists respond? The should begin to respond through their
works. Then we would hope to encourage a certain resonance for these works within
their national communities".
The hardest part was the selection of artists
who will meet the Holy Father. The choice – said Archbishop Ravasi - was made with
particular attention to the artistic level achieved, taking into account the different
geographical and cultural contexts.
Among those who have already confirmed
their attendance to the meeting with the Holy Father are the sculptor Arnaldo Pomodoro,
the composer Ennio Morricone and director Giuseppe Tornatore and master of the theatre
Bob Wilson.