Customer Reviews

100 Artists See God

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In response to the sole review for this book, having been at the exhibit I have to say that both the catalogue and the show did very well in sharing honest and intimate perspectives about personal relationships with divinity. While more political venues consistantly discuss God solely in relationship to religion, church, and state, _100 Artists See God_ serves both as a breath of fresh air and a reminder that the human relationship with the divine is individual and personal, transcending faith and political alignment.

I thought this would be a compelling collection of works that examine the idea of God from a variety of vantage points. Instead, it seems to be collection of the curators' friends' work that is smashed into categories that they really don't fit into, even if we stretch our conceptual minds. The curatorial idea is good. The sub-categories are good. I just wish the majority of the art in the book actually seemed related to any of that.

Art more than any other discipline has the ability to break open new intellectual and emotional ground. It an be a powerful tool. Governments and religions have tried to guide and or control artists since artists began translating their world view’s onto the pictorial and sculptural plane.

Religion has universally been a major control element in the sociology of artists, and the depiction of god is a major taboo in both the Christian and the Muslim world. Between religion and art is a fertile ground for the imagination, it is a ground that is still potentially loaded, a fertile ground for the artist to shock, or stimulate an audience.

You would think that a subject such as the depiction of god (given the military industrial religious complex which is currently so dominant) would engender more than a very light weight response from artists.

Sadly this is not the case. There are no compelling images of faith and devotion nor any compelling criticisms of god and religion, no overt discussion of the grotesque coupling of government and church, and so I can only say that this is a very disappointing book.

It is potentially an interesting project and the curator really ought to be dismissed for their lack of vision and inclusion. So many artists to choose from but they really have filled the book with mediocre works. Sadly evident in the bulk of the work displayed in the book is a lack of insight into the subject and a lackluster commitment to aesthetics.