More Light

-Hail Mary full of grace

-Conceived without the stain of sin

-Father, I’ve come to confess because I feel out of place in the Christian community. Let’s see, how shall I put it? I’m an artist and I’m wondering why art and the Church have drifted so far apart. I’m guessing that, you know, this somehow affects my personal relationship with the community and needless to say there is a growing distance between us.

– I think the first thing you must realize is that… religion is not an ideology, so it’s not about knowing or seeing, but rather a way of life. If you don’t lead a Christian life, you are bound to distance yourself more and more.

-No, it’s not about that. The fact is I don’t feel I’ve abandoned ethics.

-But it’s not ethics, my child, it’s not ethics. Ethics is a good thing, it’s a way of living in harmony with Christ. There are good people, excellent people in the world and they are not necessarily Christians.

-Yes, but the thing is I don’t know where a contemporary artist fits in to the Church. You see it’s impossible to talk about art in the Western world without talking about Catholicism. Throughout the centuries, I think an artist’s job has consisted in impressing mankind with God’s beauty. I mean, that an artist has acted as a translator of sorts, as a link. I don’t know. Is that relationship no longer necessary? Aren’t those reflections on beauty necessary either? Don’t we need to bring God closer to man?

– Of course it’s necessary, but we need it more than ever because it’s less present than ever.

-And why isn’t it present?

-Man is less… Well, objectively, we don’t know but, but in terms of what we see and how we act, we see that there is far less of a relationship with God. These days, banks invest in art, Father, companies. The Church no longer has this relationship.

-…Let the banks invest… art nowadays is… Before, the Church was the only investor because these institutions did not exist. It could give to… could have artist and things like that. Now art is a much more universal thing. It’s not religious art and it’s normal for other institutions to be doing this, more public institutions and more… more, more to do with the State and more… more profane.

-But Father, artists now, as ever, they still work on commission.

-Now artists have a lot of people who can pay them. Before the poor guys had to work for the Church, which was the only way of getting paid, as well as for the kings.

-But, I don’t think it is so much a question of money.

– Yes, It is a question of money, of course it is. Putting a picture up in that altar costs a fortune. How can it not be a question of money?

-Well, that depends on a lot of things. What I think is that the Church as an institution has left that preoccupation behind.

Now there are a lot of people how want nothing to do with God, maybe they lead a finer and a more ethical life but they don’t think about God. You know, the vast majority of people don’t think about God at all.

-… Father, I don’t think that’s completely true. Here I am talking to you about art, about beauty, about the Church, about God… For instance, what would you say, If I told you this conversation could be part of a work of art?

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-But Father, I don’t think we should put all the blame on functionality. Madrid Cathedral for instance, was inaugurated very recently and aside from it not being functional, there isn’t one piece of art inside that’s worth the effort. And I don’t think it’s a matter of budget because you can see money has been invested. What you can’t see is any kind of interest. I don’t know who decides what’s put up but their taste could have been better. It’s like, I don’t know, there’s not even a Tapies nor anything representative of the 20th C. Nothing. I can’t see any real interest in art.

-Yes, yes, yes, well, there isn’t anything there you could call art with historical criteria. Also because every chapel has its own style. Tastes will vary according to whoever sponsored each chapel and…

-Does each chapel have a sponsor?

-I guess there could be something like that and well, it’s already been a big step to cover it, and use it as a place of worship, because it’s been uncovered, filling up with water for years now. So, for it to have got this far… and they have spend millions. It’s a very… well, they’ve made an effort you know, the State, and that’s positive in itself, cause all in all art hasn’t really been very free to develop there.

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-Sure, the thing is I think beauty incites conversion, that’s why I suffer sometimes when I talk about Christ, because I would like to explain the beauty of what I feel, of what I understand in my heart about Him, because I know that this beauty would attract other to the faith, of course.

-Well that’s it, that’s way I don’t understand anything. How is it that the Church has chosen to dispense with art? I think it’s crazy that they have chosen to live off other centuries, off other peoples talent. All centuries have had artistic representations of faith, except for this one. Now we are breaking away from that; this new cathedral is a good example.

But well, I think that a large part of Christian art has been lost because of the kind of pragmatic spirit of this world we live in, right? So now instead of a pretty temple, we build a practical one, and things like that. But I mean, I think this temple, the structure right? Is really pretty.

– Yes, the structure is 19thC.

-The rest… there is the odd images that like. Well, I mean I don’t know much about art, I’ve never studied it. There are things that I like and things I don’t like them that’s all.

-But the Church has always known quite a lot about art.

– Well, I mean, I think I can appreciate beauty right? But I haven’t… I haven’t ever studied… anyway, don’t only concentrate on the… like I’m saying, I don’t know… the thing is, the intellectual and the vital are very closely linked.

-Sure, because one thing is the individual and another thing is society. So I really… of course, I guess the individual part lets me down, because social signs aren’t really very present, and you can’t blame artists.

-Yes, yes… well, I haven’t really thought about this much, you know? And thinking about culture, for example, I mean, from an intellectual point of view, I think the Church has wanted to adapt to progress a bit… but it is true that in terms of artistic beauty the Church has distanced itself in recent times, right? But well, what I would do is look for God in your heart, and well, you will be understood or not, but if you do find God in your heart you will then express it in whatever you do. What is it you do? Paint or sculpture, or what do you do?

-I make… I make videos.