Beyond belief

This book explores the possible reemergence of a theological dimension to contemporary art. Long estranged from symbol and sacrament, contemporary artists seem to have turned once again toa vision rooted in the sacred. In an era marked culturally by world-weary cynicism and self-conscious irony, a new humanism may be emerging, one which aims to move beyond fragmentation and opposition to integration and unification. The aim of this book is not to propose resurgence of religious iconography, but rather to give voice to long-suppressed - often maligned, and certainly professionally risky - positions informed by and reverberating with themes of the sacred. The essays included here, by a range of scholars working on these issues today, originated as a lively and spirited session of the 2008 College Art Association anuuual conference. - Publisher info.