Engaging With Art

Every world religion has its own artistic traditions and sometimes a wide variety of styles and genres may be found within the work of a faith community. To study religious art is a way of engaging with the members of the faith communities and asking them questions about their theology and beliefs. It is also a way of promoting a pupil's spiritual development as he or she empathises with the artists and/or their subjects.

METHOD

When engaging with sacred art or religious pictures, it is important to "ask questions" of the art, the art form and the artist. There are many different ways of doing this, e.g.:

(a) The Story

Does the painting tell a story? Find out the original story. What is the artist telling us about how they see the story i.e. what do you feel is the mood of the painting and how has the artist achieved this? (For example, paintings of the crucifixion can feel sorrowful, peaceful, agonising, triumphant, kingly, unreal, bloody. . .) Focus on a peripheral character in the painting - what do you imagine is their lifestory and their viewpoint on the main action? What questions do you want to ask about the painting or the story? Can you readily reproduce the painting as a tableau - how does it feel to stand in the positions painted by the artist - does it help your understanding of the story? Add speech bubbles to the painting. Compare paintings on the same theme.

(b) Symbols

Look at the symbols incorporated into the artwork and explore their meaning. What do the symbols of a saint tell us about their life, or the attributes carried by the Hindu deities tell us about their powers? What symbols do faith communities choose to decorate their place of worship (the star of David, the Ik Onkar), where can they be found and what do they mean? Create a symbol dictionary to help visitors explore your local church. Are there any symbolic colours which are frequently used by the faith communities ( orange for Sikhs, the blue stripes of a tallit, the liturgical vestments of Christianity) and what are their meaning?

(c) Theological Messages

In some faiths the art forms themselves carry a distinct theological message. The best know example of this is in Islam. In Muslim art emphasis is always on Allah (there is no secular art). Allah Himself is beyond human representation, and images of any living being are potentially dangerous as they may lead people into idol worship. Any visual representation of the Prophet Muhammad is also forbidden. As Islam spread it incorporated nations with rich artistic traditions - as a result you may find examples of representational art, (usually Persian in origin) but they are limited and carefully circumscribed. Muslim art therefore focuses on the written word of the Holy Qur'an. Seven major styles of Arabic calligraphy have developed over the centuries and verses from the Qur'an, accompanied by arabesques or geometrical patterns have become the chief art form. Pupils will be able to create artwork in the Muslim style for e.g. Eid Cards.

Muslims do not portray Allah in art, but what about other faiths? Pupils could compare the different portrayals of God by a faith community e.g. in Hinduism with the many different facets of God which are portrayed as individual deities and treated as such.

In Christianity there is the question of how the different members of the Trinity are portrayed individually and in relation to each other. Do Christians portray God or use symbols (e.g. lighting effects)? There are also some super new materials now available on Christ in Art (see below), which allow you to see how images of Christ have changed not only across the centuries but also across the continents. What do the different pictures tell us about the way the Christian message has been rediscovered for each generation?

POSSIBLE PITFALLS

Remember you are teaching RE and not Art if you follow one of these projects! Keep asking "what?" "why?" "who?".

It can be very difficult to get together enough suitable visual resources ( or resources of a suitable size) to undertake work with the whole class. Some suggestions are made below, but in many cases you will have to think chiefly in terms of small group work. Start collecting postcards now! (Christmas cards are a useful resource.)

RESOURCES

There are some new, excellent, fine art resources out on the person of Jesus. The best three that we have found are:

"Images of Jesus Poster Packs" from the National Society. Two packs of five posters with accompanying notes, one modern (specially chosen to promote the idea of Christianity as a world faith), one traditional. Each pack £19 99p. Available from Church House Bookshop, Great Smith Street, London SW1P 3BN. Tel. 0171 8981301.

"Jesus through Art" by Margaret Cooling. This book was put together in association with the National Gallery. It has both excellent reproductions, and extremely helpful classroom ideas for KS2 & KS3. £24 95p RMEP ISBN 185175119X.

"The Christ we Share", from CMS and USPG. This is a pack of 32 A5 cards with images of Christ from throughout the world. As an important added bonus, the pack also contains the same images on OHP slides. There is a support booklet of notes. £10 from Church Mission Society, Partnership House, 157 Waterloo Road, London SE1 8XA. We think this one is a great bargain!

The Goodwill Art Service, The Old School, Upton, Nr Didcot, Oxon OX11 9JB produces sets of fine art postcards in a folder (30 postcards per set). All six major faiths are covered and each folder has a very helpful set of notes about not only the art itself, but also about the basics of the appropriate faith.

One of the best simple guides to Christian symbolism is Saints, Signs and Symbols by W. Ellwood Post. SPCK. ISBN 028102894.

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