ARTISTS INTERPRETATIONS OF THE WORLD SHAPED BY THEIR BELIEFS

Spirituality and art are part of the human need to express emotion and to communicate this to other human beings. Yet often our understanding of an artwork might only be possible or of more value if we know the context, the emotional or the spiritual environment surrounding the artist. Religion results from faith – it involves a community of shared beliefs, ritual and introspection. Faith is a personal perspective on life. So too is art. The artist’s interpretations of the world are therefore shaped by their beliefs; this can be seen through Michelangelo Buonarroti figurative Last Judgment 1534-1541, Mark Rothko’s non-representational Light Red over Black 1957, Rover Thomas’s contemporary Aboriginal work Burradoo (Meeting Area) 1994 and Annette Messeger’s Post- modern Le Croix 1994.

When Christianity was illegal in Rome the painting in the Catacombs had to use symbols to convey messages to the audience. After Christianity was legalised in 313 A.D. symbols were not needed, ...