The Invisibility of Religion in Contemporary Art offers a critical guide for rereading and rethinking religion in the histories of modern and contemporary art. Since the turn of the twenty-first century, there has been a marked increase in attention to religion and spirituality in contemporary art among artists and scholars alike, but the resulting scholarship tends to be dispersed, disjointed, and underdeveloped, lacking a sustained discourse that holds up as both scholarship of art and as scholarship of religion. The Invisibility of Religion in Contemporary Art is both a critical study of this situation and an adjustment to it, offering a much-needed field guide to the current discourse of contemporary art and religion. By connecting the work of leading art historians, theologians, philosophers, and sociologists, Jonathan A. Anderson uncovers the gaps and reveals opportunities for scholars to engage more fully with the theological grammars, histories, and concepts at play in modern and contemporary art. By addressing the religious blind spots in existing scholarship, Anderson opens new lines of inquiry and invites deeper dialogue among religious studies, theology, and art history and criticism.
Jonathan A. Anderson is the Eugene and Jan Peterson Associate Professor of Theology and the Arts at Regent College. He is the co-author of the book Modern Art and the Life of a Culture: The Religious Impulses of Modernism.
List of Figures List of Tables and Diagram Acknowledgments Introduction Part 1. The Invisibility of Religion in Twentieth-Century Art History 1. 1979 2. 2004 Part 2. The New Visibility of Religion in Contemporary Art 3. Contemporary Art and Religion: Mapping the Terrain 4. Contemporary Art and Religion: Four Horizons Interlude Part 3. Contemporary Art and Theology 5. An Experiment in Art Writing: Kris Martin's Altar (2014) 6. Art Criticism within a Theological Horizon Conclusion Appendix. Exhibitions Addressing Religion in Contemporary Art, 1974-2024 Expanded Appendices available online at jonathan-anderson.com/appendices Notes Bibliography Index
"An entirely brilliant book on an intensely difficult subject. The Invisibility of Religion in Contemporary Art is not just for artists, art historians, critics, curators, and theologians: it's for anyone who wants to see what a well-informed, calm, patient, humble, circumspect voice can do with a subject that seems so fraught, so entrenched." -James Elkins, author of On the Strange Place of Religion in Contemporary Art "The impressive achievement of Jonathan A. Anderson's crosscutting analysis and trenchant examples demonstrates beyond argument that art history and criticism have been hobbled by neglecting the inheritance of theological frames and assumptions." -Thomas E. Crow, author of No Idols "This book combines an exceptional knowledge of modern and contemporary art with a rare alertness to theologically-informed critical tools for its evaluation. Jonathan Anderson's sensitivity and subtlety of insight in reading works of visual art is matched by an exquisite writing style. He has established a genuinely pioneering approach to the theological interpretation of visual art, from which many others (myself included) will benefit for years to come. Brilliant." -Ben Quash, author of Found Theology "Anderson presents an incisive and compelling study, exhibiting herein a clear command of the fields of art criticism and religious studies. This book represents an important contribution to the field of theology and the arts, and is a must-read for both scholars and practitioners." -W. David O. Taylor, author of A Body of Praise "This book is an iteration of a new generation of scholarship that seeks to move beyond the frame that has defined the art-religion-theology landscape for the last two generations. Anderson suggests that to write about the visual arts, even and especially those practices that are not explicitly religious, is itself a theological practice." -Daniel A. Siedell, author of Who's Afraid of Modern Art?
