Holy smoke! – the Vatican wants contemporary art (Monday 16 June 2008)
compiled by Madeline Meehan
The Catholic Church is looking for contemporary artists –“world famous” artists, actually, according to The Independent - from whom it can commission art to display at, wait for it, the Venice Biennale next year. If they are successful in finding willing artists, as they presumably will be, it will be the first time the Catholic Church has been present at the festival since its inception in 1895; the event has grown with each successive celebration (every odd year with very few exceptions since 1895), adding more artists, curators and categories through the years.
The church’s relationship with the arts has been strained since the Renaissance. Raphael was grand, Leonardo a bit surly, and Michelangelo tricky too. But since then the Church’s public relationship with art has mostly been a history of attempted restrictions of what can and ought to be allowed in art, an attitude that would be more acceptable to an artist working on a commission than to the artistic community at large. In truth though, if there’s been much formal interaction at all, it certainly hasn’t been publicly proclaimed as loudly as this new decision.
So why has Pope Benedict XVI chosen now to attempt a reconciliation between the church and artists? There are infinite possibilities, some that align more with current events and some that are pure conjecture (the more far-fetched of which we leave to you). Rome has always carried the burden of maintaining the Vatican which naturally accompaniesthe privilege of housing such a famous tourist attraction. Lately that burden has led to the realization by the Vatican that “it has marketable assets in the Pope, papal insignia and the rich art treasures of the Vatican Museums and is levying copyright fees on the Pope’s publications and the use of images from its Renaissance art collections. Noting that the Vatican Publishing House ended 2005 with a surplus of €934,000, Cardinal Sebastiani said that it “has been entrusted with the guardianship of the copyright of all the documents by means of which the Supreme Pontiff exercises his teaching” [1] – the first time such an action has been taken in Papal history.
The acquisition of new art could give the Vatican a new draw for tours and copyrights, which would lead to increased income. Pope Benedict has already made changes to the Vatican Bank in the hopes of improving its financial situation [1]. Additionally, there is the possibility that the Pope could be looking to replace some of the older art that is toured and displayed throughout the world, after receiving a letter of protest from the Roman Association of Friends of Israel requesting that he take a clear stance against anti-Semitism by removing “an exhibition in a church in the Umbrian city of Orvieto that includes a number of old paintings depicting Jews desecrating a consecrated Communion host, which Catholics believe is the body of Christ,” according to The Times [2]. Yet another possibility is that the newer churches - which Pope Benedict XVI is hoping to soon build once “rich patrons to sponsor works in new houses of worship designed by cutting-edge architects” can be found - are lacking in the grandeur of the older generations [3].
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| Claudio Parmiggiani: image of work at Palazzo Fabroni (27 October 2007 - 23 March 2008); image held here |
An indication of the direction the Vatican may take, in terms of form and content, can perhaps be taken from its first commission under the new Pope: that of an artwork by Claudio Parmiggiani [4].
In any case, it can be guaranteed that if the Pope wants artists, he will find some who are willing and able. What he will do once he has them only time will tell.
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