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Image: Kris Martin, Altar, 2014 (Koning Boudewijnpromenade. Oostende). Raw Steel.

Speaker: Professor Jonathan Anderson M.F.A., Biola University and King’s College London

Organised by: Professor Ben Quash (King’s College London) and Dr Scott Nethersole (The Courtauld Institute of Art)

This seminar in the Sacred Traditions & the Arts series will break from our usual two-speaker format to enable us to hear from the US scholar, Jonathan Anderson—co-author of the ground-breaking Modern Art and the Life of a Culture: The Religious Impulses of Modernism (2016). As prominent art historians like Thomas Crow call for the lifting of the ‘interdiction’ on theology in discussions of modern and contemporary art (No Idols: The Missing Theology of Modern Art), Anderson will explore some of the ways that religion is newly visible in contemporary art. He will then turn to explore the ways that theology might also make itself newly discussable in the way that such art is interpreted and analysed.

Jonathan Anderson is an artist, art critic, and associate professor of art at Biola University, where he has been teaching since 2006, as well as a research scholar in theology and the arts at King’s College London. His artworks explore the capacities and limitations of representational painting and have been featured in group and solo exhibitions throughout the United States. In addition to his studio practice, Anderson maintains a research and writing practice focused on modern and contemporary art criticism, with a particular interest in exploring its relations to religion and theology. Professor Anderson has received research fellowships from the Center for Christian Thought and the Nagel Institute. He has contributed to various books and journals and most recently is the co-author (with theologian William Dyrness) of the book Modern Art and the Life of a Culture: The Religious Impulses of Modernism (IVP Academic, 2016).

There will be time for discussion and questions following the papers. The event is open to all, free and will be concluded by an informal reception. 

About the seminar series

The seminar on Sacred Traditions and the Arts is a joint venture between the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at King’s and The Courtauld. It seeks to place researchers in dialogue who are working on any aspect of the sacred and visual culture. It is open to all scholars and students who have an interest in exploring the intersections of religion and art regardless of period, geography or tradition.

 

Event details

Room BH (NE) 1.02
Bush House North East Wing
Bush House North East Wing, 30 Aldwych, WC2B 4BG