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Transcript
SACRED word and image: Sacred – consecrated, holy, hallowed, worthy of veneration, entitled to reverence and respect. Throughout mankind’s written history and even before it, the human spirit has sought to find sacred significance in the existing world. While Western science has proposed answers to many questions about our human origins, our place on earth, and the nature of the universe beyond our world, religion plays an important part of our history and our present. This exhibition offers an opportunity to better understand our commonalities and differences as people belonging to various religious faiths. Viewers can compare the rich variety of visual and textual expressions that have characterized Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam and Judaism over the past 1,500 years. The variety of materials used to document mankind’s significant thoughts and beliefs is astonishing. These sacred objects linked to the tenets and values of a religion were created to be used as part of rituals, devotions and celebrations within their respective traditions. They embody physically the ephemeral experiences of faith, forgiveness, redemption, purity, beauty, compassion and sanctity. As our ways of communicating continue to evolve, it is revelatory to see how past civilizations used the means available to them to create lasting documents of thoughts, visions, beliefs and hopes for a better world, in both the present and future. ABOVE: Chinese Qur'an. China, 18th century. Ink, color, and gilt on paper, leather binding; 10 1/4” x 7 1/2.” Collection of James and Ana Melikian. Photo by Ken Howie. This exhibition is presented by U.S. Bancorp Foundation and U.S. Bank Private Client Reserve. Support provided by Amy S. Clague, Coleene and Barry Fernando, Dr. Dhira Mahoney and James and Ana Melikian. SACRED WORD AND IMAGE: 1625 N. Central Avenue | Phoenix, AZ 85004 | (602) 257-1222 | PhxArt.org ABOVE: Painting of Krishna and Radha under an Umbrella. India, 19th century. Ink and color on paper; 8 3/8” x 6 3/8.” Collection of Phoenix Art Museum, Gift of George P. Bickford. Photo by Craig Smith. INSIDE PHOTOS - From Left to Right: Large Painted Tile with the Bust of Christ (detail), dated 1880. Isfahan, Iran. Ceramic with underglaze black decoration; 18 3/8” x 15 3/8.” Collection of James and Ana Melikian.* Offering Vessel (Hsun-ok). Burma, 20th century. Lacquer on bamboo and wood; 32” x 13.” Collection of Pari and Peter Banko.* Jeweled and Enameled Silver Reliquary Box. Armenia, 17th–18th century. Silver, enamel, and diamond; 4 3/8” x 4 3/8” x 2 7/8.” Collection of James and Ana Melikian.* Sīva Natarāja, Lord of the Cosmic Dance. India, 17th century. Bronze; 11 3/8” x 8 3/4” x 3 1/2.” Collection of Phoenix Art Museum, Gift of George P. Bickford. Photo by Craig Smith. Turkoman Prayer Rug. Afghanistan, 20th century. Wool; 49” x 33 1/2.” Collection of Lionel Diaz and Jacqueline Butler-Diaz.* Pair of Gilt Bronze Manuscript Covers Embellished with Turquoise and Coral. Tibet, 18th century. Gilt bronze, wood, pigments, turquoise and coral; 4” x 16 1/4.” Collection of Phoenix Art Museum, Gift of Amy S. Clague in honor of the Museum’s 50th Anniversary.* Buddhist Ritual Diadem (detail). China, Ming dynasty, 15th century. Silk of broken twill weave, embroidered with polychrome silk threads using laid and couched, split, satin, and outline stitches; 6 1/2” x 5 1/8”; Band: 1 1/8” x 18 1/8”; Leather tie: 5/8” x 10 5/8.” Collection of Phoenix Art Museum, Gift of Amy S. Clague.* Velvet and Silver Episcopal Crown. Armenia, mid-19th century. Silver, velvet, and cotton; 10 5/8” x 8 1/8.” Collection of James and Ana Melikian.* Polyglot New Testament printed in Four Languages (Latin, Hebrew, German, and Yiddish), 1746. Prague. Ink on paper, leather binding; 11 3/4” x 8.” Collection of James and Ana Melikian.* Horizontal Silk Panel with a Buddhist Mantra. China, Ming dynasty, mid-15th–early 17th century. Silk brocade in tabby weave, interwoven with paper faced with gold leaf; 8 1/2” x 26 1/8.” Collection of Amy S. Clague.* Footprint of the Buddha (Buddhapada). Sri Lanka, Kandyan period, 19th century. Pigment on cloth; 81 1/4” x 38 1/2.” Collection of Phoenix Art Museum, Gift of Barry Fernando MD and Coleene Fernando MD in honor of the Museum's 50th Anniversary.* * Photos by Ken Howie. Five World Religions Jan. 4 – Mar. 25, 2012 SACRED SPACES AND PLACES Reliquaries are containers of the physical or bodily remains of saints or holy persons or containers for written prayers or sacred talismans. The veneration of holy relics has a long tradition in Christian and Buddhist practices. Depictions of religious structures associated with events in the lives of Jesus, Buddha or Mohammed are often shown on reliquaries, and represent places to which adherents hope to make pilgrimages. Sacred artifacts might be transported from one place of worship to another. For those who lacked the means or the strength to visit actual places of veneration, devotional objects could allow them to make an internal or spiritual journey. In Islam, prayer mats or rugs create a holy space for the sacred act of devotion by an individual wherever they may be at the time of daily calls to prayer. The orientation and design of a prayer rug focuses on Mecca as the divine center of Islamic faith. LANGUAGE AS TRANSMISSION The written word is associated directly with holy or sacred concepts and gives permanence and sanctity to oral traditions, beliefs and rituals. In Islam, the original language of the prophet Mohammed is Arabic and it is the only one acceptable for use to maintain the perfection of the divine word as transmitted from Allah. Likewise, In Sri Lankan Buddhism, Pali script is used for sacred texts though the spoken language of the people using then today is different. In Tibetan Buddhism, sacred incantations are believed to be most efficacious when offered in the original Sanskrit words. Other faiths, such as Judaism and Christianity permit the translation of sacred texts into the native languages of the people who embrace their teachings, leading to the development of bi-lingual or even polygot language editions. symbols of power During much of the history of the world, literacy was very limited. Thus, images and symbols became powerful tools to bring understanding of abstract concepts, divine beings and narrative stories to a greater number of potential believers. These visual tools may represent virtuous traits and models of behavior or indicate a divine presence. In Buddhism, the lotus flower is a symbol of purity; as it grows in the muddy depths of the water yet blooms pure and white upon the water’s surface. The footprint of the Buddha is a symbol of his divine presence. Other motifs, such as the cross in Christianity, symbolize the pivotal events such as Christ’s crucifixion and suffering for the redemption of mankind. OTHERWORLDLY VISIONS AND MIRACULOUS EVENTS In religious thought, the vision of other realms beyond this earthly one are often a major aspect of belief and hope. In much of Christianity, Islam and Buddhism, the belief in the life to come following our earthly existence has resulted in heavenly visions of places where suffering and evil are replaced by experiences of eternal peace, joy or enlightenment. The lives of Jesus, Mohammed and Buddha are filled with miraculous events that transcend ordinary human experience and mark these individuals as divinely inspired or enlightened beings. In Catholicism, the elevation of the Virgin Mary’s status led to the creation of icons and the practice of supplication to her for the alleviation of sins and suffering. This concept of compassion for human suffering is echoed in the Bodhisattvas of Buddhism, whose multiple eyes or hands represent their super-human abilities to observe suffering and thus grant blessings upon devotees. divine beauty The concept of sanctity has often been translated into anthropomorphic form to bring about a greater understanding and connection between divine nature and human nature. Hinduism, Buddhism and Christianity use images of perfected or transcendent human beauty and specific physical features to convey the divinity of spiritual beings. In Hinduism, deities portrayed with animal features and multiple arms or heads are based on literary traditions that describe their super-human personalities and powers. Hindu narratives also reveal attributes such as passion, chastity, love or valor through physical attributes. In Buddhism, the image of the historical Buddha conforms to specific texts that describe the ideal proportions and features of the Buddha, thus suing a physical ideal of perfection to symbolize spiritual perfection. The Christian ideals of beauty as depicted in images of the Virgin Mary and infant Jesus are imbued with purity, maternal femininity and child-like innocence and divinity.