An altar with severed heads

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I do not care for this. If you wanted to go this direction, as a memento mori, perhaps images of the damned as the suffer, with the altar top capping it, upon which we celebrate the Eucharist, God’s triumph over death, and the opening of the path to salvation.

I feel like that would have a lot more meaning than a bunch of rolling heads…
 
I don’t like it.

Reason: when Christian art is too difficult to understand, then it fails at its purpose. The purpose of Christian art is to evangelize and catechize.

If they would have used skulls, then it would have been more clear and made more sense. But this takes too much effort to figure out. If you need the artist to explain their motivation and vision (like most “modern art” today), then it’s hard to consider this as an expression of the Christian / Catholic Faith from an evangelist or catechist.

Plus, it’s ugly and doesn’t mesh with the rest of the sanctuary.

God Bless
 
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It looks as if there was lot of heads of statues on sale at an auction. Bought by the " lot". Recycling …
I am all for plain and simple. A long piece of white linen to the floor and it’s gone!😀
 
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See I dont even think skulls would look good. What happen to just regular symbols or iconography on the altar? If I said mass I would hang altar cloth over the front of the altar while saying mass.
 
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This is the problem with modern art–it is too subjective. It often has a decent meaning it is trying to convey (this one probably does), but because it is so subjective and detached from tradition it is unrecognizeable to almost everyone. It’s like making up a new language using words to mean different things than they conventionally do to communicate a good message–very few people are likely to get it and many are likely to get the wrong message! The art totally fails in its purpose.

Too often churches these days replace things long held to signify Catholicism and sacredness with things that do not have such significance. It’s what I call unculturation (as opposed to inculturation, where things engrained in a culture that signify sacredness are used).

Whether we subjectively like these traditional forms or not, the fact remains that they are instantly recognizable to all as being appropriate for their proper purpose.
 
MiserereMei25 said:
See I dont even think skulls would look good. What happen to just regular symbols or iconography on the altar? If I said mass I would hang altar cloth over the front of the altar while saying mass. Ugh.
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Yeah… I agree.

I didn’t mean to imply that skulls would look good (eps in that Sanctuary), but at least the message from skulls would be more understandable.

We are all sitting here guessing as to what that artist intended, and to me, that’s the major problem with this altar. Problem 2, it’s ugly and doesn’t mesh.

God Bless
 
Some of the comments on Fr. Z’s blog are pretty funny.

This one cracked me up because it made me think of a comment I once heart about Anglicans laughing at our English church music. 🙂
This is either something from one of the lower circles of Dante’s Inferno or Eye of the Tiber . . . C’mon Catholic Bishops!! You’re making it so that the Episcopals are laughing at us. The EPISCOPALS!!
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The artist said they are reproductions of statues of “the greats” (Michelangelo, Fibia, etc). If you look closely, it does appear to be David, Mary in the Pieta, Homer and many others. Not sure why he chose to do that or what message he would like to convey.
 
I agree. It certainly shows that our Church is headed in the wrong directions…
 
That’s a problem, IMO. Sacred art should be understandable, it should convey a common message to everyone. We have some rather modern stained glass, an you might have to stop and think about it, but it is readily understandable.
 
Amen, and that was my first thought in seeing that alter. My second was the passage in revelation.
The artist has said he or she used heads from famous works through history.
I also love that door sculpture.
Being holy is not comfortable and safe and secure, its persecution, pain, rejection.

And by the comments, it’s doing just what was intended, causing a reaction. Making people think.

What is an altar about? What is this piece about?
 
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Hideous. They’re not even recognizable as saints. Those heads couldve been torn off of pagan Greek or Roman statues.
 
Roseeurekacross said:
Being holy is not comfortable and safe and secure, its persecution, pain, rejection.

And by the comments, it’s doing just what was intended, causing a reaction. Making people think.

What is an altar about? What is this piece about?
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So a Catholic altar is supposed to make us experience uncomfortable, pain, persecution, rejection?

A Catholic altar is suppose to cause a reaction?

A Catholic altar is not about any of this. It is about offering the sacrifice of the mass, any associated artwork should be solely about helping us focus and understand that awesome event.

I think it fails 2 out of 3 of Aquina’s criteria for beauty.
 
Did I say a Catholic altar was supposed to make us feel any way?

No I did not. Please refrain from reading your bias into my post.

Art creates reaction if it is good art. Art creates thought.

We all have agreed on this thread , this is art.

Thankyou.
 
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Looking on the bright side…

A visit to the nearest museum of contemporary art would suggest several worse ideas for an altar.

I am glad it is only heads.
🙂 🙃 🙂 🙃 🙂 🙃
🙃 🙂 🙃 🙂 🙃 🙂
🙂 🙃 🙂 🙃 🙂 🙃
 
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I showed it to my 12-year-old son. (It’s okay, he is accustomed to creepy stuff.) His one-word response: “Why?”
 
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