Questions About Making Religious Art

[littlequestion]

I have a lot of questions so I think I will keep asking them in this thread. I put the question in purple at the end of all my rambling chatter.

First of all, I have worked in the “trade” as a graphic designer and illustrator and I make a distinction between that kind of salary work and independent art.

Secondly, I do both commercial and fine art. The distinction here is that commercial art is made with an eye to sales and not invested with a lot of meaning. For example, a series of floral paintings, landscapes, etc. It looks like “fine art” but it is not as “heavy” with messages.

Fine art is in two categories. There is that work that I invest a lot of thought into, trying for good technique and don’t really care if it sells. Portraits for example, or personal memory or abstract paintings.

Then there is inspired art. That is rare and can take a long time to complete, being put away and pulled out again. It is not controlled by my intellectual decisions. Some has gone to others, but not through any effort to sell it. I really can think of only two or three pieces, and I have given them to people who understood them.

I have avoided sharing this art with others outside my circle of art friends because I have faced a real problem with political activists and commercially-minded people who cannot understand that this is not “performance” and it is not related to publicity or money, but that does not mean I don’t need to make a living or that I should be pressured into giving it away.

I still shudder from the time that I presented some crucifixes to some priests. One was wonderful, he understood right away that this is devotional art and after he blessed the two I had, I gave him one. Then I went to give the other one to the other priest in the parish and his immediate reaction was to demand why I was not making them and selling them at craft fairs!

It turned my stomache. I tell this story only because it happens a lot and I find myself at a real loss, and can’t really explain it. Most serious artists and art lovers understand, but it is not easy to articulate.

The crucifixes are actually more similar to commercial crafts insofar as they are not a “original design” with a special message, they are a standard item with my attention being only to the material and technique (papier mache) but I could never do them on a commercial basis because for one thing, it is very hard to actually attach the figure of Christ to the Cross if you are Catholic. You have to be in prayer and I now only do this as a Lenten devotion.

But I am afraid to share it with other catholics because of all the superstition. I have run into Catholics who believe all art is demonic (except of course what was produced a hundred years ago) and I still shudder from that priest, who shocked me with his accusation that this should be a commercial activity (he is one of those new Catholics who don’t remember the less materialistic culture of Old Catholicism in which the relative poverty of an artist was not a hardship. My parish where I grew up was a veritable art colony of people who worked blue-collar jobs but made art objects of all kinds.)

Some of the work should be blessed before it is shown. I am working on some very emotional pieces now, and I don’t want to continue without getting them blessed, but then of course they cannot become part of a major show at which art is sold fine-art style (not a crafter’s table at a fair) because to sell a blessed art object would be Simony, and also I do not want to sell religious art to people who might intend to use it for disrespectful purposes.

Yet, if I discuss this, as I have occasionally tried to do, I have been accused of being sly and coy, because I do want to make a living and I have been accused of a sin of pride because I insist that my work should be respected.

So, dear Catholic friends out there in Answer-Land, I will finally ask my first question:

Will it be a sin if I, as the artist, sell a work or accept money in some way connected to the exhibition of a work if that work has been blessed before leaving the studio?

 

[iona_scribe]

Just bumping this thread, hoping that someone will read the original post and have an answer.

A related question, since I’ve never read anything about it; what is the protocol for getting a sacred art object blessed? Is it indeed wrong to sell a piece of sacred art after it has been blessed? Thanks in advance!

 

[NeedImprovement]

… it is very hard to actually attach the figure of Christ to the Cross if you are Catholic…

I agree, it’s a tough one. I carved a corpus out of maple (a very obstinate type of wood to carve) for a processional crucifix that I was making for a priest’s 50th anniversary. When it came time to put the holes in the hands and feet and to drive in the nails which would pin the corpus to the cross, a lump welled up in my throat , as I began to reflectively consider what my sins had done to our Blessed Lord, and I had to reach for some kleenex.

…Will it be a sin if I, as the artist, sell a work or accept money in some way connected to the exhibition of a work if that work has been blessed before leaving the studio?

On this subject, I would probably start here:

**Canon 1190 **says :“It is absolutely wrong to sell sacred relics.”

Although this canon refers specifically to relics, the inference can be drawn that we need to avoid the promotion (even inadvertent) of simony. **The Catechism of the Catholic Church **describes simony as:

2121 “Simony is defined as the buying or selling of spiritual things. To Simon the magician, who wanted to buy the spiritual power he saw at work in the apostles, St. Peter responded: “Your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain God’s gift with money!” Peter thus held to the words of Jesus: “You received without pay, give without pay.” It is impossible to appropriate to oneself spiritual goods and behave toward them as their owner or master, for they have their source in God. One can receive them only from him, without payment.”

**Canon 1171 ** states - “Sacred things which are destined for divine worship through dedication or a blessing are to be treated with reverence and not to be employed for improper or profane use even though they may belong to private persons.”

The answer to the question becomes a little clearer if we specify that when an object is blessed, it involves a proprietary right. Here’s an annotation provided in my copy of the Code of Canon Law ( faculties of *University of Navarra and St. Paul University *, 1993) , concerning Canon 1171:

*Sacred things posess a special dignity that requires reverential treatment and which sets them apart from profane use and from commerce. The sacred condition of a thing, therefore, implies a public limitation of the proprietary rights over it, even when it is private (cf. cc. 1166, 1375-1376) *.

One possible simplified way of looking at it is that when you sell an object, you are able to do it because the object belongs to you. The blessing, however, is not yours to sell.

God Bless.

 

[iona_scribe]

Thanks so much for posting from canon law, that was very helpful!

So it seems to me that there are two possible options here: One would be to refrain from having items blessed which are intended for public sale…leave that to the final owner. The other would be to only create works on commission, so that you know exactly who is buying it and if it is for a proper purpose…but if it was blessed it would probably still have to be done with the client’s permission and on their behalf since it will belong to them.

Does that sound correct?

 

[Filioque]

I think here we have a number of exceptions that we need to look at.

While generally blessed or consecrated items should not be sold for profain use, ie you would not want to sell a chalice or tabernacle if you knew it was going to be used in a bar, or some other place where it would be used for a purely secular use.

First, a blessed or consecrated item looses it’s blessing or consecration if it goes up for public sale. So if a priest has a chalice that was consecrated (usually the rite is preformed by a bishop), and it is offered for sale on ebay, or in a consignment shop, it looses the consecration and must be consecrated again if it is used for Mass. If the priest sells it to someone in a private sale, (if a layman purchase it to send to the missions, or another priest purchases it for his own use at Mass) the consecration is not lost.

Items that are blessed by anone, from a simple parish priest to the Pope, or some great saint can be sold, but the price of the item cannot be any more than the fair market value of the item if it was not blessed. So if you had two identical items, and took one to Rome, had it blessed by the Pope, you could not charge more because it was blessed than you would for the unblessed item.

In the case that was presented, what may be a good compromise is to sell the item for what it would normally sell for, and ask the person who purchases it if they would like to have a priest bless the item after the sale, or if they would prefer to have their own priest bless it.

If someone wanted the work blessed by the Pope, or the Arcbishop of somewhere special, and it was part of the negotiation for sale, then it would be acceptable to add an additional charge for packing, and shipping the item to an from the place it was blessed, but not to charge for the blessing itself.

 

[NeedImprovement]

It could be helpful to differentiate here, that, while a blessed item if put up for sale and sold would lose, specifically, "all the indulgences previously attached to it" , the **sacred character **of a blessed or consecrated item would, according to Catholic Encyclopedia, seem to be not so easily lost… . The general rule is that we shouldn’t sell blessed items. Wherever possible, it is more fitting to have the blessing conferred, as Filioque mentioned , after the sale of an item.

…A couple of links from *Catholic Encyclopedia * w/ excerpts : first, from Simony, and then from Blessing

oce.catholic.com/index.php?title=Simony

“…It is thus unlawful to exchange ecclesiastical benefices by private authority, to accept any payment whatever for holy oils, to sell blessed rosaries or crucifixes. Such objects lose, if sold, all the indulgences previously attached to them (S. Cong. of Indulg., July 12, 1847).”

---

http://oce.catholic.com/index.php?title=Blessing

“…Blessings may be divided into two classes, viz.: invocative and constitutive. The former are those in which the Divine benignity is invoked on persons or things, to bring down upon them some temporal or spiritual good, without changing their former condition. Of this kind are the blessings given to children, and to articles of food. The latter class are so called because they permanently depute persons or things to Divine service by imparting to them some sacred character, by which they assume a new and distinct spiritual relationship. Such are the blessings given to religious at their profession, and to churches and chalices by their consecration. In this case a certain abiding quality of sacredness is conferred in virtue of which the persons or things blessed become inviolably sacred, so that they cannot be divested of their religious character or be turned to profane uses. Again, theologians distinguish blessings of an intermediate sort, by which things are rendered special instruments of salvation without at the same time becoming irrevocably sacred, such as blessed salt, candles, etc.”

 

[littlequestion]

Thank you. This is all very helpful.

I had a very strange experience this week and I rushed all my items to church and basically stood in front of a young N-O priest until he had to break off from his conversation with someone and I presented my grocery sack full of crucifixes and my madonna and rosary and asked him to bless them. He sighed, rolled his eyes, and mumbled a quick blessing almost sarcasticaly. I know the priestly ordination allows his blessing to be good anyway and I just laughed inside myself that he has no idea of the spiritual struggle of an artist working on consecrated themes!

Now the strange part of the week that caused this was that I have a very conscious sense of Mary in the face of my statue (it is a very well-made one and her expression is perfectly captured. I bought it a few weeks ago) and I have been praying for my parish priests, including young Father Oh-so-cool as well as my confessor who is an older priest who has to listen to a long line of trads who come from everywhere to the Latin Mass. I began to fear that an unblessed statue might be exposed to the dark side of the spiritual realm (I have a Wiccan relative and I live in an area rife with pagans, including a group that likes to loiter near church entrances and quietly hiss at people entering or leaving the churches. They get told to move on but they always come back.)

So the blessings were for my own peace of mind but the strange thing is I was especially praying for my confessor because he seems so impatient to get me through the confession that I think maybe he has a prostate problem or something and I am usually one of the last in line so he wants to get out of there by that time.

So, I arrived early, got in line for confession and repeated more prayers about my confessor’s patience while still holding the bag of unblessed sacramentals. We had about three people left in line and Mass was already starting when all of a sudden he burst out of the confessional and ran out the side door! We all stood around in shock, then shrugged and made signs of the cross and went into Mass, and that is when it occured to me he might have a prostate problem, but it also bothered me that I have been naming these priests in prayer with an unblessed Sacramental object.

I also decided I will never sell my crucifixes. I am doing them as Acts of Penance in Lent for all the sacrilegious stuff that the art world has thrown at the Church in recent years. I make about two dozen so I can easily give them away during the year to people who will understand what a crucifix is for. I don’t want to sell them in a public setting where I would not have the right to refuse to let them go to someone who wants to do a sacrilege on them.

I may teach some classes in making them and accept modest registration fees. That is the most I would do.

 

[NeedImprovement]

Permit me one little comment.

We’ve evolved to sort of looking at it exclusively from a point of selling items.

We need to keep a grip on (as you hinted in the original post) the fact that you are also the one who labors over them and makes them too. The people who make those rosaries and crucifixes in stores, waiting to be sold (and hopefully waiting to be blessed too) were paid something for making them beforehand.

If you earn your livelihood as an artist,or wish to, or even if the items are made in your spare time, it isn’t unreasonable to hope for some compensation, say, for, at the very least, materials … particularly if it will help you continue. Christ did say that the laborers deserve their wages [Luke 10:7 ; 1 Timothy 5:18] .

(just my own limited opinion)

 

[littlequestion]

Permit me one little comment.

We’ve evolved to sort of looking at it exclusively from a point of selling items.

We need to keep a grip on (as you hinted in the original post) the fact that you are also the one who labors over them and makes them too. The people who make those rosaries and crucifixes in stores, waiting to be sold (and hopefully waiting to be blessed too) were paid something for making them beforehand.

If you earn your livelihood as an artist,or wish to, or even if the items are made in your spare time, it isn’t unreasonable to hope for some compensation, say, for, at the very least, materials … particularly if it will help you continue. Christ did say that the laborers deserve their wages [Luke 10:7 ; 1 Timothy 5:18] .

(just my own limited opinion)

That’s why I am thinking of doing classes for small groups with a registration fee of maybe $25. The method can be taught in two or three sessions with no materials cost (all of it easily found recyclables) and I do not want to shift to anything like mass-production or commission-filling with these. Also, they give the opportunity for small-group formation which can be extremely beneficial to parishes and loose-knit Catholic communities.

 

[Life_in_God]

Permit me one little comment.

We’ve evolved to sort of looking at it exclusively from a point of selling items.

We need to keep a grip on (as you hinted in the original post) the fact that you are also the one who labors over them and makes them too. The people who make those rosaries and crucifixes in stores, waiting to be sold (and hopefully waiting to be blessed too) were paid something for making them beforehand.

If you earn your livelihood as an artist,or wish to, or even if the items are made in your spare time, it isn’t unreasonable to hope for some compensation, say, for, at the very least, materials … particularly if it will help you continue. Christ did say that the laborers deserve their wages [Luke 10:7 ; 1 Timothy 5:18] .

(just my own limited opinion)

Agreed!
I think you can accept donations for your artwork. Maybe it seems like it is using a change of words or getting around the regulations but a donation or 'free will offering" as one might say is the way a person who accepts one of your devotional items can give back to you in gratitude for what you have created. afterall, we make 'free will offerings" for masses to be said for loved ones or for intentions and that is not buying the mass but it is a way of showing gratitude for the gift of the mass.

Can you see that it would be wrong for someone to take advantage of another person by taking things they invested time and talent in and not returning some form of gratitude for the gift.

I aslo remeber hearing from someone that if artwork is too easily aquired, it isn’t always appreciated because it was just given to someone. The free will offering shows that a person really appreiated the work and will probably care for it.

Didn’t many of the Renaissance artist receive pay or compensation for their paintings in the Vatican? Seems to me the Church paid them…

But it might be good to have the article Blessed after they are received by someone as well.

There are many old sacramentals in antique stores these days and sometimes paying for them is a way of rescuing them too.

My thoughts…Life in God

 

[littlequestion]

This whole thing is evolving. As I work on it, I am thinking that a semi-public show, one that is advertised only through Catholic publications, would be a good idea.

The crosses create a different effect when seen collectively than individually. You get the sense of all our sins being laid on Christ’s wounds.

I am thinking of setting up an exhibit such that a person would come into a quiet space, see a box of crucifixes and an offering box and a shredder. They could put an offering in the box and then if they want, they could write something down on a piece of paper and drop it into the shredder to go into a future cross.

They then would pick up a cross from the box, go into the exhibit of perhaps a hundred crosses on a wall, and they would trade the cross they picked up for one on the wall, and take that one home. They could be given a leaflet directing them to parishes where a priest would be willing to bless their cross. The leaflet would explain the concept of penitential acts while also explaining that if a person needs forgiveness for a sin, having written it on the paper and shredded it is probably not sufficient but they should consider going to confession.

The exhibit could be monitored by several people doing a rosary vigil. It could be set up in any busy business street or mall, perhaps with available vacant space donated.

What do you think of this? Pitfalls? Suggestions?

 

[sablouwho]

This whole thing is evolving. As I work on it, I am thinking that a semi-public show, one that is advertised only through Catholic publications, would be a good idea.

The crosses create a different effect when seen collectively than individually. You get the sense of all our sins being laid on Christ’s wounds.

I am thinking of setting up an exhibit such that a person would come into a quiet space, see a box of crucifixes and an offering box and a shredder. They could put an offering in the box and then if they want, they could write something down on a piece of paper and drop it into the shredder to go into a future cross.

They then would pick up a cross from the box, go into the exhibit of perhaps a hundred crosses on a wall, and they would trade the cross they picked up for one on the wall, and take that one home. They could be given a leaflet directing them to parishes where a priest would be willing to bless their cross. The leaflet would explain the concept of penitential acts while also explaining that if a person needs forgiveness for a sin, having written it on the paper and shredded it is probably not sufficient but they should consider going to confession.

The exhibit could be monitored by several people doing a rosary vigil. It could be set up in any busy business street or mall, perhaps with available vacant space donated.

What do you think of this? Pitfalls? Suggestions?

I think that this is a beautiful idea. Personally I would participate in such an exhibit in a heartbeat. Religious art really moves me…

 

[littlequestion]

I’m reading a lot of the heartfelt criticisms of modern art and watching videos about how it has been used, especially in architecture, to erode the Church. I have seen this and studied it, too, as an artist.

My work in this project is modern in style. I need prayer to make sure the style supports and strengthens the faith. It definitely has to be interactive in order not to be shifted over to a different message than what is intended.

What do you all think about modern styles and the depiction of Christ on the Cross?

Can you post images of what reaches you in a holy way and what makes you feel that there is some disrespect going on, regardless of the intent of the artist?