The Gutenberg Bible is located at the Harry Ransom Center at The University of Texas at Austin. By placing it at the HRC part of the atmosphere surrounding the Bible it diminished, furthermore; the main purpose of it is misplaced.
Due to the placement of The Gutenberg Bible in an institutionalized secular setting, it diminishes the holiness surrounding the Bible. At the creation of the Bible in 1455, the main location they resided were in churches. Churches provide a religious atmosphere when reading the Bible because churches provide a location for individuals in a community to come together to make a call for the divine. However, when placed at the HRC, a center connected to a secular University, the environment that was allowed in a church would be seen as inappropriate and possibly illegal. Although, the HRC has limited ability to replicate the same conditions that was available in a church in the 15th century it certainly attempts to. The most noticeable factor is the enclosed space created around the viewing of The Gutenberg Bible. By isolating the Bible it creates an intimacy between the words of God and the viewer. The enclosure attempts to …show more content…
In churches The Gutenberg Bible was used to recite the words of God that would allow religious devotion to be one with the divine; however, by changing the placement of the Bible to an institutional setting the purpose of it changes from devotional to appreciation. At the HRC, the Bible is not allowed to be touched and unable to be turned, both hindered due to a glass casing. Unable to be used as a tool to pray, the Bible is, in essence, obsolete for its purposes. Rather, it is now an object of preservation that is viewed for its historical significance as the first scripture mass produced as well as the ascetical qualities rather than the message