Argumentative Essay: Religion And Rituals

Religious beliefs and the rituals created to express them have played a major role in shaping artistic expression since the beginning of time. The west is no different and we find artwork throughout generations is rich with religious meaning. From the devotional art of New Spain to the Native rituals of the Southwest, the exhibit “Art of the West” at the Gene Autry Western Heritage Museum displays a significant narration of western culture in one of its main themes “Religion and Ritual”. This collection represents different manifestations of religious thought, practice, and spirituality in art of the west both historically and in present day. On the northern border of the Spanish frontier, the presence of the divine west was part of daily life as well as the focus of special rituals during Holy Week, in which carved figures of Jesus and the Virgin Mary were carried through the streets in imitation of Christ’s Passion. These figures, called santos (religious carvings depicting saints) or bultos (saints carved in the round), often feature solid bases and elongated forms so they can be raised and seen from high. The prominence of saints in Hispanic art stems from the devotional practices of Roman Catholicism, which were transmitted to colonial Mexico with the Spanish conquest. In the remote outpost of northern Mexico, carved and painted figures of saints were called upon for help with rain, harvests and other situations. Modern day artist and santero (a maker of santos) Jose Benjamin Lopez, continues this tradition in his piece Crucifix (Christo) circa 1980. This monumental Cristo (Spanish for Christ) uses the natural twists and knots of the wood used in its creation, to further convey the message of suffering of Christ’s passion on the cross, a key aspect of Catholic ritual within many Hispanic communities. The artist is also the founder of La Escuela, a group devoted to the persistence of this artistic tradition in the contemporary world. Another modern day example of religious influence in western art can be found in Paul Pietka’s Tears of the Lord, circa 2005. The figure of Christ is shown nailed to an Aztec cross with a group of Mexican people in traditional and contemporary dress at his feet. The description goes on to say that their disregard for the image of suffering suggests the ambivalence that European beliefs are sometimes met with Native societies. The modernist artist Willard Nash (1898 – 1943), was drawn to the American Southwest by …show more content…
Artist Frank G. Applegate captures the essence of Native American ritual in his painting Hopi Snake Dance, circa 1923. While the origins of the Hopi snake dance precede written records anthropologists have described it as an elaborate prayer for rain, in which reptiles are gathered from fields and entrusted with the prayers of the people. The Snake dance was part of a cycle of rituals designed to benefit Hopi society. As the ceremony evoked cosmic or tribal space, it was conducted mostly in private. The last day of the weeklong ceremony was open to the public. Drawn to what they saw as an unbroken link to an ancient past, artists flocked to Hopi in the early twentieth century to paint the Snake Dance. By 1913, the crowd of observers numbered several hundred, prompting the Hopi to impose restrictions on sketching and photography. Applegate’s painting is truly a window into the a past that connects us to an understanding of our