“None can sense more deeply than you artists, ingenious creators of beauty that you are, something of the pathos with which God at the dawn of creation looked upon the work of his hands. A glimmer of that feeling has shone so often in your eyes when–like the artists of every age–captivated by the hidden power of sounds and words, colours and shapes, you have admired the work of your inspiration, sensing in it some echo of the mystery of creation with which God, the sole creator of all things, has wished in some way to associate you” (John Paul II, Letter to Artists, 1). With this in mind, I think of the various ways the arts of engaged my sense of beauty, how good art has expressed my relationship with God and how impoverished (even oppressive) life would be without the work of artists.
Honestly, I rarely think with any degree of seriousness on how religious posters have demonstrated the genius of human creativity much less how this medium has impacted the our sense of living in tension with the Divine. But I believe this is what we have here. The exhibit, “Reel Religion: A Century of the Bible and Film” gives us a strong indication of this impact and what has transpired since the 19th century.
The posters belong are a part of Dominican Father Michael Morris‘ (and look here) collection. Morris is a professor of art and religion at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California .
Besides posters there are other memorabilia such as Charlton Heston’s tunic and cape from the 1959 award-winning Ben-Hur and correspondence from directors.
The “Reel Religion” exhibit opened February 6th and will close on May 17th.
See a video clip on the subject.
“The Museum of Biblical Art (MOBIA) brings to the public an interpretation of art through the lens of biblical religions and an understanding of religion through its artistic manifestations.”
A version of this exhibit was seen at St. Louis University’s MOCRA last year.