Father Marie -Alain Couturier and the sacred art movement.
Item
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Title
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Father Marie -Alain Couturier and the sacred art movement.
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Identifier
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AAI3063865
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identifier
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3063865
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Creator
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Orenduff, Lai-Kent Chew.
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Contributor
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Director: Mona Hadler
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Date
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2002
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Art History
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Abstract
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This dissertation studies the pervasive influence of modernity on sacred art during and after World War II in France as interpreted by the Dominican priest/artist, Father Marie-Alain Couturier. It offers a reconsideration of the purpose and meaning of art in decoration and liturgy as used in the Catholic Church.;Until the late nineteenth century, church art was a continuum of traditional models customarily used to elucidate church teaching and liturgy. But the profound effects of industrialization, modernity and the aftermath of World War II brought major upheavals, one of which was an attitudinal shift that challenged traditional institutions and upended existing social hierarchies. Traditional institutions that previously were so powerful found their influence waning. The new attitudes brought about by these momentous crises also affected the Church. The result was a decline in Church hierarchical power and a greater emphasis on the individual. The laity now demanded greater relevancy in worship and art.;This dissertation develops this concept by tracing and examining the efforts of Father Marie-Alain Couturier, concentrating on his American exile during World War II. It was Couturier's goal to reinvigorate the Church through a use of modern art that was significant and meaningful to both clergy and laity. He had two basic questions: (1) Can sacred art include modern art? (2) Should the commissioned artist be a practicing Catholic? The answers had to be both artistically and theologically compatible.;Details of Couturier's efforts are presented through a careful reading of his diaries and examination of his art program at Notre Dame de Toute Grâce at Assy in France. After his exile in America, Couturier returned to France to direct the art program at the church in Assy. It was here that his aesthetic theories, changed by his American experience, were put into practice. For the first time, non-practicing Catholics, Jews, and members of the Communist Party were commissioned to do artwork for the Church. A focused discussion is on the Crucifix, a controversial commissioned work by Germaine Richier that brought to light ambivalent political feelings by both church and state, demonstrating the arbitrariness of art.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
