Religion and art are inseparable. In art we are co-creators in our efforts to find meaning in our world. In religion we search for the ultimate reality. In art we search for meaning in our world. Art may include visual or verbal searches that are abstract or mirrors of our world. This is also true of religion. What matters most is the we remain open to the change that the experience of myth or art may bring to our lives. A good myth, will tell us something about the human predicament. This is also true of a work of art. In order for religious myth to speak to us we must be able to let go of our agendas, both conscious and hidden to ourselves, and enter into the experience of the holy. This is true of art as well. I think of Picasso’s Guernica as a profound work of art that has changed the attitude of many toward war during the twentieth century. I am not sure what you might see if you were not open to the possibility of change. I know that standing before this work in the Museum of Modern Art a number of years ago, I was rendered speechless and heart broken, actually physically shaken by Picasso’s vision of our human capacity to destroy each other and our world. Are there works of art or myths that carry meaning that bring profound insight for you? Do they move you beyond yourself? What are they? How do they change you?
