Panel: FORMS OF ART AND SACRED IN CONTEMPORARY RELIGIOUS DEBATE



123.9 - INTERRELIGIOUS DIALOGUE AND TRANSRELIGIOUS PRACTICES IN CONTEMPORARY ART

AUTHORS:
Ratkovcic R. (Associate Professor ~ Zagreb ~ Croatia) , Teparic M. (full professor ~ Sarajevo ~ Bosnia and Herzegovina)
Text:
In this presentation, we address religious topics in contemporary art, which in the postmodern period take on new discourses, and artists respond in a completely new way that is not simply the copying of traditional forms, or as Charles Taylor describes this return of religious topics as "a spiritual supernova." There arises a need for the search for new approaches to religious themes, new interpretations, and messages that would respond to the demands of the time and the crisis of society in which we find ourselves today. In this context, the multimedia series of works Gens Una Sumus (We are all one), by Bosnian-Herzegovinian artist Meliha Teparić, will be presented. Meliha Teparić began her artistic practice through the exploration of Sufi interpretations in Islamic calligraphic art, and later turned to theological and religious-political themes. The works Gens Una Sumus places the Christian motif of the Virgin Mary analogously to the position of Maryam in Islam, which defines her as the most honored woman in this world. The artist sees in the figure of Mary/Maryam a timeless universality, which, with her important role in both religions, can provide a basis for creating and expanding interreligious dialogue, thus offering the possibility of overcoming the limitations of traditional religious divisions and their visual motifs. Furthermore, this exhibition is the result of a long-term collaborative dialogue between artist Meliha Teparić, from Bosnian-Herzegovinian Islamic culture, and curator Rosana Ratkovčić, from Catholic culture, based on research and personal experiences of Sufi spirituality, and the ideas of the authors of perennial philosophy, as a way to open dialogue among different religious experiences, and its application in contemporary artistic practices.