Spiritual Moderns: Twentieth-Century American Artists and Religion -- Joseph Cornell and Christian Science: "White Magic" Modernism and the Metaphysics of Ephemera -- Mark Tobey and Bàh̕': "White Writing" and Spiritual Calligraphy -- Agnes Pelton and Occulture: Spiritual Seeking and Visionary Modernism -- Andy Warhol and Catholicism: Pop Art's "Spiritual Side" -- Spiritual Moderns: Culture War Controversies and Enduring Themes.
Summary:
Examines how and why religion matters in the history of modern American art. Andy Warhol is one of the best-known American artists of the twentieth century. He was also an observant Catholic who carried a rosary, went to mass regularly, kept a Bible by his bedside, and depicted religious subjects throughout his career. Warhol was a spiritual modern: a modern artist who appropriated religious images, beliefs, and practices to create a distinctive style of American art. Spiritual Moderns centers on four American artists who were both modern and religious. Joseph Cornell, who showed with the Surrealists, was a member of the Church of Christ, Scientist. Mark Tobey created pioneering works of Abstract Expressionism and was a follower of the Bàh̕' Faith. Agnes Pelton was a Symbolist painter who embraced metaphysical movements including New Thought, Theosophy, and Agni Yoga. And Warhol, a leading figure in Pop art, was a lifelong Catholic. Working with biographical materials, social history, affect theory, and the tools of art history, Doss traces the linked subjects of art and religion and proposes a revised interpretation of American modernism.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.