Longhurst believes different kinds of art can lead to different kinds of conversations. It’s not just about learning, but also building genuine connections through art. “Better yet,” said Longhurst, “viewing art itself is, arguably, enjoyable and so the dialogue becomes a pleasant pastime rather than a context for anxiety or apprehension.” He said, “this not only expands our understanding of diversity, but it creates relationships, even friendships. Even if you don’t like the art piece - or disagree with someone’s interpretation - it just leads to more conversation.” “It’s perhaps the safest space for dialogue,” said Longhurst, “because it’s almost impossible to offend one another if you’re talking to an art piece. “They can also come together in various ways: one-on-one, in small groups and circles, or in educational settings,” he said.
“Dialoguers can be of diverse religious beliefs, faith traditions, and cultural backgrounds or of similar religious backgrounds or belief systems,” said Longhurst. This kind of dialogue creates a safe and enjoyable space for dialoguers that transcends taste, trepidation, and negativity. The benefit of the method is that it directly focuses on the artwork, but also involves the person who is taking meaning from the artwork’s content or subject matter, Longhurst said. To better steward and guide that conversation, Longhurst developed the Structured Arts-based Educational Dialogue (SAED) method. “Artwork speaks to us individually,” said Longhurst, “but when two, three, or more people stand in front of an artwork it becomes a broader media conversation.” How pictorial art helps create dialogue “They guide you into searching the same world in different ways,” he said. In fact, he was especially moved by so-called “secular” pieces, modern and abstract art.Ībstract art “offers access to a wider common ground for interreligious dialogue because of its capacity to exhibit theological topics that traverse diverse religions,” wrote Longhurst. Spending time comparing iconoclastic art in Germany and Switzerland with arabesque patterns in North Africa, Longhurst came to believe that pictorial art - regardless of its origins - could prove particularly helpful in sparking fruitful dialogue.īut it wasn’t only explicitly religious creations that motivated Longhurst to explore art’s theological intimations. “Mediated dialogue is always great, and art is a medium that naturally provokes deep feeling and deep discussions,” he said. “People of all - or no - religious background come to works of art and can speak to one another about them,” said Longhurst, “and this led me to think about how pictorial art might help open up deep, theological conversations between people of multiple faith traditions.” Taking in Raphael’s “The School of Athens” (1509-1511) and Caravaggio’s “Deposition,” (1603-1604) Longhurst was taken up by how multiple forms of art - buildings, statues, paintings - conveyed religious messages and inspired spiritual conversations. A native of Napier, Aotearoa New Zealand, Longhurst studied art and theology for 17 years at the Vatican Museums. Through his own observations and inspired by conversations with other Fellows, Longhurst knew the time had come to write the handbook.īut his journey into teaching interreligious dialogue through pictorial art began years ago, in Rome. From New Zealand to Rome, Morocco to MunichĪn expert in theological aesthetics, Longhurst first came up with the idea in Vienna at a training of the 2020 KAICIID Fellows Programme. Christopher Longhurst hopes to prompt with his new book, Pictorial Art for Interreligious Dialogue.įunded by the KAICIID Fellows Programme, the publication explores the unique usage of pictorial art to undertake interreligious dialogue, presenting a practical guide to help educators learn and teach an effective and enjoyable interreligious dialogue in both academic and informal settings. It is those kinds of conversations that Roman Catholic theologian and 2020 KAICIID Fellow Dr. Welcoming some 100,000 visitors of many faiths - and no faith - from across the world each year, the aim of the chapel is, “to create opportunities for spiritual growth and dialogue that illuminate our shared humanity and lead to a world in which all are treated with dignity and respect.” Quite frequently, after stepping outside the chapel, visitors will often ask each other, “what did you see in there?” Unless, of course, you thought it was a decidedly nondenominational, octagonal chapel adorned with fourteen black, but colour-hued, paintings by U.S. The Rothko Chapel in Houston, Texas is not necessarily what you think it is.
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