In the Beginning is the Icon: A Liberative Theology of Images, Visual Arts and Culture

by Sigurd Bergmann

Overview

Icons provide depictions of God or encounters with the divine that enable reflection and prayer. 'In the Beginning is the Icon' explores the value of these images for a theology of liberation. Iconology, art theory, philosophical aesthetics, art history and anthropology are integrated with rigorous theological reflection to argue that the creation and observation of pictures can have a liberating effect on humanity. In presenting art from across the world, 'In the Beginning is the Icon' reflects the ethnocentricity of both art and religious studies and offers a new cross-cultural approach to the theology of art.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781845531720
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	04/01/2009
Series:	Ancient Philosophies Series
Pages:	200
Product dimensions:	7.60(w) x 9.80(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Sigurd Bergmann, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim.

Table of Contents

PrefaceI. What is an image? II. What is art? III. Theological views of artIV. World artV. Aesthetics of liberation ——- towards a contextual theology of artBibliography

Editorial Reviews

"...Bergmann lays out a fascinating and reflective outline of scholarship so far within the broader field of art theology or theological aesthetics."

Jonathan Koestle-Cate, ACE Trust

"Sigurd Bergmann’s book In the beginning is the icon, with the subtitle A liberative theology of images, visual arts and culture, presents an alternate perspective in the approach to visual arts in relation to religious belief."

Marina Vicelja, IKON

From the Publisher