The works of Luke Roberts and Juan Davila give an insight into two extremely different cultural identities. This analysis outlines how, within their respective oeuvres, Roberts’ Pope Alice and Archangel (1) and Davilas’ Beauty and The Beast have dealt with the notion of ‘belonging’. Roberts is a gay contemporary Australian artist, raised in Alpha, Queensland. The artist utilises his alter egos, such as Her Divine Holiness Pope Alice, to acknowledge and parody his childhood isolation and Catholic heritage (O’Donnel, 1993). The artist combines iconography reminiscent his catholic upbringing and homosexuality throughout his work as his primary motif. The conflation of these symbols is particularly present within the photographic-performance piece …show more content…
In the work, Roberts, donning the robes of a Pope, perversely splays himself beneath an archangel’s uncertain gaze, as he reaches for the angels’ genitals. The artist uses his work to ironically question ‘otherness’ and ‘Christ-consciousness’ (Berry 2005, p. 82). Roberts has created this work as a reflection of his religious past, his sexuality and childhood alienation. Raised in a Catholic household, Roberts has stated, in conversation with Doug Hall, that he, “…attended church almost daily” and was, “…very much the ideal candidate for priesthood” (YouTube 2008). However, the artist suffered a ‘religious crisis’ whilst attending art school and coming to terms with his sexual identity (YouTube 2008). Pope Alice and Archangel (1) is a classic example of the ironic commentary on religious views presented throughout his …show more content…
Pope Alice is presented as leering at the angels erection, possibly in an attempt to mock a quote associated with Michael, “Be clear about what you desire, and focus upon it with unwavering faith” (2015, p. 2). The separation between the religious figurehead and the other subjects in the work make the Angel appear out of place. Both Roberts and the set are covered almost entirely, while the Angel is naked. This juxtaposition presents the religious figure as a personification of ‘otherness’. Perhaps referencing the childhood alienation the Roberts felt when involved with religion (REFERENCE). Roberts has stated in a Letter to the Editor for SX magazine, Sydney, that he, “…as a downcast, unhappy, gay youth renegotiate my own spiritual connection in rejecting Christianity in the 1970s. Whilst Jesus said nothing about homosexuality (a word not coined until the mid-nineteenth century) many of his followers seem obsessed with it. Jesus did however have much to say about love one another” (Roberts 2011, p.
Edmond Rostand’s comedic play Cyrano de Bergerac recounts the tragic heartbreak of an unsightly French poet as he aids his handsome but dull cohort Christian in capturing the heart of the beautiful Roxane. Cyrano de Bergerac, a colossal-nosed man with a masterful talent for wielding both words and sword, battles self-doubt and insecurity as he contends with his own feelings of love for Roxane. Throughout the play, Rostand reveals a stark polarity between Cyrano and Christian, illuminating the gaping disparity between the characters’ appearance and intellect while portraying the men as foils for each other. From the play’s beginning, Rostand’s audience becomes keenly aware of the divergence between Cyrano’s intellectual substance and Christian’s physical attributes. While Cuigy pronounces Christian “a charming head,” the character describes himself as “...far from bright” (Rostand 1.4-5).
INTRODUCTION Jack Phillips’ is a man of deep religious faith, combining his strong religious beliefs with the cakes he makes in his own bakery, Masterpiece Cakeshop. Each cake Phillips’ makes it meticulously crafted through a series of sketching, sculpting, and hand-painting as he believes these cake to be a form of artistic expression. However, just as any artist’s work is personal to them, Phillips’ too focuses heavily on what the cake, which he considers his art, will represent and does not produce cakes that contrast with his personal beliefs. The issue here is that Phillips’ denied respondents Charlie Craig and David Mullins’ request to create a cake honoring their same-sex marriage.
Humans, prideful creatures, tend to think of only themselves. Their selfish nature causes suffering to themselves and to others as well. This self-centered mentality creates many deep family problems. Dombey wishes his son to turn like him even without his consent or even considering his feelings. In the passage, the descriptions of the egocentric Dombey and the victimized and pitied son and Mrs. Dombey shows the authors disappointing and cynical attitude that the reader reciprocates as well.
This relates back to the modern world also, through the idea of “nudes”, where people send photo’s of themselves over the internet to an accepting recipient, this demonstrates that romantic theologies are still present in today society. This also shows how the “pornographic” nature of the caricatures can be seen as showing the forbidden, ‘In the late nineteenth century, "pornography" named a category of representations whose graphic depictions satisfied forbidden desires, where the very essence of the "pornographic" depended upon the
Love is something important. It’s the cause of life, death, and everything in between. It’s the reason that urges some people to get out of bed in the morning. Whether it’s head over heels, or just a short-lived crush, love is beautiful. However, a multitude of people corrupt the view of love with lust, a feeling based wholly on appearance.
Cone’s theological project was similar to the work of liberation theologians in Latin America as they all viewed the Gospels through the lens of the crucified Christ and the bruised, battered, and crushed people that the Messiah identified with. Black theology contends that it is only by taking on the perspective of the black church – and the marginalized in general – that Christians can gain a proper understanding of the character and purposes of God and the work of Jesus Christ. Plantinga notes that Cone wanted “to stress the connection between black oppression and Christian faith in an unmistakable way,” which led Cone to make the provocative “claim that ‘God is black,’” and not literally black in terms of skin color or ethnicity but black in the sense of standing in solidarity with the oppressed. The unpleasant truth is that many of the white standard bearers for the Christian faith have been sending the message, either implicitly or explicitly, that God is white, I mean just look at stained glass windows in cathedrals or religious artwork of the past 500 years that has reinforced God’s unbearable whiteness of being. Cone forcefully argues that this idolatrous image of God needed to be broken to pieces in a similar manner to the iconoclasts who smashed to bits what they deemed to be idolatrous depictions of God in the Middle Ages
Artwork is a form of self-expression from an artist based on life experience, or on something that the artist feels strongly about (Berenson, 87). The product of art can help others with similar experiences but not able to express the same feeling themselves. From the product of art, people can start drawing excitement, purpose as well as encouragement about the real thing being expressed. Through a piece of art, the artist can communicate a purpose, an emotion or an idea in their work. In this research paper, I compare two pieces of artwork; Madonna and child with the saints by Giovanni Bellini and Madonna and child with the two angels done by Fra Filippo Lippi.
There are fundamental questions that are posed in everyone’s life. The most asked, as well as the most daunting one is perhaps what happens when we die, and what is heaven like? Billy Collins in his poem “Question About Angels”, attempts to pose and answer such questions. As the poem is a statement on the outlook of how religion in interpreted, and how angels are perceived through the use of repetition, symbolism, and irony. Billy Collins attempts to show the reader a sense of mystery and unfamiliarity that leads to chaos when he is trying to describe how angels are perceived.
“A Father’s Story”, a short story written by Andre Dubus, is an extremely interesting an insightful look into Catholic literature of the modern day. Dubus uses the medium of Catholicism to deliver a story that is both captivating in its action, while also being reaffirming in its attempt to contemplate both belief and faith in God in a man who leads an existence that is seemingly black-and-white and adrift. Through the presence of God and the main character’s struggle with his Catholic religion however, the life that appears to be, isn’t in fact all that is, and as long as he still retains and balances his faith with his love and fatherly duties, new meaning is given to being a Catholic in the modern day. The main character of the story, Luke
A varied balance between the symbolic and realism has been struck world over by the painting. In the fifteenth century Western painting began to turn from its age- old concern with spiritual realities towards an effort to combine this spiritual expression with as complete an imitation as possible of the outside
Jean- Baptiste Molière’s play “Tartuffe” is an unquestionably humorous comedy. The play defines the hypocritical acclaimed “Christians” we have in society. Daily, many people are blinded by admiration of religious figures who they believe are Gods disciples and can lead them to the gates of heaven. In “Tartuffe”, the author uses irony, satire, and tone to uncover a man follies of unreligious faith, the lust of women, money, and power.
In Wayne Johnston’s novel, The Divine Ryans the Momary dreams are significant because they represent much of what the novel is about. The dreams signify sexuality, secrecy, and Draper Doyle coming-of-age. Draper Doyle is visited by the ghost of his father and these visitations are always followed by the dreams of Momary. The connection between the ghost and the dreams signify Draper’s repressed memories. It is through these dreams that Draper is able to uncover those memories and ultimately save his family.
Although John Milton’s Paradise Lost remains to be a celebrated piece recounting the spiritual, moral, and cosmological origin of man’s existence, the imagery that Milton places within the novel remains heavily overlooked. The imagery, although initially difficult to recognize, embodies the plight and odyssey of Satan and the general essence of the novel, as the imagery unravels the consequences of temptation that the human soul faces in the descent from heaven into the secular realms. Though various forms of imagery exist within the piece, the contrast between light and dark imagery portrays this viewpoint accurately, but its interplay and intermingling with other imagery, specifically the contrasting imagery of height and depth as well as cold and warmth, remain to be strong points
In the drama “The Shape of Things”, Neil LaBute explores gender roles and exposes alternative visions of power, control and morality in human relationships. The drama narrates the physical and behavioral transformation of Adam, a part-time museum guard who is subject to the manipulation and control of a radical artist named Evelyn Ann Thompson. This essay will demonstrate that Adam is not responsible for his transformation, and that he is a victim of Evelyn’s manipulation and control. Gender reversal is one of the techniques employed by the author that allows the reader to perceive the character of Adam as a victim. In the beginning of the play, LaBute switches traditional gender roles by portraying Evelyn as a dominant figure and Adam as a passive character.
in the publication The Spirit Lamp, could be classified as depicting homosexual love. For the purpose of easing the analysis, the sonnets are looked as to portray the intentions and feelings of a male persona, though no clear indication of it is given. The idea of the gender of the persona is backed by the understanding that the magazine was a front for the gay authors, Uranians, to publish their works. The sonnet “Heartsease and Orchid”, could be understood as to portray two men as flowers or as flower givers and the main persona as enamoured with both.