Sacred Art, a Core Value in the Cultural-Artistic Rethinking and Visual Practice

Abstract

In a postmodern world which hosts a mix of cultural values, Sacred Art brings into focus the sublimation of the form of representation. This makes Sacred Art a core value in the cultural-artistic rethinking and in the visual practice. On the other hand, in its relationship to society, the moral component supported by Sacred Art in Christianity represents a core value which offers cultural and artistic rethinking and visual practice a chance for spiritual revigoration. For over two decades, the Faculty of Orthodox Theology of the “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” in Iasi has shaped and developed artistic and heritage preservation skills to generations of students educated to protect the Chruch Heritage and revive Sacred Art. The study of art history involeved in this process brings in signs of the sacred from around the world which show a constancy in their choice of location, shape and their function of signalling the presence of the sacred, which relies on their aesthetic component. Sacred Art has empowered the core human need of the sacred as related to certain locations in the world and to the very places where it is taught and practiced. This paper presents some of the results - in their theoretical and applied aspects - with reference to iconographic art and its weight in the professional training of those who can continue to create, protect and remake (by conservation and restauration) mostly heritage items. Some activities, forms of artistic expression and implications to support preservation of objects as accomplished by students and graduates of our division have been chosen to illustrate this aspect. The purpose of the work is to bring into discussion the role and place of sacred art in today's society, where it rests a moral and a cultural landmark.