[Religion and the Visual] And the Blue Became Red and Dwelt Among Us

Abstract

The widespread appropriation of distinctively Byzantine Orthodox iconography by non- Orthodox Christians seeking to enrich their own spiritual lives speaks to the timeless currency of its visual language for communicating perceived experiences of transcendence whether its arcane language is fully understood or not. Modern adaptation of Orthodox Christianity’s sacred imagery, transacted through imitation of its distinctive structural elements (line, shape, spatial orientation, inverse perspective, color, etc.) applied across a broad spectrum of traditional and contemporary subjects, can be seen in the works of many non-Orthodox iconographers whose galleries are easily accessible via the World Wide Web. For purposes of illustration I mention only Aidan Hart (http://www.aidanharticons.com) and Teresa Harrisonn (http://www.teresaharrison.com), Anglican artists whose works exhibit traditional iconographic subjects and styles