The Art of the Council

The two curators of the Exhibit in Bamberg with one the works on display. (Photo: BR/ Bayrisches Fernsehen)

No sooner had we reviewed Aude de Kerros’s work chronicling the invasion of the churches of France by the obscene art of modernity than a perfect illustration of the phenomenon comes to us from Germany. Bamberg is one of the few cities within the limits of present day Germany not destroyed by allied bombing in World War II. Now the crown jewel of Bamberg is the Romanesque cathedral, towering over the old center of town. Like Chartres, it was completed all in one relatively short, intense effort of construction. It is filled with the greatest masterpieces of medieval sculpture – from the Bamberger Reiter of the 13th century to the great works of Tilman Riemenschneider and Veit Stoss of the German Renaissance.

Into this precious sacred space, light-filled and harmonious, is intruded an exhibit of “art” intended to “dialogue” with the earlier masterpieces. The title of the exhibit is “comparisons” or “contrasts.” 1) The directors of the exhibit proclaim: “The cathedral itself is the exhibition space!” The process is exactly as de Kerros describes it. “Artists” connected with trendy galleries and enjoying state support, are thrust upon an ancient church by the German Conciliar clergy, eager to demonstrate their alignment with the state bureaucracy and the media. Archbishop Schick of Bamberg proclaims: “may the engagement with contemporary art challenge man to reflect on what God gives …” As De Kerros writes, the art of such an exhibit does not stand alone but is intended to challenge the surrounding space and the feelings of the “spectator.” Thus, what has survived the bombs of World War II is symbolically destroyed by the exhibit – as facilitated by the Conciliar clerical bureaucracy. For make no mistake about it, the presence of these works in our churches flows directly from the Conciliar mandate for “updating.” These exhibits both serve to distance the Church from the art of the past – and the theology, philosophy and culture gave rise to it – while reaffirming the Conciliar alliance of Church, civil society and state. Of which trinity the Church is infinitely the weakest…

You can form your own impression of the exhibit by the following examples. You can also deepen your knowledge of the participating artists though further research on the net. Artists such as Volker März, whose other “provocative” achievements in papier-mâché sculpture include a gorilla swinging a man…

“Hortus Conclusus” by Miron Schmückle: a blasphemous reference to the Virgin Mary? 2)(Photo: BR/ Bayrisches Fernsehen)

“5 Falling Angels” by Volker März – surrounding the incomparable Annunciation and Visitation sculptures of the early 13th century. (photo: BR/ Bayrisches Fersehen)

“Falling Angel” by Volker März (photo: BR/ Bayrisches Fernsehen)

“Light 1 – Man Woman (or Husband Wife) by Volker März. (photo: BR/Bayrisches Fernsehen)

1) Marion Krüger-Hundrup, “Bamberg: Moderne Kunst im Dom” Bayrisches Fersnsehen 7/16/2012 (link HERE)

2) (In each of the images of the series of photographs of Hortus Conclusus) “… a usually exotic flower is shown in front of a naked androgynous body.” in ” Miron Schmückle” Holger Priess Gallery

Thanks to Fides et Forma