In order to understand the relationship between art and religion the definitions of these terms need to be understood. It is important to understand that it is difficult to apply the term ‘religion’ to Native American cultures because it is a westernized term. To Native American cultures, there is what we would call ‘religion’ in their creation myths, art, architecture, costumes, masks, ceremonies, hunting, fishing and in almost every aspect of everyday life. All religions have a few common characteristics, the first being that religion tries to understand the universe. Religion also tries to form a connection with the world and/or may try to change natural events through some type of supernatural communication. Art can connect us to the religious aspects of life through objects such as paintings, architecture, sculptors, writings and through oral art such as theater, dance, music and rituals, all of which are created by human thought. Art is influenced by humanity, the different emotions and ideas from each culture are unique to the type of art that is created. The Gill text discusses how important it is to keep art from oral cultures in context when studying them, otherwise the significance cannot be fully understood (Gill 45).
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Joanna Andrusko
The reading in Gill and the movie we watched about that dying tribe in Australia was so fascinating. The idea of things, especially art, as a process over the product is so incredibly foreign. In the west we are so focused on the result, on seeing the fruits of our labor. The Natives in that video created such a beautiful canvas and yet he did it not for the result but to employ the spirits to protect the animals of the land. It made me wonder if that was what it was like for Michaelangelo when he created the Sistine Chapel. When he spent months on his back painting these incredibly beautiful works of art what was he thinking? Was he concerned with what the result was like or was he wrapped up in the sacred right then and there? I know Michaelangelo wasn't a particularly religious person but I like to think that he was experiencing the sacred as he painted. I think all artists do but maybe they just do not think of it that way. How could such dazzling things be created if the sacred had not been employed? When we as humans excel in anything are we not helped by the almighty? Are we capable of all that we accomplish in our own individual capacity as we like to think? I doubt it. I believe we in the west employ the sacred just as often, we are just not as grateful.
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