Invisibility of Religion in Contemporary Art

Jonathan A. Anderson is the Eugene and Jan Peterson Associate Professor of Theology and the Arts at Regent College. He is the co-author of the book Modern Art and the Life of a Culture: The Religious Impulses of Modernism.

"Anderson's new book has the singular purpose of clarifying the field by means of analysis, to construct a scheme through which the types of religious arts practice may be understood. This cartography of objects thought to engage religion and theology also extends to art historians' theoretical writings, and it is to Anderson's credit that he can present such a methodological approach clearly yet without dogmatism." - Art Christianity"[Anderson's] book is a game-changer, not just because he comprehensively documents the gap between artists' work and the limiting ways in which they have been critiqued, understood and described, but also because he summarises the more recent changing response from critics, curators and historians to artists engaging with religion and sets out effective frameworks for considering such work going forward." - International Times"[W]ith Anderson's lucid and well-informed writing style, this book will be accessible to a wide audience of readers....In addressing and dismantling many of the deep-rooted obstacles that have stood in the way of serious thinking about his subject, Anderson has made a significant contribution to both the scholarship of art and the scholarship of religion." - Religion Unplugged"An entirely brilliant book on an intensely difficult subject. The Invisibility of Religion in Contemporary Art is not just for artists, art historians, critics, curators, and theologians: it's for anyone who wants to see what a well-informed, calm, patient, humble, circumspect voice can do with a subject that seems so fraught, so entrenched." - James Elkins, author of On the Strange Place of Religion in Contemporary Art"The impressive achievement of Jonathan A. Anderson's crosscutting analysis and trenchant examples demonstrates beyond argument that art history and criticism have been hobbled by neglecting the inheritance of theological frames and assumptions." - Thomas E. Crow, author of No Idols"This book combines an exceptional knowledge of modern and contemporary art with a rare alertness to theologically-informed critical tools for its evaluation. Jonathan Anderson's sensitivity and subtlety of insight in reading works of visual art is matched by an exquisite writing style. He has established a genuinely pioneering approach to the theological interpretation of visual art, from which many others (myself included) will benefit for years to come. Brilliant." - Ben Quash, author of Found Theology"Anderson presents an incisive and compelling study, exhibiting herein a clear command of the fields of art criticism and religious studies. This book represents an important contribution to the field of theology and the arts, and is a must-read for both scholars and practitioners." - W. David O. Taylor, author of A Body of Praise"This book is an iteration of a new generation of scholarship that seeks to move beyond the frame that has defined the art-religion-theology landscape for the last two generations. Anderson suggests that to write about the visual arts, even and especially those practices that are not explicitly religious, is itself a theological practice." - Daniel A. Siedell, author of Who's Afraid of Modern Art?

• List of FiguresList of Tables and DiagramAcknowledgmentsIntroductionPart 1. The Invisibility of Religion in Twentieth-Century Art History1. 19792. 2004Part 2. The New Visibility of Religion in Contemporary Art3. Contemporary Art and Religion: Mapping the Terrain4. Contemporary Art and Religion: Four HorizonsInterludePart 3. Contemporary Art and Theology5. An Experiment in Art Writing: Kris Martin's Altar (2014)6. Art Criticism within a Theological HorizonConclusionAppendix. Exhibitions Addressing Religion in Contemporary Art, 1974–2024Expanded Appendices available online at jonathan-anderson.com/appendicesNotesBibliographyIndex