Beyond Belief

Beyond Belief: Theoaesthetics or Just Old-Time Religion? explores the possible reemergence of a theological dimension to contemporary art. Long estranged from symbol and sacrament contemporary artists--and those who think and write about them--seem to have turned once again to a vision rooted in the sacred. In an era marked culturally by world-weary cynicism and self-conscious irony a new humanism may be emerging one which aims to move beyond fragmentation and opposition to integration and unification. The aim of this book is not to propose a resurgence of religious iconography but rather to give voice to long-suppressed--often maligned and certainly professionally risky--positions informed by and reverberating with themes of the sacred. The essays included here by a range of scholars working on these issues today originated as a lively and spirited session of the 2008 College Art Association annual conference.