Is the social reality of the Catholic Imagination a form of high art?

The Catholic Imagination comprised of “Material Christianity”

What is the Catholic imagination? Does it herald to a whimsical history of Sacred religious places, fashion, art and statues? Material religion can be a scholarly look at the societal relationship between religion and material culture. The groundwork that created the social reality of the Catholic Authority, or Papal supremacy, is a fascinating history dating back to Peter the Apostle in the 1st century.

To fight injustice and poverty across the globe, the Catholic church uses the Pope’s wisdom and knowledge to carry out missions and secure charity for many groups and downtrodden countries. The Roman Catholic Church constitutes the largest denomination within Christianity. The way it presents itself publically and how it is perceived can be a detriment or a positive impact on the whole of that viewpoint.

The social reality of cultural fashion in the Catholic church

Fashion is art. It can highlight and understand historical context in new eras and the impact on society, social issues and cultural differences. The structure that creates that fashion and culture surrounding it is of importance. It showcases what its system ultimately wants to impose on the beliefs for the religion.

I have always been fascinated and intrigued by the different types of leadership and vestments of the varying papal and liturgical cloth that comprises of the Catholic Church. The Pope, the Cardinals, nuns, bishops and other titles that hold in the Catholic church are a mystery to me yet offer a taste of inner workings of one of the most important and oldest religions known to man.

Their ceremonies and rituals, along with the vestments and clothing only found in Catholicism, such as a Pallium, offer outsiders a limited but introspective view into their world. The type of cloth and color can represent their station and their power within the church as appointed by the Pope. This is a curious measure of power as influence on the outside world in a political and social sense is as important and deep as it is dangerous.

A truth that religion can be used to keep the morality of social order in line is often seen as a fallacy. Yet, we have seen that if the majority of the message for that faith is a positive one, it either will have no effect negatively on society, but the positive effect is hard to often see with plain eyes. Corruption within an organization can make that message fall apart.

However, the preservation of a legacy through art, within the scope of material religion can truly help us approach religion in a more clear context.

Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination

In 2018, there was such an exhibit that held that context and created a open forum for conversation on material religion and it’s importance in art history.

The high fashion art exhibition of the Anna Wintour Costume Center, a wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (MMA) which houses the collection of the Costume Institute created a truly evocative evolution of Catholic fashion in what was the museum’s most visited exhibit since they first opened and were established in April 13, 1870.

The Met Gala’s theme and goal was to highlight the influence of religion and liturgical vestments on fashion from designers such as Donatella Versace, and Cristóbal Balenciaga.

Costume Institute curator in charge Andrew Bolton, working alongside colleagues from the Met’s medieval department and the Cloisters placed fashion to be in the forefront of religious art and it’s production. Mainly, the exhibit aimed to showcase how, “material Christianity,” has helped shaped “the Catholic imagination.”

A peek inside the Vatican City Walls

The 2018 exhibit was a tribute to the Andrew Bolton’s exhibition, which showcased fashion inspired by Catholicism and treasures from the Vatican archives ( Bolton et. al, 2018). 40 pieces from the Vatican, with important pieces on loan from the Sistine Chapel sacristy such as papal robes and accessories were in the exhibit as a way to peek inside a secretive world where not many get to tread.

This incredibly diverse and intricate world within the Vatican and how it interacts with the world is a odd sort of duck in that it is it’s own individually run Catholic State, minting it’s own Euros and printing it’s own stamps. It is fully functional within it’s own walls. The pieces they loaned for the exhibit only share a tiny piece of the puzzle, but inspire many artists to create more works of art in the scope of fashion, paintings and other mediums of art.

Modern designers and the decadence of religious fashion

Versace, A.F.Vandevorst, Azzedine Alaïa, Cristobal Balenciaga, Geoffrey Beene, Marc Bohan (for House of Dior), Thom Browne were just some of the notable and modern designers who contributed for the 2018 Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination exhibit.

The backlash of these events when it comes to the mixing of religion and art is that it can lead to some finding a parallel message of decadence, frivolity, lavishness and a link back to the Renaissance Period. Hosting shows in crutches, cathedrals, or inspiration from nuns can also send mixed messages on the sacredness of church and its focus on ceremony.

I truly believe that because of the explosion of popularity in this exhibit, it is a current testament to how religion and art is a truly important part of our daily lives. Material religion is a very impactful way to source religious art history and to elevate it in terms of high art for all to enjoy.

If you’re interested in learning more about the exhibit and the museum follow this link.