Discussion of the “problem of modern religious art” in the context of the 2nd and 3rd Exhibition of Contemporary Religious Art in Poland

Abstract

In 1947, discussion of the „problem of modern religious art” was initiated in the monthly „Znak”. Its participants: clergymen and secular intellectuals – patrons, critics and art historians – as well as artists themselves tried to diagnose the state of contemporary works of religious art, i.e. art in the service of worship. The record of several years of press discussion shows the slow evolution of opinions, from diagnosis of the crisis and belief in the need for the rebirth of religious art to postulates of protection and promotion of modern works of art created in sacred interiors. The discussion is complemented by two exhibitions of contemporary religious art: in 1961 in Kraków and in 1964 in Wrocław. The catalogues and texts accompanying those events illustrate a slow increase in awareness of the needs and achievements in the field of contemporary religious art.