Art between Veneration, Prohibition and Destruction. How to curate religious art?

Have you ever wondered which challenges are faced by curators of religious art? Dr. Martin Rademacher made the exhibition "BILD MACHT RELIGION" in the Kunstmuseum Bochum. He will share his experiences during this lecture, followed by a Q&A with the audience.

The role of images is contested in religious traditions. While some religious traditions appreciate images and statues to the point of venerating them, others are critical, to say theleast, about (re-)presenting the divine in the media of art. Contemporary art takes up these issues, adopts and transforms them. The exhibition – a cooperative project organized by theart museum of Bochum and the Center for Religious Studies (CERES) at Ruhr University Bochum – displays artifacts from different regions and times with a focus on Christian traditions. The objects highlight the whole spectrum of positions towards images reaching from reflected criticism to violent destruction; often within one and the same religious tradition. The talk will present the central ideas behind the exhibition as well as the challenges involved in its preparation and set-up.

About Dr Martin Radermacher

Dr Martin Radermacher currently represents the Chair for the Study of Religions at the Center for Religious Studies (CERES) at Ruhr University Bochum (Germany). Having studied cultural and social anthropology and the study of religions at the University of Münster (Germany) (2007–2010), he completed his PhD studies on evangelical fitness and dieting programs in the United States (“devotional fitness”) in 2014. His research is situated in the anthropology of contemporary Christianities in Europe and the US, and focuses on religious architecture and atmospheres, religion and art, and religion and sports.