The upside of having a honeymoon three years after the wedding, and eight years after meeting a person, is that you get to discover and get to know them all over again. “I know what I signed up for.” And when we are both a lot older (but only a little bit less cute), it can be, well, romantic.
France, to its credit, is an epicenter of culture, the arts, religious buildings, and religious arts. To say I didn’t enjoy it is a lie. The paintings, the cathedrals, the architecture, the sculptures, everywhere you look, there is a stunning piece of art and religion displayed in plain sight. It’s magnificent, really.
So it should come as no surprise that we were in a church at least once a day. I felt like we went to more churches than we have in the whole year.
I have a complicated relationship with Christianity and Jesus. I mean, I do appreciate the point in time and the richness of history and culture Christianity brought to Europe, and humanity in general. I do believe in the story of Jesus and his leadership and sacrifices for these people. Yet, as a person, Christianity (and its followers) have rarely been kind to me and people like me. And as I wander about another grand palace for the Pope or the grand cathedral of another epic scale, I couldn’t help but wonder, what blood of the colonized, blood of the Indigenous, and the blood of the peasants who built these grand palaces and places have spilled in the name of faith? With the rise of Christo-fascism in North America and the continued oppression of LGBTQ people in Singapore, it is hard to fully appreciate all this grandeur. “I wonder how often people in Europe think about this kind of thing?” – Dan pondered. To which I respond “It’s funny how the oppressors rarely have to think about their history, isn’t it?”. As the sunlight lit up another stained glass window, refracting the most stunning display on the stoned arches and walls, I couldn’t help but wonder, “Are you there God? Do you see what we have done in your name? Did Jesus die for our sins so Republicans can own guns and regulates others’ choices to health care, to immigration, and to marriage”. Yes, you can argue I’m too ‘woke’ to be pondering these things while visiting just another church, but isn’t it what “faith” is, to invoke deeper questions about life and humanity, not just another building?
Speaking of “woke”, I think I started looking at the arts now differently than a decade ago. Fun fact: I took an Arts history course in Singapore years ago, so I generally know what the period is, who these painters are, and their general styles and aesthetics. And man, they are beautiful. They are a signifier of time, and history, and religion, and world views that are unique and stunning. I would argue that not very many contemporary arts these recent years have invoked similar responses (“You can’t just put a giant lollipop in the middle of a museum and call it “arts” and commentary on the current society”). However, as I walked through hours and hours of museums after museums, I kept pointing out to Dan the skewed worldview of the arts. “Oh, look, another young woman who is so busy that she went to work with half her boobs hanging out! Oh, look, a beautiful woman who takes a nap in the middle of a park in the nudes while all the clothed men stare at her. Oh, wow, white Jesus”. Also, how many times and variations do we need to depict Jesus being tortured. Maybe that’s why I have always loved landscapes and architecture paintings of the past. And yes, that is reading too much into these works, but, isn’t it just like faith, arts are meant to trigger deeply subjective, deeply personal responses?
So yes, Paris and France live up to their reputation when it comes to the stunning Art and Religion scene. I’m just no longer sure if Art and Religion is my scene anymore. I’m not sure if I am ever refined enough, or religious enough, to live here (thank God I don’t live in France.)
My church is my people and my art is my voice. I guess my people are just not Christian, and my art is not that of men who view the world as serving their own narrow-minded desires.
Pace Fine Arts 