10.9.14

Patrimonio e Identidad

English: Cultural Heritage and Identity ; Português: Patrimônio e Identidade

El rescate de la memoria y la formación de la identidad
Seminario por Mariano Akerman
Centro de Estudios Bíblicos
Río de Janeiro, Brasil
Septiembre-Octubre de 2014





1. Texto sagrado y arte hebreo
2 de septiembre

2. Jaque a la reina: Ecclesia, Synagoga y la Reina del Shabat
9 de septiembre

3. Un tiempo para todo: alegorías de la fe en el arte europeo
21 de octubre



• Acompañadas por imágenes, las disertaciones son presentadas en portugués.




1. Texto sagrado y arte hebreo

No harás para ti escultura ni imagen alguna...
– Éxodo 20:4

Aborda la relación entre texto sagrado e imagen visual, subrayando la dimensión conceptual y simbólica del arte hebreo. Considera el episodio bíblico de becerro de oro y su iconografía para evaluar luego sus implicancias a la luz del Otorgamiento de la Ley. Explora las premisas divinas delineadas para la creación del Tabernáculo, el Arca de la Alianza y el Pectoral del Sumo Sacerdote de Israel. Analiza el carácter funcional, simbólico y artístico del arte hebreo. Establece una diferenciación entre "arte judío" y "experiencia judía con las artes visuales", demostrando que el alcance de la primera expresión resulta limitado, mientras que la segunda es preferible dado que ensancha los horizontes en la apreciación de las diversas expresiones artísticas dado que incluye la dialéctica intercultural.




Jaque a la reina: Ecclesia, Synagoga y la Reina del Shabat

Sólo se ve bien con el corazón,
lo esencial es invisible a los ojos.

– Antoine de Saint-Éxupéry

Estudia la razón de ser del par medieval de alegorías eclesiásticas al que se conoce en latín como Ecclesia et Synagoga. Explora los rasgos y atributos de cada una de ellas, así como también las correspondencias simbólicas otrora establecidas entre su forma y significado. Indaga sobre el significado de la presencia de Synagoga en el arte eclesiástico medieval y su transformación e implicancias tanto en el Majzor Leví como en la imaginería modernista de Ephraim Moses Lilien.




3. Alegorías de la fe en arte visual europeo

Pueblo lleno de fe, mas falto de luz
– Federico García Lorca

Empleadas desde la Antigüedad, las alegorías son figuras retóricas que pertenecen al campo de la ficción, pero son también alusivas y poseen atributos que las caracterizan, dándoles significado a las mismas. Habitualmente las alegorías presentan forma humana y son empleadas para transmitir conceptos abstractos. Existen así alegorías que personifican las nociones de justicia, amor, fe, y otras.

A través de su disertación, Mariano Akerman explora los orígenes, naturaleza e implicancias de diversas alegorías relativas a la fe y que fueron expresadas en el arte cristiano entre los siglos XIII y XX.

El autor examina el par teológico conocido como Ecclesia et Synagoga (1250), así como también aquél que figura en La fuente de la Gracia (1450), pintura que tiene por objeto el reafirmar la fe del creyente cristiano en los dogmas de la Eucaristía y la Transubstanciación, los que a su vez se conjugan en la tabla con una supuesta condición ruinosa del judaísmo (tanto pasado como contemporáneo), para instilar la Teoría del Reemplazo y disuadir mediante ella al converso en apariencia de su posible criptojudaísmo.

Considera seguidamente otras alegorías teológicas de la fe cristiana, especialmente aquellas que son católicas y pertenecen a la tradición española. Según Akerman, estas últimas tienen su origen último en alegorías antiguas y medievales: Fides, Justitia y Ecclesia, pero presentan asimismo una singularidad que brilla por su ausencia en el resto de sus homólogas europeas.

Akerman finalmente explora las alegorías del madrileño Monumento del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús (1914-65) y establece entonces una inesperada relación entre una de ellas y su predecesora visual, cuya naturaleza –indudablemente– es también teológica.





Un tiempo para todo
por Mariano Akerman.
Un tiempo para todo concierne las nociones del rescate de la memoria y la formulación de la identidad.


Hay un tiempo para todo bajo el cielo.

un tiempo para callarse y un tiempo para hablar.

un tiempo para colocar una venda sobre los ojos del prójimo
y un tiempo para colocarla sobre nuestros propios ojos.

un tiempo para señalar la ceguera del vecino
y un tiempo para reconocer la ceguera propria.

un tiempo para fabricar estereotipos
y un tiempo para deconstruirlos.

un tiempo para la manipulación y el delirio colectivo
y un tiempo para el sentido común y la integridad.

un tiempo para insistir sobre las diferencias
y un tiempo para percibir las semejanzas.

un tiempo para alejarse
y un tiempo para reconciliarse.



Synclesia, 5775/2014.


Alegorias da fé na arte visual européia

Utilizadas desde a antiguidade, as alegorias são figuras retóricas que pertencem ao campo da ficção, mas de forma alusiva; em geral, também, estão providas de atributos significativos. Basicamente, as alegorias transmitem conceitos abstratos, personificando a justiça, o amor, e a fé, entre outros.

Através de sua apresentação, Mariano Akerman explora a origem, a natureza e as implicações de algumas alegorias da fé que encontraram expressão na arte cristã a partir do século XIII para o século XX.

O autor examina o par teológico conhecido como Ecclesia et Sinagoga (1250), também aquele representado na Fonte da Graça (1450), e diversas alegorias teológicas da fé, particularmente aquelas que são católicas e pertencem à tradição espanhola. Segundo Akerman, estas últimas têm suas origens em alegorias antigas e medievais: Fides, Justitia e Ecclesia, mas as alegorias espanholas apresentam uma particularidade que brilha pela sua ausência em suas homólogas européias.

Akerman finalmente examina as alegorias do Monumento do Sagrado Coração de Jesus em Madri (1914-1965) e estabelece uma ligação inesperada entre uma dessas alegorias e sua predecessora visual, cuja natureza –sem dúvida– é também puramente teológica.




Um tempo para tudo

Há um tempo para tudo debaixo do céu.

um tempo de calar-se e um tempo de falar.

um tempo para colocar uma venda sobre os olhos do próximo
e um tempo para colocar a venda nos nossos próprios olhos.

um tempo para insistir sobre a cegueira do vizinho
e um tempo para reconhecer a cegueira própria.

um tempo para construir estereótipos
e um tempo para desconstruí-los.

um tempo para a manipulação e o delírio coletivo
e um tempo para o bom senso e a integridade.

um tempo para insistir sobre as diferenças
e um tempo para perceber as semelhanças.

um tempo de se afastar
e um tempo de reconciliar-se.





Acerca del presente trabajo
Investigación, comentario y diseño gráfico computarizado de Mariano Akerman

Recursos

Ecclesia et Synagoga
Las alegorías teológicas y sus atributos
El Prado desaforado
La llave del enigma
Cantar de los Cantares
Blindfold Collection
Venda y ojos cubiertos
Monumento al Sagrado Corazón de Jesús




• John M. Bugge, Virginitas: An Essay in the History of a Medieval Idea, International Archives of the History of Ideas 17, The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, 1975, ch. III: Sponsa Christi, pp. 59-66.
• Bezalel Narkiss y Aliza Cohen-Mushlin, The Illumination of the Worms Mahzor: Description and Iconographical Study, 1985, pp. 79-89.
• Bartal, Ruth. "Medieval Images of Sacred Love: Jewish and Christian Perceptions," Assaph: Studies in Art History 2 (1996), 93-110; pdf.
• Sarit Shalev-Eyni, “Iconography of Love: Illustrations of Bride and Bridegroom in Ashkenazi Prayerbooks of the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Century,” Studies in Iconography 26, 2005, pp. 27-57.
• Simon Holloway, On Crowns and Pointy Hats, Davar Akher, Sydney, 1.1.2007
• Robert Michael, A History of Catholic Antisemitism: The Dark Side of the Church, Palgrave Macmillan, 2008, ch. 4: Medieval Deterioration.
• Brooke Falk Permenter, "To See or Not to See in the Middle Ages: Blind Jews in Christian Eyes", Hugh Vagantes Medieval Conference, 2010 (Medievalists).
• Katrin Kogman-Appel, A Mahzor from Worms: Art and Religion in a Medieval Jewish Community, Harvard UP, 2012.
• Laura Suzanne Lieber, A Vocabulary of Desire: The Song of Songs in the Early Synagogue, Leiden: Brill, 2014.



Ref. Educación | Disertaciones | Estudios Bíblicos | Historia del Arte

20.4.14

What a Century!


Ref. In the Spirit of Linnaeus: The Tercentenary Lectures on Science and Art, by Mariano Akerman, Manila and Taytay, Philippines, 2007



Linnaeus and the Age of Reason

Linnaeus lived in the eighteenth century. He developed his work in a period of time that falls between Hogarth’s Inhabitants of the Moon, a 1700 print mocking the socio-political order of the day, and the launching of the first balloon by the Montgolfière brothers in 1783.

Almost everything that distinguishes the modern Western world from earlier centuries—industrialized production, bureaucratized government, the new conceptions that science introduced into philosophy, the whole climate of thought and opinion—overlapped during the eighteenth century with the old political and social order, the ancien régime.

It was the last period in which it was widely believed that "kings are by God appointed," the first in which it could be claimed as "self-evident" that (in the words of the American Declaration of Independence, 1776) "all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness."

The incompatibility of these claims with traditional systems of monarchic or oligarchic government was not shown up until the last decade of the century, when the French Revolution gave a new meaning to the ideas of “liberty, equality and fraternity.”

While the middle class encouraged new ideas and financed technological advances, the thinkers of the Enlightenment fostered the ideas of Reason and Freedom.

Because of the brilliance of its thinkers the whole century was actually an intellectual turning point, aptly known as the Age of Reason.

Here are their ideas:

1) "One can fool some men, or fool all men in some places and times, but one cannot fool all men in all places and ages” (Denis Diderot, Encyclopédie ou Dictionnaire raisonné des Sciences, des Arts et des Métiers, 1754, vol. 4).

2) “If we don’t find anything pleasant, at least we shall find something new" (Voltaire, Candide, 1759, ch. 17: « Si nous ne trouvons pas des choses agréables, nous trouverons du moins des choses nouvelles »).

3) "Man was born free, and everywhere he is in chains" (Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Du contract social, 1762, bk. 1, ch. 1: « L’homme est né libre, et partout il es dans les fers »).

4) "Everything is good as it leaves the hands of the Author of things; everything degenerates in the hands of man. He forces one soil to nourish the products of another, one tree to bear the fruit of another. He mixes and confuses the climates, the elements, the seasons. He mutilates his dog, his horse, his slave. He turns everything upside down: he disfigures everything; he loves deformity, monsters. He wants nothing as nature made it, not even man; for him, man must be trained like as school horse; man must be fashioned in keeping with his fancy like a tree in his garden" (Rousseau, Émile ou de l’éducation, 1762, bk. 1)

5) "In this world we run the risk of having to choose between being the anvil or the hammer" (Voltaire, Dictionnaire Philosophique, 1764: “Tyranny”).

6) "Common sense is not so common” (Voltaire, Dictionnaire Philosophique, 1765 : "Common Sense." His original words are: « Le sens commun est fort rare »).



The Enlightenment radiated out of the philosophical and scientific thought of the seventeenth century, especially that of Descartes, of John Locke, who propounded a philosophy based on empirical observation and common sense, and of Isaac Newton, who provided a rational explanation of the laws determining and working of the universe.

Despite many and profound differences, the leaders of the eighteenth-century Enlightenment shared a faith in the power of the human mind to solve every problem. They believe in human perfectibility and in the possibility of human omniscience. And in this optimistic belief all physical phenomena were studied and categorized and all aspects of human behavior were scrutinized from a strictly rational viewpoint—political systems, social customs, religious practices. Everything that seemed to them worth knowing was ordered and encapsulated in the great French encyclopedia (1751-72).

It aimed to survey knowledge according to rational philosophical principles. "Dare to know! Have the courage to use your understanding; this is the motto of the Enlightenment," the German philosopher Immanuel Kant declared in 1784.

Science seemed to make the universe more, rather than less, mysterious.

Newton’s mechanistic conception of creation—an orderly system set in motion by "a divine clock-maker"—gave way to one that was organic. This was epitomized by Linnaeus’ classification of the natural species.

Distinguishing from his predecessor’s myths and inaccuracies, Linnaeus’s new scientific attitude was based on observation and empiricism.

As the most famous Swedish biologist of all times put it in his Philosophia botanica of 1751: "In the natural sciences, the principles of truth are to be confirmed by observation."

Eighteenth-century Europe was capitalist, mercantilist, and expansionist. Distinctive of the Age of Reason, le voyage autour du monde or trip around the globe was a reflection of a new interest in the world. Many were eager to participate in these explorations and Linnaeus encouraged quite a number of his students to travel around the world, searching new species to be recorded, named and classified.

Observation, journeys and publications led to a change in people’s awareness of the world they lived in.

In changing people's awareness of the world they lived in, invaluable was Linnaeus’ contribution.

Linnaeus was the Father of Modern Biology.

Carl Linnaeus’ science marked a fundamental victory of reason over caprice and preconception.



CARL VON LINNÉ. Carolus Linnaeus, 1707-1778. Carl Linnaeus. The Eighteenth Century. Age of Reason. Enlightenment. Europe. Sweden. Science and Art. Education. Idea, research and design: Mariano Akerman © 2007 All Rights Reserved

Initially published as "What a Century!", Manila, 19.1.2007

Original Post Illustrations
1 Mariano Akerman, The Eighteenth Century, digital image, 2007
2 Eighteenth-century prints showing the Inhabitants of the Moon, a mature Carl Linnaeus, and the launching of La Montgolfière in Paris, six years before the French Revolution
3 Fra Andrea Pozzo, Europe, fresco, Sant’ Ignazio di Loyola, Rome, early eighteenth century
4 Nature, eighteenth-century allegorical image
5 Mariano Akerman, Just a Moment before the French Revolution, pencil and ink, 1989. Present whereabouts unknown.
6 Mariano Akerman, The Age of Reason, digital photo-collage, 2007
7 Mariano Akerman, Artifice vs. Nature, digital contrast, 2007
8 Etienne-Louis Boullée, Design for Monument to Isaac Newton, ink and wash drawing, 1784 (Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris). Désert de Retz, Chambourcy, wash design for a broken column residence, c. 1785 (Nationalmuseum, Stockholm)
9 D’Alembert, L’Encyclopédie, Diderot
10 Linnea borealis, reindeers, Linnaeus as Laplander
11 Plate showing Linnaeus’ Sexual System of Botanical Classification of 1735
12 Linnaeus portrayed holding a Linnaea borealis and his monumental Systema Naturae, first published in 1735
13 An illustration from Olaus Magnus’ Historia of 1555, showing a gigantic lobster attacking an unfortunate sailor.
14 Linnaeus’ descriptive notes and a page from his herbarium (with a plant named "Veronica")
15 Journeys of Linnaeus seventeen disciples across the world
16 Joseph Wright, Experiment with the Air-pump, oil, 1768 (Tate Gallery, London)
17 The launching of La Montgolfière, Paris, 1783 (Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris)
18 Sir Joshua Reynolds, Portrait of Joseph Baretti, 1774; Jean-Honoré Fragonard, A Young Girl Reading, 1776 (Prado, Madrid)
19 Linnaeus’ notebook and other belongings he used during his Lapland exploration
20 Linnaeus’ Musa paradisica and the title page of his Hortus Clifortianus of 1737
21 Some assorted books published by Linnaeus during the eighteenth century
22 A Tribute to Carl Linnaeus
23 Mariano Akerman, Caprice vs. Reason, digital contrast, 2007
24 Akerman, Homage to the French Revolution, digital image, 2005
25 Akerman, Curly Sky, digital image, 2005
26 Akerman, Temple of Inclusion, digital image, 2005
27 Akerman, In the Spirit of Linnaeus, digital composition, 2006

Slides from In the Spirit of Linnaeus, educational lectures, Manila 2007









CARL VON LINNÉ. Carolus Linnaeus, 1707-1778. Carl Linnaeus. The Eighteenth Century. Age of Reason. Enlightenment. Europe. Sweden. Science and Art. Education. Idea, research and design: Mariano Akerman © 2007 All Rights Reserved

Online resources
Linnaeus-Manila Program
In the Spirit of Linnaeus
Linneo
Rara avis
Kingdom and Ecology
The Same Order
El mismo orden
Education
Brochure

Belgian Spices




To Celebrate Friendship and Cultural Diversity
Art-Appreciation Lectures on Belgian Art, by Mariano Akerman


Discovering Belgian Art
Invitation to lectures by Mariano Akerman


1. The Marvel of Belgian Art and Its Diversity
2. Belgian Art: Reality and Fantasy
3. Tradition and Innovation in the Visual Arts of Belgium


Joris Hoefnagel
Detail from Mira calligraphiae monumenta, c. 1591, fol. 143v

René Magritte

Vanitas Still Life

Wolfers

Folon

Khnopff

Allegory of Painting, Brussels

Jan van Eyck

Rogier de la Pasture

Hieronymous Bosch

Pieter Bruegel the Elder

Peter-Paul Rubens

Joris Hoefnagel

Antoine Wiertz

Constantin Meunier

Armand de Beul

Georges Lemmen

James Ensor

Léon Spillaert

René Magritte


Belgian Species is a digital set created by Mariano Akerman.

Mariano Akerman, Belgian Species, 2009
1. Mosaic

2. Fine Arts Museum

3. Tesselation Game

4. Lecture

5. Mega Exhibition

6. Petite Encyclopédie Belge, p. 325

7. Art Show

8. Puzzle

9. Biennale

10. Street Mural

Artists whose work has been included in the Belgian Spices Composition, fig. 1: René Magritte, Rogier de la Pasture, Joris Hoefnagel, Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Léon Spilliaert, Georges Lemmen, Armand de Beul, Hendrik Goltzius, Jan van Eyck, Fernand Khnopff, James Ensor, David Teniers the Younger, Philippe Wolfers, Jean-Michel Folon.

Artworks: The Grand Family (Magritte), Portrait of a Young Lady (De la Pasture, c. 1430-45), Tulips and Other Living Beings (Hoefnagel, 1591), The Natural Graces (Magritte, 1963), Big Fish ate Little Fish (Brueghel, 1556), Vertigo (Spilliaert, 1908), Sunset (Lemmen, 1891), The Flavor of Tears (Magritte, 1948), Picking Up Potatoes (De Beul), Portrait of Charles the Bold (De la Pasture, 1460), Monkey on a Chain (Goltzius, 1597), This is Not an Apple (Magritte, 1964), Self-Portrait with Red Turban (Van Eyck, 1433), My Heart weeps for the Past (Khnopff, 1889), Clairvoyance (Magritte, 1936), The Tavern (Teniers, 1658), Skeletons fighting over a Smoked Herring (Ensor, 1891), Dragonfly (Wolfers, 1900), Yes to Peace (Folon).

Hoefnagel meets Magritte
Comparison by Mariano Akerman
First presented in "Discovering Belgian Art", Alliance Francaise de Karachi, Pakistan, 2009

Belgian Art - Art Belge - Belgische Kunst - Arte Belga. Among the achievements of the Belgian artists are the invention of the oil painting technique, the fostering of remarkable pictorial styles and a whole questioning of the notion of "reality" as such. Art Historian Mariano Akerman reveals the singularity and originality of a select group of Belgian masterpieces. He examines their style and meanings, historical context, aesthetic qualities and raison d'etre, appreciating them from unexpected, innovative perspectives.

Initially published 5.7.2008. Ref. : lectures, culture, education, reality, mimesis, fantasy, belgium, europe, fine art, design, visual arts