Art on the Edges: Non-Conformists and Spirituality (2020-02-18)

Abstract

Carol Veldman Rudie joins us to present a lecture that focuses on the ways artists used religious visual symbolism to show alternative cultural realities. Veldman Rudie shares both the original context of these symbols as well as their use in later 20th century Russian art. The use of religious visual vocabulary was forbidden to officially recognized Soviet artists, so non-conformist artists often used religious symbols to express their experience. In a society governed by a materialist philosophy, these symbols were often not used for religious reasons but to give an alternative view of the world. Exploring their use in the context of the Soviet art world opens another perspective on the artists' work.