ikon, Bild + Theologie / Glaube Liebe Hoffnung / Faith Love Hope

The "three divine virtues", Faith Love Hope-cornerstones of Christian piety-are also part of cultural memory as artistically rendered allegories and symbols. Today, depicted as the cross, heart and anchor, they are among the most popular tattoo motifs and are an example of the transfer and incorporation of Christian values into our contemporary, everyday culture.
Including conversations, text excerpts, illustrations and descriptive texts on more than 50 contemporary and antique works, this book examines the Christian influence on Western pictorial culture. At the same time, it documents a large-scale exhibition which was held at the Kunsthaus Graz and KULTUM Graz on the occasion of the anniversary "800 Years of the Diocese of Graz-Seckau" and examines this heritage from the perspective of the 21st century. How does contemporary art reflect Christianity? What factors create the complex field of tension between attraction and repulsion within which artists have been interpreting the Church and faith since the 20 th century? And last but not least: Which forms of image-based ethical and social discourse are still influential today?