Christian Ethical and Aesthetic Dimensions in Contemporary Art

This study reflects the ethical-aesthetic relationships in artistic interpretation, and underlines the features of the visual representation of the sacred in contemporary art. From an aesthetic point of view, a conclusion demonstrates a reversal of relations between the aesthetic categories of the beauty and the sublime: the emergence of the ugliness and of the ordinary. Contemporary art seems to show a greater interest for the former categories, which open new creative perspectives for the artist. In this respect, the present study pays special attention to the representation of a controversial issue regarding contemporary artistic creations reflecting offensive or even blasphemous attitudes against Christian religious values. Thus, the most significant features of religiously inspired contemporary artistic creations are highlighted, together with the names of some of the most representative artists concerned with these ideas.