The Colors of the Ineffable—Jerzy Nowosielski’s Monumental Works as a Contemporary Search for Sacred Space
Abstract
:1. Introduction
1.1. Purpose of the Work
1.2. State of Research
2. Characteristics of the Art of Jerzy Nowosielski
2.1. Short Biography of the Artist
2.2. Artistic Attitude—Art as a Tool of Transformation
“at one point I felt weary and terrified of the limitations and gravity, so to speak, downwards, towards the abyss, towards passing, towards nothingness. Therefore, with hope, I embraced the new possibility of free painting creation. It gave me a way of spiritual liberation, transition to the world of beings that existed more slowly, more independently, not aging, and therefore perhaps not subject to the accursed law of passing and death”.
2.3. Attitude towards the Canon
2.4. Relations between Art and Religion
“The mystagogical action of the icon takes place only in the layer of painting. Painting in the broadest sense of the word, that is, representing a specific subject and object, but only in combination with other aspects of the impact of the art. The moment we are no longer able to understand and receive these sacred images, we immediately descend to the level of anecdote, to the level of biblia pauperum. Of course, as a result of this there will be no more mystagogical message or initiation into the Gospel of the Kingdom, and it will simply be an auxiliary and essentially unimportant addition to evangelization”.
2.5. Nowosielski and Architecture
3. Analysis of the Selected Projects
3.1. Church in Wesoła
3.2. Church in Tychy
3.3. Greek Catholic Church in Biały Bór
3.4. Nowosielski and the Gothic Architecture
4. An Attempt at Synthesis
- The use of tonal and value contrast as the basic means of organizing space;
- Expanding the range of colors, using pure and intense colors;
- Incorporation of existing elements, such as the texture and color of the substrate, into the overall composition of the interior;
- Combining figurative representations with geometric abstraction or enhancing the abstract impact of these representations;
- Subordination of all elements to a strongly outlined artistic concept.
4.1. Harmony of Opposites
“There is one more moment that an analysis based on the psychology of depth can specify in this icon. It is connected with Jung’s concept of “individualization”—a synthesis of the opposing elements of our interior (…). The secret of the spiritual synthesis of reconciliation of analogous, but spiritually opposing heavenly and infernal elements, the place of such reconciliation is the middle zone of the body—the solar plexus, which in many esoteric depictions corresponds to the heart. The vertical layout of our icon resembles this strangely. In the crucible of the great central circle with the risen Christ, an alchemical transformation of individual elements of our personality takes place”.
4.2. Mystagogy of Space
5. Conclusions
- Linking aesthetic and religious experience;
- The fundamental role of art as a means of introducing into the spiritual reality (mystagogy), which concerns both the recipient of art and the artist himself;
- Changing the perception of space in the consciousness of the recipient, anticipating the supernatural reality—creation of the “sacred space”;
- Complementarity of abstraction and figuration as an expression of the interpenetration of spiritual and bodily reality.
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
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Januszewski, W.S. The Colors of the Ineffable—Jerzy Nowosielski’s Monumental Works as a Contemporary Search for Sacred Space. Arts 2021, 10, 68. https://doi.org/10.3390/arts10040068
Januszewski WS. The Colors of the Ineffable—Jerzy Nowosielski’s Monumental Works as a Contemporary Search for Sacred Space. Arts. 2021; 10(4):68. https://doi.org/10.3390/arts10040068
Chicago/Turabian StyleJanuszewski, Wojciech Stanisław. 2021. "The Colors of the Ineffable—Jerzy Nowosielski’s Monumental Works as a Contemporary Search for Sacred Space" Arts 10, no. 4: 68. https://doi.org/10.3390/arts10040068