Without bringing my own beliefs into this too much I wanted to touch on the subject of atheism and art, a subject which seems to have very little resonance. In my ever evolving interest in art of the past I am over-run with art inspired by religion or visa-versa. Whether it was commissioned or not, a large amount of human history is documented visually by our faith to a Deity.
Today, we are seeing the emergence of atheism beginning to make headway especially outside of the U.S. In France, we see 33% of the population is atheists and the U.K is rumored to be close to 50%. With these booms in non-believers, it is safe to say that as science continues to answer questions, atheism will continue to evolve. So it is not foolish to think that art would be affected by this trend. But what dignifies atheist art? Is it even possible to do so?
Of course it is possible to recognize anti-religious art, art that portrays a message of anti-faith. However, is art inspired by nature or science considered to be atheist? It is hard to rationalize considering that the only standpoint that matters is the one from the artist. Often times it is impossible to tell whether or not the work is divinely inspired or not. An artist of faith can look at a beautiful landscape with the same awe and inspiration that a non-believing artist sees. The driving force then of atheist art is that the artist has completely disconnected themselves from being inspired by a higher power. Instead they look inwards for the answers to their artistic needs.
This is a touchy subject, but what I find most interesting is peoples ability to consider atheism a non-factor in arts creation. Whereas, when it has religious premise, the work becomes something of a specific meaning and adapting to a certain group of people. Whereas anything that is not outwardly religious is seen for what it is, art. Which is a clear reflection in our societies ability to accept non-believers. Afterall it is 2009…
So without a clear definition of what atheist art is, we can only assume that the art itself by these non-believers becomes divine. That the canvas or sculpture or whatever medium was chosen, holds with it a higher power after being created by the artist. Art becomes god. So any genre that lacks outward religious value is still spiritual and still valuable. The line of distinction almost becomes unimportant in the mind of an atheist. In fact, one can argue that an atheist may be more free in their ability to create and manipulate. If one is not pre-occupied with looking up or pleasing a higher power, the time can be spent in other places… becoming more valuable and free.
