MIA connects 'sacred' past with 'spiritual' present
The "Sacred" exhibit at the Minneapolis Institute of the Arts features work from across the centuries to explore how the idea of sacred has evolved.
There are ten galleries in the exhibit, each put together by different curators, as if to emphasize the fact that there is not one interpretation of the word.
That word — "sacred" — made contemporary art curator Elizabeth Armstrong nervous at first. She wasn't sure if it would be relevant. But she realized the world that we live in today is hungry for a connection to the sacred.
"I'm really responding almost to the last census where they looked at how many Americans no longer check the box for a specific religious affiliation, but more and more were checking the box for 'spriritual,'" Armstrong told MPR News' Cathy Wurzer.
Working on the exhibit has showed her how people interpret the idea today. "I'm most struck by how in our contemporary, secular world people interpret the sacred as something related to healing and wholeness," Armstrong said.
"But I wonder if it always meant that to some extent. If you think about a Buddha or an object of great power that is considered spiritual — it would have been about protection and power and what we today call 'well-being.'"
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