The Art of Compassion

Institute of Art, Religion, and Social Justice Launches First Exhibit

January, 2010

Union’s Institute of Art, Religion, and Social Justice held its first exhibition, Compassion, from November 19, 2009 to January 14, 2010. The exhibition, curated by Union’s Artistic Director of the Institute of Art, Religion, and Social Justice, A. A. Bronson, was presented in conjunction with Karen Armstrong’s 2008 TED Prize—the Charter for Compassion. The inaugural exhibition featured the work of artists Marina Abramovi´c, Bas Jan Ader, Michael Bühler-Rose, Alfredo Jaar, Terence Koh, Gareth Long, Yoko Ono, Paul Mpagi Sepuya, Chrysanne Stathacos, and Scott Treleaven.

Holland Cotter of The New York Times said of the exhibit, “it’s like nothing else in the city, and this quiet show, far from the art world downtown, bodes well for [the Institute’s] future.”

The Institute of Art, Religion, and Social Justice, founded under the auspices of Union Theological Seminary to explore the relationship between contemporary art and religion through the lens of social justice, is the brainchild of Bronson and Director of Theological Initiatives Kathyrn Reklis.

Bronson, whose art deals mostly with trauma and healing, is a preeminent leader in the social justice art world, as well as a second year MA candidate at Union. Upon arriving at Union he was surprised that few knew of the bourgeoning social justice art movement. Union, however, possessed a rich history of activism and laboring for social justice, as well as artistic study and creativity, making the environment prime for the Institute’s focus.

Compassion was the first incarnation of the idea. “The idea was twofold,” says Bronson, “to open up the doors of Union to a new audience, even a secular audience, who had never ventured in before; and to give Union a taste of some of the current artists in the city and what they are doing.”

Working on a shoestring budget, the project was modest in scope, which Bronson suggests, was perfect for the project’s intention. By placing the works in various nooks throughout Union’s historic complex, the exhibit sought to evoke a kind of pilgrimage, with focus on the ever-growing need for compassion in today’s shifting political, economic, and ecological landscape. Defining compassion as the understanding of mutual interdependence, knowledge of self and others, and concern for human flourishing, compassion then requires a deep look into all aspects of human reality and an openness to truths beyond our everyday experience. The exhibit further proved that artists could profoundly awaken compassion by shaping our imaginations and aiding us in envisioning our interconnectedness in ways that mere didacticism cannot achieve.

Several pieces in the exhibit stood out for Bronson. A video by Marina Abramovi´c about children and war played on repeat in the narthex of James Chapel—Abramovi´c was recently honored at the Museum of Modern Art with an exhibit tracing her prolific fourdecade career. Another noteworthy piece was that of Chrysanne Stathacos. In the rotunda outside the entrance to the Burke Library, Stathacos fashioned a mandala— a Buddhist and Hindu symbol representing the universe—out of rose petals. The showpiece was originally made for the Dalai Lama.

Over 600 people passed through the halls of Union, including museum directors and curators from across the USA and abroad, as well as many Downtown artists. The New York Times featured Compassion on January 1, which brought in a second wave of people.

This coming fall the Institute is planning another exhibition focused on social justice with a series of lectures featuring key contemporary artists. The Institute has confirmed Gregg Bordowitz, writer, AIDS activist, and filmmaker of Fast Trip, Long Drop (1993) and Habit (2001), and Alfredo Jaar, a Chilean-born architect, artist and filmmaker, who was featured at the last Venice Biennale with a film about the political massacre of the great Italian filmmaker and social critic Piero Pasolini.