Jaydine Davis BsCrim-12E2

Prelim Activity 3
I. Imagine a scenario in which an image of someone who is the object of religious devotion (such
as Jesus Christ or Mary, the mother of Jesus) is place side by side with the phallic image.
Freedom of expression is everyone's privilege. We can freely express ourselves through
various means, such as writing a poem, painting, drawing, and so on. However, does the artist
have an obligation to the audience's sensibilities? In my opinion, yes, it is fine to show that
people have different ideas and cultures in public, but some people may find it disrespectful and
offensive.
We are all aware that each artist has their own approaches and preferences in their work.
However, I feel that every artist's work should have limits and restrictions. Artists should have an
open mind and an open eye so that they can downgrade others, just as 85 percent of the people in
the Philippines is Christian. If they were shown a repulsive interpretation of Jesus Christ's
portrait. Of course, this has enraged many Filipinos. Finally, there is nothing wrong with
breaking the boundaries of art, but you must consider the feelings of others and respect their
cultures. If you want to be respected, you must first respect others.
1. Is this an ethical issue? Why or Why not?
Yes, it is an ethical issue because the artist shows no regard or respect for other cultures or
religions. As an artist, I believe it is imperative that you respect the feelings and cultures of
everyone, especially if you plan to exhibit your work in public while in this artwork, the creator
simply shows his or her side and beliefs. Since I was a believer and follower of Jesus Crist, it is
demeaning and insulting to me as a Christian.
2. Does the question of the rightness or wrongness of this depend on which religion you belong
to? Explain your answer?
Yes, without a doubt, as a Christian and a follower of Jesus Christ. That concept is lack of
respect.
II. Look for another example of an artistic creation – a painting,
poem, or song- that is a source of either actual or potential conflict
between the expression of the artist and a sensibility that finds this
offensive. Present the significant details and reasons that the
conflicting sides might have on the issue.
The Holy Virgin Mary is shown in this mixed-media
painting by Chris Ofili. Mary is encircled by angels, however they
are depicted in the shape of genitalia in Ofili's work. Mary wears a
blue cape divided to show a breast made of dried and varnished
elephant dung. The 8-foot-high canvas is supported by two dried
dung lumps.
 Mary is Jesus' mother, according to the New Testament. She was a regular Jewish woman
from Nazareth who was sinlessly impregnated by Gon. This photo, in my opinion, is extremely
offensive to Christians and followers of Virgin Mary, not only because of the way it is painted,
but also because of the material that is used, which is Elephant Manure.
While it may help to reduce trash, I do not believe it was right or appropriate to use, especially in
an image of Virgin Mary, whom Christian’s regard as a sinless and pure-hearted mother of God.

III. Look for a list down other sources wherein we find a

dialogue between ethics and the various domains of
aesthetics, culture and religion.

Christopher D. Tirres' book "The Aesthetics and Ethics of Faith" offers a conversation
between liberationist and pragmatic thought. Tirres examines the aesthetic and ethical
dimensions of faith through the route crucis, the Good Friday event, as well as the siete palabras
(seven words) and Pesame in this book. The sensory, epistemic, and imaginative qualities of
these rituals, prayers, and symbols engage both the body and the mind. Ritual's aesthetic aspects
engender ethical traits, as evidenced by new moral senses.
The aesthetic, as expressed in ritual, subverts and collapses the event's dichotomies: past
and present, the space of the route crucis and their community, and how the death of Jesus in
Mary's tears reminds them of the community's current life. Ritual's aesthetic movement frees the
imagination and creates space for an ethical response. This leads to an important insight offered
by Tirres through the pragmatic view of non-reductive empiricism (90): aesthetics and ethics are
not two independent categories of experience that must be cobbled together; rather, human
experience encompasses aesthetic and ethical traits. They are already linked within the
experience.