Art and the Power to Save
When churches protested the testing of atomic weapons, the rhetoric of power reigned. William Ricketts and Mary Packer Harris responded with religiously-informed artworks that protested humanity’s violence and subverted conventional representations of divine power. Harris, a Quaker, saw Christ cruci...
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2022
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1558/jasr.22400 https://journal.equinoxpub.com/JASR/article/download/22400/25179 https://journal.equinoxpub.com/JASR/article/download/22400/25182 |
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crequinoxpubl:10.1558/jasr.22400 2024-06-02T08:06:44+00:00 Art and the Power to Save William Ricketts and Mary Packer Harris in the Atomic Age Handasyde, Kerrie 2022 http://dx.doi.org/10.1558/jasr.22400 https://journal.equinoxpub.com/JASR/article/download/22400/25179 https://journal.equinoxpub.com/JASR/article/download/22400/25182 unknown Equinox Publishing Journal for the Academic Study of Religion volume 35, issue 1 ISSN 2047-7058 2047-704X journal-article 2022 crequinoxpubl https://doi.org/10.1558/jasr.22400 2024-05-07T13:51:52Z When churches protested the testing of atomic weapons, the rhetoric of power reigned. William Ricketts and Mary Packer Harris responded with religiously-informed artworks that protested humanity’s violence and subverted conventional representations of divine power. Harris, a Quaker, saw Christ crucified in every tree lost to Adelaide’s urban development and each atomic test. Ricketts, potter and founder of the William Ricketts Sanctuary, Mount Dandenong, produced sculptures protesting society’s violence toward First Nations peoples and the environment. While Harris remained resolutely Christian in her art and protest, Ricketts modelled Christ-like figures on himself. With clay-sculpted arms outstretched, he was Aboriginal Australia’s suffering saviour. Focusing on the years following atomic testing at Maralinga, this article examines the relationship between Harris and Ricketts and their representations of Christ in places of suffering that were ‘new’ to mid-century Australian consciousness, each hoping their art (if not Jesus) had the power to save. Article in Journal/Newspaper First Nations Equinox Publishing Journal for the Academic Study of Religion 35 1 |
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When churches protested the testing of atomic weapons, the rhetoric of power reigned. William Ricketts and Mary Packer Harris responded with religiously-informed artworks that protested humanity’s violence and subverted conventional representations of divine power. Harris, a Quaker, saw Christ crucified in every tree lost to Adelaide’s urban development and each atomic test. Ricketts, potter and founder of the William Ricketts Sanctuary, Mount Dandenong, produced sculptures protesting society’s violence toward First Nations peoples and the environment. While Harris remained resolutely Christian in her art and protest, Ricketts modelled Christ-like figures on himself. With clay-sculpted arms outstretched, he was Aboriginal Australia’s suffering saviour. Focusing on the years following atomic testing at Maralinga, this article examines the relationship between Harris and Ricketts and their representations of Christ in places of suffering that were ‘new’ to mid-century Australian consciousness, each hoping their art (if not Jesus) had the power to save. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Handasyde, Kerrie |
spellingShingle |
Handasyde, Kerrie Art and the Power to Save |
author_facet |
Handasyde, Kerrie |
author_sort |
Handasyde, Kerrie |
title |
Art and the Power to Save |
title_short |
Art and the Power to Save |
title_full |
Art and the Power to Save |
title_fullStr |
Art and the Power to Save |
title_full_unstemmed |
Art and the Power to Save |
title_sort |
art and the power to save |
publisher |
Equinox Publishing |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1558/jasr.22400 https://journal.equinoxpub.com/JASR/article/download/22400/25179 https://journal.equinoxpub.com/JASR/article/download/22400/25182 |
genre |
First Nations |
genre_facet |
First Nations |
op_source |
Journal for the Academic Study of Religion volume 35, issue 1 ISSN 2047-7058 2047-704X |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1558/jasr.22400 |
container_title |
Journal for the Academic Study of Religion |
container_volume |
35 |
container_issue |
1 |
_version_ |
1800751692976750592 |