Religion in Art

I feel like it is hard to decipher specific religious views of an artist. So much of the art we have been looking at lately is vague to the viewer. There are little to no signs of distinctive religious symbols and even if there were, the other objects in the artwork don’t clearly show an action or state of being. I think that the religion in the artwork is found in its creation. The artist has a religious experience when creating the artwork. An experience that is so personal that final images within the artwork have great meaning and symbolism that evoke certain feelings for the artist but not for the viewers. A religious experience can be retold but the listener will never feel the full strength of the experience like the person to whom it happened. I think that the experience of making art can be religious in that the artist can devote themselves to the work and discover new ideas about themselves in the course of the project and let their thoughts and feelings about religion be expressed through each brush stroke or line drawn. The religion in the artwork can be very difficult to see as an outsider looking into the artwork but the piece is still a bundle of religious experience and meaning tied together through color, brush strokes, and the artists mind all displayed on one piece of canvas. Art can be interpreted by each individual viewer and the interpretation may be similar to the ideas of the artist but the artwork and it’s meaning will carry exactly the same meaning to someone else. I also think that a viewer may find an understandable idea within the artwork and interpret its importance and meaning according to the artist, incorrectly. In this way, I believe that art is not created for others for it’s aesthetic value, but rather art is created in order for the artist to capture their experience and give them a window through which to return to that idea later on.