The sky is a symbolic exhibition space for artists

Are we always sufficiently attentive to the sky in artistic representations? Yet it is an essential topic in art history, covering aesthetic, religious, literary, cultural, and political questions. Distinguishing differences in the sky can allow us to better understand culture. Marie Sorbier went to find Alan Kiev to tell the story of representations of heaven and heaven from the nineteenth century.

America’s sky

If the question of representing the sky in painting can apply to all cultures, Alain Cueff has chosen to focus particularly on those in American painting. Indeed, in American art there is no specific religious tradition to codify the symbolic system of Heaven, as was the case for example in European art.

“In a country where the profane and the spiritual are so thoroughly mixed, we see spirituality arise where, for us Europeans, it is completely unexpected.” Alan Kyiv

This absence of notation makes it possible to pose this question from a critical angle. The sky is increasingly pervasive in American painting; One finds it represented as well in landscape paintings, as in Impressionist art as in the field of abstraction or in land art.

between the natural and the symbolic

“We used to think of American society as a purely materialistic, utilitarian society. I want to be concerned about the roles we can get this atmosphere to play.” Alan Kyiv

While only in French the plural makes it possible to distinguish the earthly realm from the spiritual realm (heaven, sky), English already formulates this division between “heaven” and “heaven”, suggesting that it will have, in this less linguistic and cultural context obscure. However, according to Alain Cueff, the question remains whether naturalism is completely devoid of any spiritual influence. Indeed, with the passage of time and according to the American religious mosaic, the question is renewed. What can quickly be considered depth without surface, a simple naturalistic representation of objects, poses real dilemmas for artists.

Lunar condition and spiritual outlook

“I, and we are doomed to a semi-lunar state. ” Alan Kyiv

If modernity is characterized in large part by its obstinacy in its desire to expel God from heaven, this does not mean that we have stopped dreaming when we look up. Far from merely reminding us of our earthly condition, the sky remains an empty space, capable of serving as a projection surface for the new symbolism. In short, it is not because the sky is no longer an exclusively religious subject that it should be taken as a simple natural idea that has nothing to do with spirituality.

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The Skies of America, 1801-2001, by Alan Kiev Available in Les Belles Lettres Editions