Postmodern Heretics: The Catholic Imagination in Contemporary Art

NEWLY EXPANDED AND REDESIGNED 2ND EDITION. This redesigned, re-edited, illustrated new edition of the classic study "Postmodern Heretics: The Catholic Imagination in Contemporary Art" explores the Catholic roots of controversial artists and the impact of Catholicism on the 1990s Culture Wars. In the 1990s the United States was embroiled in a deeply divisive Culture War. "Postmodern Heretics" offers a radically original interpretation of the extraordinary cultural and political battles that took place in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Examining this period from the perspective of religion, Eleanor Heartney discovers that the most controversial artists of the time came, almost without exception, from Catholic backgrounds. She makes clear for the first time how the culture of Catholicism shaped the 1990s Culture War. "Postmodern Heretics" also challenges conventional wisdom about the relationship between contemporary art and religion. By examining the myriad ways that Catholicism has worked its way into the creations of a wide swath of contemporary visual artists, this book undermines long standing assumptions about the inherent antagonism between creativity and religious faith. This new edition includes a new introduction that brings the story up to date with a discussion of religion's continuing role in our cultural conflicts. At a moment when the Culture War has flared up again, "Postmodern Heretics" argues for a more nuanced understanding of religion which embraces both its contradicitions and its potential to heal our divisions in these deeply conflicted times.