ABSTRACT
Religion has a consistent yet diversified and diffused place in contemporary art. Artistic intertwinements of religion and the secular take on a variety of manifestations. This multifaceted place of religion in contemporary art results, among others, from different translation strategies employed by artists. Translation, a crucial concept in the theoretical framework of the postsecular, is seen to occur from religion to the secular, and vice versa. This chapter first explores several academic approaches to religion and art, focusing on iconography and the experience of art. Second, it argues for an open and dynamic approach to translation in understanding the place of religion in contemporary art. Third, three translation strategies are discussed by means of the art of Helen Verhoeven, David LaChapelle, and two site-specific installations in the Oude Kerk. Ultimately, this chapter observes how the diversity in the artistic translation of religion, and its cultural appreciation by means of museum exhibitions, reflects the dynamic place of religion not only in art but also more general in a secularized context like The Netherlands.
