A M e t h o d f o r C o m p a r a t i v e S t u d i e s i n R e l i g i o u s V i s u a l A r t ؟. :

A p p r o a c h i n g A r c h i t e c t u r e

] o h n R e n a r d

Saint Louis University

C om parative textual studies have been am ong the principal too ls o f studen ts o f religion and theology for several generations. C hristian

theo log ians no longer autom atically dism iss courses in “C om parative R elig ion” as a convenien t concession to the m arket forces at w ork on undergraduate curricula. T hough there rem ains considerable b read th of op in io n as to how and w here to use the results o f those com parative studies, the suggestion that serious scholars need increasingly to take some account o f im portan t texts beyond those of their own confessional canons no longer raises m any eyebrow s. A theological su b -d isc ip line called com parative theology is emerging as a context w ithin which scholars can b o th consider questions o f confessional im port and acknow ledge th a t o ther trad itions have wrestled w ith analogous issues. C om parative theology is developing as a way o f evaluating all theological trad itions seriously and non reductively: the o thers are no t reduced to cannon fodder, no r is o n e ’s ow n reduced to m erely one o p tio n am ong m any as a co ro llary to the argum ent th a t all trad itio n s u ltim ately spring from a single universal religious insight or experience.

Texts have, however, offered scholars a selective, even elitist, view of the h istory of belief and religious thinking, since by far the m ajority of hum an beings have not been readers bu t listeners.1 Indeed, m ost hum an beings begin very early learning from what they see, and continue doing so m ost o f th e ir lives, ?erhaps the b roadest and m ost effective expression and d issem ination of religious beliefs have occurred through a wide range o f v isual m edia, b u t th a t has n o t yet decisively altered the n o tio n th a t theology and religious studies are about texts and that o ther form s of data belong to o ther disciplines.

In th is series o f articles 1 p ropose a way in w hich theologians and religionists can broaden the horizons of the ir disciplines while rem aining true to the ir intellectual m issions. This first article will outline a general theoretical con tex t and describe a practical m ethod for the com parative study o f religious architecture. The second and following articles will then

RELIGION and the ARTS 1:1 (Fall 1996): ههل-2و ■ Copyright ©1996 Trustees of Boston College

John Renard

apply the m ethod as case studies united by the them e o f architecture. The second article, on architecture and sacred space in com parative perspective, will study key aspects of Islamic religious architecture and use illustrations from o th er trad itions o f religious architecture. The th ird article, “ Low R oofs over In fin ity ,” will trea t a sym bolic and iconographie them e as fo u n d in ritua l ob jects, and will p ro p o se a typo logy o f fo rm s and functions in m iniaturized architecture. A nd the fo u rth article, “Sacred Space in Tw o D im ensions,” will suggest ways o f in terpreting the varieties o f architectural sym bolism and design that ornam ent bo th architecture and ritual objects in virtually every m ajor religious tradition .

THEORETICAL CONTEXT

1 begin by sketching ou t a b road theoretical contex t fo r the m ethod . F irst, som e questions and caveats set up the problem atic . T hen a brief assessm ent o f th e k inds o f data and approaches o ffered by several disciplines will suggest what those disciplines have to offer in a ttem pts to answer those questions. A nd finally 1 propose a structure w ithin which to organize and analyze the data.

Que5tï0m and CaveatsT h ree general q uestions ab o u t the k inds o f b o u n d aries scho larly

disciplines either set up o r presum e need atten tion at the outset. T he first has to do w ith how one can define a “religious tra d itio n ” and how it defines itself in relation to others. A nthropologists such as C lifford Geertz have po in ted ou t the fallacies inheren t in sta tem ents abou t a religious trad itio n such as Islam w ithout reference to cultural context.^ H ence, for example, one can observe that M uslim s make some religious assertions that seem to be very m uch the same the w orld over; and yet M uslim s in M orocco behave very differently from M uslim s in Indonesia, even w hen they are doing and saying things they claim are at the very heart o f w hat it is to be a M uslim . H istorians o f religion, such as W ilfred C antw ell Sm ith, have likewise reflected on the inadvisability o f reifying Islam or B uddhism o r C hristian ity in to “ religions,” as though one could package a religion tidily enough to examine it and know it as a discrete entity.

A n o th e r question has to do w ith the extent to w hich one ought to identify trad itions in the visual arts w ith confessional definitions. Can one use the term s ]ew ish, C hristian , and Islamic to delineate definitively the visual arts o f medieval Iberia, for example? W hat role do influences o ther than confessional allegiance play in conferring identity on visual traditions?

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A nd are those influences (such as patronage, regional stylistic develop- m ents, political pressures) as significant as religious creeds in shaping the arts? Specialist in medieval Iberian art Jerrilynn D odds raises a num ber o f such questions in her article ،،Islam, C r is t ia n i ty , and the ? ro b lem o f Religious A r t” (27-37). W h a t is ،،Islamic” o r “(K ris tian ” about w hat are called, o ften w ith o u t m uch reflection , Islam ic and C hristian art? The p roblem becom es m ore com plex in cultural settings in which m em bers o f one religious com m unity p ro d u ce large quan tities o f artistic w o rk in response to the needs o f m em bers o f another. Spain is an excellent exam ple o f such a setting: C hristians did m ost o f the m osaics for M uslim s, while M uslim s p ro d u ced carved ivories and m etalw ork for C h ristians, fo r exam ple. Can one tell on the basis o f the visual data— apart from obvious d ifferences in languages w here in sc rip tio n s are p resen t— w here, fo r example, ]ewish art ends and Islamic art begins?^

Finally, a tw o-sided question n o t o ften raised will be cen tral to the p resen t p ro p o sa l؟ it is som ething of a hyb rid of the first tw o k inds o f questions. T o w hat degree do the various visual arts allow one to draw significant conclusions abou t the theologies, belieft, and practices of the people w ho have made, o r paid for, and used them? A nd how can one tell to w hat degree those theologies, belieft, and practices have influenced the aesthetic decisions of those who have produced the works?

F o u r general observations will serve as caveats fo r any a ttem pt to integrate visual m aterial into disciplines that have traditionally begun w ith texts alone. First, m ethod has to take in to account bo th the creative and expressive dim ensions o f the arts, and allow as well the possibility that the arts may indeed form ally (as well as functionally and ^em atically ) em body princip les o f an explicit or im plied theological aesthetic. Second, m ethod needs to deal w ith the physical reality and the h istorical and m aterial circum stances in w hich a w ork was p roduced . T h ird , visual trad itio n s often share stylistic and form al affinities across religious boundaries; as, fo r example, in the case of B uddhist and H indu, or C hristian and M uslim , imagery fto m the same general period and region. Finally, one need n o t postu la te any com m on, universal o r ineffable core, e ither o f religious experience o r artistic in sp ira tio n based on som e alleged reserv o ir o f archetypal sym bolism , in order to apply this m ethod as a heuristic device. O n the contrary, the m ethod specifically avoids such universalist theories.

An Interdisciplinary ApproachT he m ethod I propose borrow s and integrates ingredients ffom several

m odes o f inquiry: art h isto ry , religious studies and an th ropo logy , and

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com parative theology. 1 will give my approach a blatantly visual bias, since a fondam enta l p rincip le in th is approach is th a t the visual data offer “docum entation״ every bit as telling as the textual.

First, art h istorical research provides indispensable m aterial o f four kinds: raw data, h istorical context, iconographie inventories, and form al categories. By raw data, 1 m ean access to and d escrip tio n s o f actual buildings and objects, p rim arily (assuming one cannot get to a site o r a m useum co llec tion ) th ro u g h p h o to g rap h s and draw ings. A n o ften challenging but critical ingredient in the study of religious a ^h itec tu re , for example, involves foe products o f architectural draftsm anship. W ith a little practice, one can glean an enorm ous am ount o f helpful in form ation from those elevations, plans, sections, and projections th a t look at first either very com plicated o r very du ll— or bo th . H istorical con tex t here m eans especially laying a foundation o f basic ifoorm ation abou t patronage: w ho paid for the p ro d u c t and why? A rt h isto ry also p rovides indispensable in fo rm ation on the visual m arkers know n collectively as iconography. Iconographie clues are the visual vocabulary o f the religious artist and provide the non-verbal “captions״ that allow one to identify the them es of a w ork. Finally, form al categories that emerge from the study o f the various physical c h ra c te ris tic s of a building o r object provide a basis fo r fu rther d iscussion o f possib le sym bolic d im ensions o f a w ork th a t are m ore subtle than the narrative and iconographie m odes of o m m u n ic a tio n . A t th is juncture one needs help from o ther disciplines.

A rt h istory seeks, as the nam e suggests, to reconstruct the h isto ry o f individual art form s as art form s. But in con junction w ith o th er disci- p lines it can con trib u te uniquely to the e laboration o f new perspectives w ith in those o th er disciplines. F rom the disciplines o f religious studies and an th ro p o lo g y com e a host o f functional categories. A rt h is to ry natu ra lly com plem ents its talk o f form al categories w ith a varie ty o f functional designations: architecture, for example, can be public, private, relig ious, m onum en ta l, o r dom estic. A rt h isto rians m ay also m ake a d istinc tion betw een religious and secular architecture. S tudy in the reli- gious arts as such, however, requires a further refinem ent o f categories on foe basis o f ritua l and o th er uses to which m em bers o f religious com - m unities pu t th e ir buildings and sm aller objects. A lthough som e broad categories (such as place o f w orship, or funerary m onum ent) may apply in m any contexts, each religious trad ition will invariably m anifest a few idio- syncratic variations on foe broader categories (such as m osque, or stupa).

For help in articulating the general purpose and p resuppositions o f this m e th o d , 1 have tu rn ed to the em erging subd iscip line o f com parative

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theology. Jam es Frederieks offers this useful w orking (definition: ‘،^ o m - parative theology is th e b raneh o f system atic theology w hich seeks to in te rp re t the C hristian trad ition conscientiously in conversation w ith the texts and sym bols o f n o n -C h ris tian ” religious trad itions. As Fredericks describes it, com parative theology “ responds to the fact o f religious p luralism by engaging in com parative experim ents yielding lim ited, very tentative results and by eschewing c o m p a s s in g theories about religion in general based on claims fo r o r against a universal religious experience” (Fredericks 68, 82). Religious trad itions use at least as great a p rofusion o f n o n -v e rb a l sym bols as they do verbal sym bols to com m unicate th e ir beliefs and values. But m ost studen ts o f theology and religion seem to believe instinctively tha t they can arrive at a m ore accurate assessm ent o f sim ilarities to and differences ؛٢٠ ^ the ir ow n trad itio n s by relying on w ords than by resorting to non-verbal sym bolism . W hatever the reasons fo r th is app aren t im plicit tru s t in w ords and m is tru s t o f n o n v erb a l expression, a m ore serious accounting o f the role o f visual c o m ^ n ic a t io n is overdue.

C ategoric and ConceptsO ne needs a m anageable way o f organizing the visual data. F or

theologians and religion specialists w ho typically spend the bu lk o f the ir tim e w ith the texts o f one trad ition , the prospect o f plunging into the vast and seem ingly arcane w orld o f the visual arts is no t a little daunting. 1 suggest six m ajor categories, arrived at w ith help from the vario u s disciplines, as responsive to the questions posed by com parative studies in religious arts. T he six categories are the spatial arts, ritual objects, orna- m em , scu lp tu re , arts o f the sacred text, and painting. As organizational devices, the categories overlap in countless ways and are no t in tended to denote tidy, exclusive com partm ents. For example, painting can be a form o f ornam ent (in architecture or on ritual objects), as can art o f the sacred text; scu lp ture and certain types of painting can function as ritual object; liturgical books th a t function as ritual object often com bine arts o f the sacred text w ith painting as ornam ent; m onum ental sculpture is certainly a spatial art; and architectural sculpture one can locate on the ou ter edge of the category o f ornam ent. This series o f articles will deal only w ith the first three categories.

In addition to providing a wide range o f physical functions, the spatial arts include chiefly architecture and landscape design. They are the m ost visible m edium of religious com m unication and in general project the m ost im portan t aspects o f a religious com m unity ’s self-image w ithin a cultural

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setting. Because the spatial arts typically involve huge outlays o f m oney, th a t self-image is often bound up w ith a p a tro n Js p ro jections o f political pow er and legitimacy*

Second, ritua l objects include the costum e, furnishings, and im ple- m ents used in a religious tra d itio n ’s ord inary com m unal liturgical and ind iv idual d ev o tio n a l practice* T echnicians o f th e sacred and no n - officiants alike use distinctive garb in ritual. V essels and too ls o f b o th com m on and precious materials are dedicated to specific sacred acts.

Finally, there are the arts of ornam ent. The term ornam ent is no t at all dismissive even though it may conjure up images o f the ephem eral— m ere gingerbread. By ornam ent 1 mean all the modes o f enhancing the meaning as well as appearance o f every th ing from the g randest m o n u m en t o f architecture to the hum blest set o f prayer beads. As Oleg G rabar defines it, o rn am en t is a “visual o rd e r ,” an aspect o f th e b ro ad e r category o f d eco ra tion th a t m ediates hum an experience th ro u g h various k inds o f visual imagery, including ^ h g r a p h y , vegetal o r floral them es, geom etric form s, and architecture (that is, architecture as a tw o-d im ensional visual them e of the kind 1 will discuss in the last article in th is series) (G rabar 5).

T he spatial arts provide settings in w hich ritual objects are created and used, and o rnam ent suggests the range o f sp iritual, social, and psychic m eanings w ith w hich the com m u n ity o f believers invests the th ing adorned. Further binding together the three categories are a host o f artistic fo rm s th a t may play a variety o f functional ro les. In Islam ic art, for example, the niche form that originates in the m ihrab, the apse-like feature in the back wall o f m osques th a t indicates the o rien ta tion o f com m unal prayer tow ard Mecca, ties the m osque sym bolically to a range o f objects, ffom prayer carpets that cover the floor o f a m osque and the sm aller rugs M uslim s keep at hom e, to tom bstones and wall plaques. The ark tha t enshrines the T o rah scrolls in the synagogue sim ilarly appears b o th as architectural backdrop in sm aller ritual devices, such as m enorahs, and as ornam ent in devotional wall hangings for the ]ewish hom e.

Before moving in to the practical application o f the m ethod, the follow- ing set o f w orking definitions will be useful. First com e tw o broad défini- tions of Form and Function. T hen 1 will in troduce the n o tion o f C on ten t as bo th theoretical and practical.

FO R M is, in the m ost general term s, w hat m eets the eye first in an experience of the visual arts. 1 will define form as the w hole com plex of visible physical p roperties o f a m onum ent o r object o r design, including shape, color, mass, volum e, com position , style, and m edium or construe- tio n materials. T hough some may argue the point, 1 will assume that there

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is nothing inherently sacred about the form al qualities o f a m onum ent or w ork o f art.

Fu n c t io n encom passes all of the purposes for which a m onum ent or object is designed, and its role w ithin the life o f a religious com m unity. In arch itecture , function is seen in building types and in the p rovision for su b o rd in a te activities in tended by secondary spaces w ith in o r a round bu ild ings. R itual ob jects usually have som e practica l o r ap p aren tly u tilita rian m eaning, such as holding w ater or giving light, in add ition to the ir didactic and experiential functions. O rnam ent functions religiously to convey a variety of d irect and indirect messages, as well as to beautify— and beautification is often part o f the indirectly religious m eaning of a w ork. O rn am en t, in tu rn , leads natu ra lly to a co n sidera tion o f the general category of content.

R eligious visual arts are religious by v irtue o f co n ten t as well as function. CONTENT^ refers to all tha t is com m unicated th rough and by means o f the form ; it can be com m unicated either explicitly and directly, as in inscrip tions or narrative images, o r im plicitly and ii^ ire c tly — especially in the case o f architecture that has no im m ediately apparen t “ subject” or m essage— th ro u g h sym bolism or th ro u g h the in tang ib le qua lity o f en v iro n m en t, w hat Jo h n D ixon calls “ psychic life” and “sym bolic energies” (Dixon ل0ل)م

1 divide conten t into the theoretical and foe practical. Theoretical content com m unicates im portan t aspects o f a trad itio n ’s theology. Theology I will define as systematic reflection upon the definitive sources of religious tru th (including m yth as a vast s to rehouse o f imagery), as de term ined by a p articu la r religious com m unity , leading to the fo rm u la tio n o f a set of fundam ental sym bols and the articulation o f a coherent system that sets ou t b o th the re lationsh ips among those sym bols and the ir im plications for belief and practice. A ll sacred art com m unicates som e theological infor- m ation; a given w ork may even act as a vehicle for the e labora tion (as opposed to the m ere com m unication) of theological ideas, bu t at the very least sacred art presupposes some theological fram ework.

Practical content refers to sp iritua lity , w hich I define here as the d istinctive ways in which a religious trad ition helps its adherents to focus on th e experience o f an unfo ld ing re la tionsh ip betw een the believer, individually and com m unally, and what is believed to be the source and goal o f h u m an existence, sp ir itu a lity encom passes coun tless hum an responses to an apprehension o f the cosm os, in all its com plex structu re and h isto ry , as the dwelling place o f “the Sacred.”5 W ith in every m ajor religious trad itio n , one can discern a variety of spiritualities. Basic th eo ­

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logical ideas may rem ain m ore o r less constant across the w orld ٥؛ a given trad ition ; bu t local cultural influences inevitably p u t the ir unique stam p on the spiritual dim ensions of the trad ition .

Religious visual art, then, involves the expression in gesture, shape, color, and spatial arrangem ent, o f the concepts com patible with a particular trad ition o f theology (such as the Islamic), as in terpreted and m odified by the dom inant spirituality w ithin a particular cultural setting (such as that of Indonesia, for example).

So m uch fo r the general natu re o f co n ten t in the sacred arts. W h a t about the specific means by which content is com m unicated? Two concepts will be useful here: sym bolism and iconography. Sym bolism encom passes the w hole com plex of meanings religious believers have discerned in their v isual arts. Sym bolism can be e ith e r exp lic it, as in shapes, co lo rs, n um bers, o r signs whose m eanings are m ore o r less readily identifiable w ithin a given trad ition ; o r im plicit, as in light and darkness, m odes o f m ovem ent or pathways through a built space, features whose m eanings are less clear because they are related m ore to feeling and m ood and seldom described directly by artists o r their contem poraries as integral to th e ir in ten tion in creating a w ork.

I use the term iconography to refer to the system of explicit sym bols by w hich believers in terp re t the con ten t o f a w ork, by suggesting in short- hand the essential points o f an already fam iliar narrative. In religious art, iconography is the hieroglyphic (sacred writing) equivalent of theological dogm a. In any given trad ition , therefore, con ten t, w hether theoretical o r practical, is com prised o f sym bols that are part o f an iconographie system th a t is given visible expression.

WALKING TH RO U G H THE M ETHOD:FORM AND FUNCTION IN THE SFATIAL ARTS

A s ^ p a th e t i c awareness o f the m eaning o f a m osque as m osque for M uslim s, o f a church as church for C hristians, of a shrine as shrine for devotees o f Shinto, and so forth , does no t com e easily, even to insiders in a trad ition . The following m ethod seeks to con tribu te to th a t large and com plex process that W ilfred Cantw ell Sm ith describes so well, using the example o f the so u th e rn Indian tem ple o f M inakshi in M adura i:

T o appreciate the significance o f tha t tem ple as a tem ple, we m ust get inside the consciousness o f those for w hom it is a sacred space, m ust know how it feels and what it means to be a

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R eligion andthe A r ts

w orsh ipper w ith in it; although we m ust also know all the objective facts about it; and as well, in o rder to know the full tru th abou t that tem ple, we m ust know its significance in the lives o f shopkeepers in its environm ent, m ust know its crucial role in the whole city life and the tow n plan o f M adurai (and the significance for the citizens o f living in a tow n integrated around a temple), and m ust know how it is perceived also by the sm all iconoclastic M uslim group in the area, fo r w hom tem ple w orship is a sin, (Sm ith 66)

H ere is one way o f attem pting to get “ inside the consciousness” and learning to “know how it feels and what it m eans.”

The m ethod 1 propose investigates how w orks o f art and architecture com m unicate the theological beliefe and spiritual convictions o f religious com m unities. In theory at least, one begins w ith form , learns the visual language o f conten t (sym bolism , iconography, and ornam ent), proceeds to som e ^ e lim in a ry conclusions about the theology and spirituality em bod- ied there, and evaluates the w orks’ function. In real life, the process is no t linear bu t circular. The m ajor concepts overlap and reinforce one another, b u t for the sake of clarity in analysis 1 have laid them out in artificially linear fashion. It is a highly analytical m ethod, bu t its im m ediate purpose is to sharpen observational skills. The goal is no t finally to dissect, but to pay a tte n tio n to re lig iously significant details and th en experience conceptually the whole as w hole.6

Architectural Form.* Elevation, Pían, Section, Projection

T here is no substitu te fo r experiencing a w ork o f architecture directly, b u t w hen the viewer cannot go to the building, it is nevertheless possible to bring som e sense o f the building to the viewer. 1 begin w ith a basic analysis o f several types o f arch itectu ral draw ings, w hich, along w ith photographs, give shape to w orks that are physically inaccessible to m ost people. Even indirect and purely conceptual experience o f the great w orks is preferable to none at all. I use fou r types o f drawings, all o f w hich co rresp o n d to analytic ways o f “seeing” arch itecture tha t can, w ith the possible exception of the first type, happen only th rough the m ediation of tw o o r th ree dim ensional reconstructions. The four types are elevation, plan, section, and projection. N ote that they do no t afford inform ation on all o f the features o f form as defined above, bu t only on those features associated w ith overall structure and com position, o r design.

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ELEVATION is the only aspect o f an architectural com position one can actually experience directly and integrally. It is typically the first experience one has o f a building, since it is essentially the view of a s truc tu re as one approaches at street level.7 A ءلهه1 at elevation, either on she o r th rough p ho tos or drawings, reveals four features on the vertical plane: geom etric shapes, zones, possibilities o f m ovem ent, and m odes of access (fig. 1).

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ءأألء يم !-1. Sulaymaniye Mosque, Elevation Outline.

Qeometric shapes m ost often seen are the segment of a circle (generally indicating an arch, a half-dom e o r a dome), the square and rectangle (sug- gesting cubic, polyhedral, o r cylindrical units), and the triangle (indicating gabled o r conical vaulting, for example). In many cultural settings sym bolic meanings have becom e attached to basic geom etric shapes. In som e cases it appears tha t the designers in tended to convey a message via sym bolism ; in o thers the sym bolic m eaning has evidently been superim posed by later in terpreters. O nly rarely can one be certain of the sym bolic valence o r its re la tio n to th e c re a to rs ’ in ten tio n s, so the challenge o f th e m o d e rn

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in te rp re te r is to steer a m iddle course between outright denial that shapes can acquire sym bolic m eaning, and claim ing, on the basis o f ]ung ian arche typa l th eo ry (for exam ple), th a t certain shapes are always and everyw here univocally sym bolic. These shapes are seldom invested w ith sym bolic value, if at all, in isolation from their horizontal coun terparts— in o ther w ords, it is in general the three-dim ensional form that carries any potential symbolic valence in architecture.

V ertical zones vary in im portance from one architectural trad itio n to an o th e r, and from one build ing type to ano ther, and are, w ith som e no tab le exceptions less im portan t functionally than are horizontal zones. S tru c tu ra l and com positional un its in elevation include: fo u n d a tio n o r c ry p t p lin th or socle, a platform -like device that provides greater height, generally for design rather than functional purposes; stairs o r ram ps; walls, arcades, doo rs and w indow s; vaulting and roofing; and vertically salient features, such as towers.

?ossibilities o f vertical movement are also suggested by elevation to som e extent. O ne can see, for example, external stairways or ram ps in elevation; by m eans o f their relative sizes and positions these indicate prim ary and secondary pathw ays in to o r around the structu re . Acce551؛?ïh't;y, ano ther d im ension o f m ovem ent potential, is suggested by the placem ent o f doors, open arches, gates, and stairways. By noting their num ber and placem ent one can get som e insight into w hether the edifice is predom inantly open or closed, public o r private, and directly o r indirectly accessible. E levation also indicates the num ber and placem ent of w indows, allowing at least a general assessment o f how m uch light the designer intended to let it.

?LAN draw ings offer a horizon ta l look at the same fo u r aspects o f arch itectu ral fo rm just described vertically in connection w ith elevation (fig. 2). O ne cannot actually see the plan of any building, except perhaps just after its foundation has been laid and the basic wall s truc tu res have begun to rise, bu t even then one w ould need an aerial vantage poin t to take it all in. It is nevertheless possible to “experience” plan by inhabiting a bu ilt environm ent over a period o f tim e, so that m em ory can reconstruct th e w hole piece by piece, so to speak. A n interesting experim ent in the ways recollection can reconstruct one’s architectural surroundings is to try to draw from m em ory the plan o f a building long familiar from personal use, then walk around to test ou t its accuracy. In an observation tha t applies no t m erely to plan, bu t to all aspects of the spatial arts, geographer Yi Fu T uan notes, “The m ind learns to grapple w ith spatial relations long after the body has m astered them in perform ance. But the m ind, once on

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its exploratory path, creates large and com plex spatial schem ata that exceed by £ar what an individual can encom pass through direct experience” (67).

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2. Sulaymaniye Mosque, Plan Outline.

U sing architectural drawings o f plans, it is useful to note first visually significant geom etric shapes, such as circle o r arc, triangle or square or the resu lts o f the ir ro ta tio n (such as polygon and star), rectangle and the results o f com binations th e reo f (such as T, H, or crucifo rm plans). T he same cautions about sym bolism that apply to elevation apply here as well.

Secondly , p lan allows one to visualize the various zones in w hich different kinds o f activity might occur: ou ter enclosure, foyer or vestibule, am bulatory, in terior courtyard, central hall, and several types o f subsidiary o r service units. O ne cannot, o f course, tell sim ply from looking at a plan w hat precise function the differentiation o f zonal spaces envisions; one can only tell which areas seem to be set apart from others and to w hat degree they com m unicate horizontally with each other.

In add ition , plan helps one understand w hat possibilities ٠/ movement the designer has chosen to emphasize by the d isposition o f spatial units. P lan determ ines the possib ilities o f horizon ta l m o tio n w ith in a space.

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w hether it he linear o r cyclic, centripetal o r centrifugal, longitudinal or transverse. Som e religious buildings, such as prim ary places o f w orship , shrines, o r tom bs, incorpora te a space designed for c ircum am bulation . Som e appear, th ro u g h th e ir use o f long aisles o r axial naves, to m ake special provision for a linear processional ritual. O thers provide for non- d irec tio n a l m ovem ent such as dance o r such prelim inary n o n -r i tu a l m otion as needed for a congregation to gather, fo r example, in to row s or circles o r clusters where they will then perform fu rther ritual gestures in place. Plan does not, o f course, reveal the precise nature of an activity that m ight occur in a space, only possibilities for m otion and a general idea of the space’s capacity to accom m odate people and furnishings.

Accessibility is also suggested in plan drawings. U sed in con junction w ith elevational views, p lan reveals the p lacem ent, type, and relative im portance of en try s truc tu res. In th is respect, plan can reveal useful in form ation about internal pathways, such as the succession o f portals and d o o rs axially th ro u g h a series of in te rio r walls, fo r exam ple. Such inform ation is significant in that it suggests som ething of the nature o f the relationships among the various horizontal spaces.

SECTION drawings provide the X-ray equivalent o f ^ev a tio n s. Som e- tim es a section yields an unob stru c ted view o f in te rio r elevations o f a building, providing the viewer the kind o f distance for a wide view that m ight no t be possible w ithin the actual building (fig. 3).

Sections are just as frequently cut-aways that offer slices o f a build ing’s in te rio r tha t w ould ordinarily be im possible to see in real life, regardless o f the viewing distance needed. Sections can cut across either the length (longitudinal) or b readth (latitudinal) and can suggest the relationships of mass to volum e (the ratio o f space occupied to space created); o f concavity to convexity ; o f ex te rio rity to im erio rity ; and of scu lp ted quality to arch itecton ic quality (with a H indu tem ple at the “scu lp ted” end of the spectrum and a G othic cathedral at the other). By providing a sim ultaneous p ic tu re o f the inner and o u te r skins o f a building, sections can reveal som ething o f b o th the tangible aspects o f “co n stru c tio n ” (m ethods and m aterials) and the intangible quality called “s tru c tu re ” (D ixon 91). In addition , section adds to w hat elevation and plan are capable of show ing w ith respect to potential m ovem ent. M ost ritual m ovem ent w ithin religious build ings occurs horizontally ; bu t w hat vertical m ovem ent a particu la r design allows is indicated by stairways and ram ps on many good sectional drawings.

Finally, FRO]ECTION (usually axonom etric, bu t som etim es isom etric) reunites the features especially accentuated by elevation, plan, and section.

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3. Suí،rymani;ye ^4اةسومحم Section Outline,

Even though projection ،distorts certain dim ensions, it is probably as close to a w a lk th ro u g h to u r as one can offer at hom e, apart from som e com - puter assisted design software such as V irtus W alk th rough o r A utodesk ־3 D S tud io . A n axonom etric p ro jec tion can show rela tionsh ips betw een closed and open space, types o f vaulting, decora ted and u n deco ra ted surfaces, and relative vertical and ho rizon ta l d istances. These in tu rn p ro v id e visual clues as to the h ierarchy o f com p o sitio n a l un its and functional zones (fig. 4).8

These are only a few o f the m any types o f form al elem ents one could discuss. All are related m ore o r less directly to structure and spatial design. 1 have n o t even m entioned , for exam ple, color, tex tu re , and acoustical properties. Elem ents like those will have to wait until the follow -up article fo r explicit consideration; there 1 will apply the m ethod specifically to Islamic architecture, describing various aspects o f form , function, and con- tent from a comparative perspective.؟

R e l ig io n andthe A r t s

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4. Selimiye Mosque, Projection Outline.

Architectural Function:Community, Learning, and Experience

Religious architecture functions on at least three levels: the com m uni- tarian, the didactic, and the experiential. Taken together these levels encom - pass the m eaning and message com m unicated by the sum o f a bu ild ing’s form al qualities.

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T he CO M M U N ITA RIA N level relates to historical context, to ritual, and to the role o f a s tructure as a place that fosters com m unity and responds to a co m m u n ity ’s practical needs. It m ight he tem pting to imagine th a t all churches, m osques, and H indu o r B uddhist tem ples function in the very sam e way as every o th e r bu ild ing by the sam e nam e, b u t th e re are num erous h istorical and cultural variations. Even am ong Shinto shrines, all so tho rough ly Japanese in so m any ways even w hen n o t actually in Japan, there are som e functional variations. W hat can one learn from a study o f com m unitarian func tion across a b road spectrum of cu ltu ra l settings? A sam ple o f individual exam ples o f a particular type of building or space identified w ith one particular religious trad ition (such as m osque o r synagogue) yields the conclusion tha t provision for the m ost m inim al ritua l requ irem ents results in considerable functional un ifo rm ity across cultures. T o tha t ra ther m odest extent, one can conclude tha t fo rm does follow function. Study o f com m unitarian function is therefore an excellent way to appreciate the interrelationships between traditional continu ity and cultural change.

N um erous building types have served explicitly religious purposes. A partial list o f C 0 } ^ u n ita ria n functional types includes the following seven: (I) p rim ary liturgical ritual sites (churches, chapels, baptisteries; syna- gogues; m osques; H indu , B uddhist, and C onfucian tem ples; and S hin to shrines, to nam e only the m ost obvious); (2) funerary types: group and individual m ausoleum s, crem ation sites, which in tu rn relate to sites w ith (3) reliquary function, which in tu rn crosses over into that o f (4) m em orial sh rine or m arty rium ; (5) educational facilities ded icated to relig ious in struc tion at m any levels; (6) residential form s, including the C hristian m onastery o r abbey, the Islamic khanqahy and the B uddhist vihara as perhaps the m ost obvious; and finally (?) com plexes com bining m any co m m u n ita rian functions, including educational, m edical, and social- service facilities.

A ny one o f these com m unitarian functional types w ould m ake fo r fru itfu l cross-traditional analysis o f a sort that, so far as I know, has rarely if ever been attem pted. Such com parative studies will naturally presuppose the availability o f in -depth scholarsh ip on the various functional types w ith in individual trad itions, bu t in m any cases scholarship on the rich varie ty o f in s titu tio n a l fo rm s in religious a rch itec tu re rem ains qu ite lim ited.

D ID A C T IC fu n c tio n re la tes to th e ro le o f ex p lic it sy m b o lism in re lig ious teaching . T h ro u g h th e ir s tru c tu re and o rn a m e n ta tio n , b u ild in g s c o m m u n ic a te an d in s tru c t believers in at least five aspec ts o f a re lig ious

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co m m u n ity ’s fundam entals: ritual practice, cosm ology, sense o f liturgical tim e, view o f com m unity h isto ry , and the n o tio n o f co rrespondence hetw een m icrocosm and m acrocosm . All five areas presuppose an intricate netw ork o f global correspondences.

First, an aspect o f architecture’s didactic function m ost closely related to specific form al features has to do w ith the way the space provides for ritual practice، The actual shape o f the building as discussed above in relation to possibilities for m ovem ent in elevation and plan is one of the first things a child learns about his o r her trad ition . Assum ing tha t the building is well conceived and executed, these are features in tim ately re la ted to the ce leb ran ts’ practice of, and com m unal ^ r t ic ip a t io n in, the tra d itio n ’s p r in c ip a l observances* A co u stica l p ro p e r tie s , lines o f sigh t, and app rop ria te lighting all play a direct role in the effective handing on o f ritua l patrim ony. V isible and tangible associations w ith sacred space and tim e are in tu rn related to the next three items*

A rch itectu re can reveal a w orld and suggest how a particular trad ition “c o n stru c ts” its ow n cosm os. In R udo lf O tto ’s view, the m ost effective m eans o f conveying an experience o f the sacred is to com m unicate a sense o f the “ sublim e,” and architecture is the m ost apt m edium for that purpose (O tto 65-6?)* A rchitecture teaches about a trad itio n ’s cosmology, its larger sense o f the cosm os as sacred space, th rough the characteristics o f siting, o rien ta tio n , and s tru c tu ra l symbolism* First, an investigation o f siting reveals a variety o f reasons for the choice o f a particu lar location, quite apart from the obvious econom ic question o f what real estate is available and affordable at a given m om ent, and the aesthetic q u estion o f w hat location m ight afford the building the greatest visibility. Explicitly religious reasons include m ost prom inently the desire to m ark a place already made sacred th rough a h ierophany (as at the C hurch o f the H oly Sepulchre or the Stupa at Bodhgaya, site o f the B uddha’s enlightenment); and the desire to repudiate a superseded cult or trad ition by appropriating its holy site (as in the case o f so m any M exican churches built a top p re -C o lu m b ian pyram ids).

A n o th e r im p o rtan t aspect o f cosm ology is indicated by a s tru c tu re ’s spatial o rien ta tion . O rien ta tio n in trad itional religious arch itecture typi- cally either takes into consideration the cardinal directions, w ith one o f the fou r usually playing the key role in the cosmic m etaphor; or faces a parti- cular earth ly site (Jerusalem , Mecca); o r plays o ff o f som e astronom ical occu rrence , such as the positio n and tra jec to ry o f sun o r planets* A com bination o f all three is also conceivable.

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A th ird type o f in fo rm ation abou t a tra d itio n ’s cosm ology is o ften em bedded sym bolically in a b u ild in g ’s very design. Such s tru c tu ra l sym bolism arises ou t o f the tendency to conceive o f a building in term s of som e natural archetype or cosmic m etaphor. E ither the whole o f a building o r certain prom inent form al or decorative features may suggest a likeness to m ountain , cave, tree, or the heavens. The first three are im portan t in, for exam ple, p re-C olum bian , H indu , and B uddhist sacred spaces; the last som e in terpreters find clearly present in some churches and m o sq u es.^

D idactic function also reveals a tra d itio n ’s sense o f liturgical time. A building functions as a liturgical clock o r calendar in th ree chief ways: by in co rp o ra tin g specific n u m b ers o f form al un its (levels o r sta irs o r w indow s, as fo r exam ple in the m ain M aya-T oltec p y ram id -tem ple at C hichen Itza, Yucatan, with its four cardinally oriented staircases, each w ith 90 steps, adding up to the num ber o f days in their calendar year); th rough an o rien ta tio n th a t m akes the building an astronom ical observato ry , a device for determ ining proper ritual tim ings— siting and aiming a building so that, for example, seasons are m arked by appearance o f sun at junctions o f wall and earth w hen viewed fto m a prescribed observation poin t; and by taking advantage o f the su n ’s m ovem ent to illum inate different m om ents in a grand narrative as light passes th rough different fram es (e.g. stained glass)— or even using near-darkness to provide a feeling o f stepping out of o rdinary time.

M any com m unities o f belief use their architecture to situate their story w ith in the contex t o f hum an h istory , and o f the religious co m m u n ity ’s un ique sacred history th rough sym bolic or narrative h istorical allusions. S trongly aniconic trad itio n s are the m ajor exceptions, as in the typical Q uaker m eeting house or congregational C hristian church. O thers m ake highly visible b u t m inim al explicit h istorical reference, as in M uslim m osques (particularly O ttom an) w ith plaques o f the nam es G od (Allah), M uham m ad, and those o f M u h am m ad ’s first fo u r successors. M any trad itio n s tu rn th e ir build ings in to books, as in th e global h isto ries depicted in som e G oth ic stained glass, and in T hai m urals o f p rev ious lives o f the Buddha. A less direct but equally pow erful m eans is the use o f architectural allusion or quotation. M any im portan t m onum ents associate them selves w ith earlier m onum ents, and thus w ith im p o rtan t h isto ric figures and religio-political trad itions, o r bo th , th rough the ir design and use o f m aterials. Such subtle visual references can m ake an im p o rtan t statem ent about a com m unity ’s sense o f historical identity. A n example is C harlem agne’s use o f a relatively unusual octagonal plan for his royal

11?

R e l ig io n andthe A r t s

chapel, establishing a link to the glorious Byzantine regime by recalling the church of San V itale in Ravenna.

Finally, arch itecture teaches about a tra d itio n ’s views on the relation- ship of macrocosm (created universe) to microcosm (the hum an person). The correspondence is often suggested by explicit an thropom orphic sym bolism in w hich various p a rts o f a bu ild ing are likened to , o r are said to co rrespond to , those of a hum an body. Examples are the Nepalese stupas o f B odhnath and Sw ayam bunath in K athm andu, w ith the huge eyes on the spire. A n o ther type is the ^ e r im p o s i t io n o f a hum an form on a ground plan tha t represents the ideal o r archetypal m odel o f a sacred structu re . Tw o good examples are the H indu tem ple mandalas on which the outline of a m editating yogi, an image o f the ‘،cosmic m an,” has been superim posed (M icheil 72); and th e plan o f a G oth ic chu rch w ith an image o f the c rucified C h ris t, body in th e nave, head in the ch o ir and chevet, outstretched arms across the transept (Fingesten 84).

“D ark is a way and light is a p lace,” w rote D ylan T hom as (Thom as 191), suggesting an im portan t facet o f w hat 1 m ean by EX FERIEN T1A L function. So many aspects o f the built environm ent are capable of eliciting in tense em otion . H ere the poet suggests th a t the d ark is a co n d itio n th rough w hich one moves, no t an invitation to stay; whereas light is m ore conducive to the sense o f being at hom e. Thom as has im plicitly attached a sym bolic value to darkness and light, as som e, bu t n o t all, religious trad itio n s seem to do. W hatever its specific sym bolic valence, how ever, every great w ork o f architecture has the pow er to elicit feeling. That pow er is related in part to what R udo lf O tto calls “creature feeling,” w hich he describes as:

the em otion o f a creature, subm erged and overw helm ed by its own nothingness in contrast to tha t which is suprem e above all creatures ٠ . . [Creature feeling is] itself a first subjective concom itant and effect of another feeling^element, which casts it like a shadow, bu t which in itself indubitably has im m ediate and prim ary reference to an object outside the self. (O tto 10)

H ere we are dealing w ith im plicit sym bolism , and w ith function at the level o f feeling and m ood. A wide range of experiential intangibles can be evoked th rough the m anipulation o f form al characteristics such as line, space, m ass, surface, tex tu re , volum e, co lo r, p ro p o rtio n , m ovem ent, rhy thm , light (D ixon 95-99). 1 propose the following set o f continuum s as

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show ٠٢£ device ق ing som e relationsh ips hetw een several m ajor form al characteristics and experiential ؛unction.

O ne co n tin u u m runs £rom the sim ple to the p lu rifc rm . It will be particu larly helpfu l here to th in k in term s o f a bu ild ing ’s plan. Som e sacred architecture is starkly simple and uncluttered , classic in p ro p o rtio n , one m ight say, as in th e case of the ?a rth en o n o r the earliest S h in to shrines, such as the one at Ise, ٠٢ like the R o th k o chapel, ٠٢ m any neighborhood m osques. Such spaces can establish a m ood o f repose and quiet. In som e sacred spaces a luxuriant proliferation o f subsidiary spaces, side-altars and images m akes an im m ediate im pact on the v isitor and can induce a feeling of intense activity and high energy. Baroque cathedrals w ith m any side chapels, each dedicated to som e saint o r devotional conception o f the deity are the high-priced parallel to local churches in G uatem ala, for instance, along whose side walls are crow ded charm ingly naive statues of santos, each form ing a center o f anim ated r i^ l-c o n v e rsa tio n a l interchange betw een devo tee and p a tro n . T he spraw ling tem ple o f M inaksh i at M adurai m en tioned in the above-cited observation o f W ilfred Cantw ell Sm ith exemplifies com plexity in a H indu context.

A n o th e r co n tin u u m , suggested v isually especially in p ro je c tio n draw ings, runs from the h idden and p rivate to the open and public. C lassic H in d u tem ples em ploy the m e tap h o r o f the w om b cham ber (garbhagriha) to describe the holy o f holies. Standing at the end o f a series of progressively smaller and darker functional units tha t form the path to it, the inner sanctum is the epitom e of h iddenness. O nly those specially certified may enter to perform the m ost sacred rituals, and the central image is rarely, if ever, made available to the gaze o f o rdinary folk. Slightly less h idden and private are o rth o d o x churches that m aintain strict use of the screen betw een sacred action and congregation. M osques and congrega- tional style churches stand near the o ther end o f the spectrum , using one large undifferentiated gathering space for the entire ritual engagement. The in ternal partition ing o f spaces, or lack thereof, can com m unicate very d ifferent feelings o f com m unity and degrees o f partic ipation in the sacred action.

Related to th is is a continuum that runs from in teriority to exteriority . T he B uddhist stupa is usually an alm ost entirely exteriorized stru c tu re . O ne does no t generally enter a stupa, but rather perform s all ritual actions a round its periphery or while ascending it. T hat o f B arabudur in central ]ava is a prim e example: devotees circum am bulate the elaborate m odel of the spiritual cosm os, ascending to a higher level w ith each circuit, passing through the realms o f desire and form , and arriving at last in the realm of

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form lessness at the top and center o f the structure. The Native A m erican kiva, or vision pit, stands at the o ther end of the spectrum , sharing tha t prim al feeling o f entering in to an earthy w om b th a t is suggested by the w o m b -ch am b er o f the H indu tem ple. The extrem es o f in terio rity and exteriority correspond in general w ith those o f darkness and light.

Finally, a con tinuum from the m ore massive and sculpted to the m ore delicate and architectonic can also be exem plified by placing p ro jec tion drawings o f various buildings side by side for com parison. Som e spaces convey an overw helm ing sense of massiveness and gravity. A t A janta and E llora in India, B uddh ist and H indu cave tem ples, along w ith o th e r tem ples cut from living rock (such as the tem ple o f Shiva at Kalasanath), are in a way m ore scu lp ture than architecture: they are carved dow n or ou t ra ther than bu ilt up. They do not so m uch construct a space as open one up, evoking a sense o f prim eval naturalness and organic integrity. T ow ard the o ther end o f the spectrum are the m ulti-tiered w ooden pagodas o f East Asia and the G othic cathedral, bo th conveying a feeling o f heaven-seeking refinem ent o f struc tu re . O ne could describe still o ther form al/functional co n tin u u m s (fu llness/em ptiness, so lid /vo id , co lo r/b ack g ro u n d shade, m onum ental/d im inutive), bu t for the m om ent these few offer sufficient illustration o f the concept o f experiential function and o f the ways form al spatial qualities can elicit em otional responses intim ately related to the experience of the Sacred.

T he concep t o f experien tial fun c tio n is a way o f describ ing w hat happens to an individual w ho partic ipates in the life o f the religious com m unity tha t has created a particular architectural space‘, it also helps to explain why that change happens. C om m unitarian function relates to what believers do in a space, d idactic fu n c tio n to w hat they learn , and experien tia l fu n c tio n to the still deeper and m ore elusive effects o f presence, however brief or sporadic, w ithin a particular built environm ent. G eographer Yi Fu T u an ’s d istinction between “space” and “place” offers a usefu l co n cep tu a l fram ew ork fo r explain ing fu r th e r th e n o tio n o f experiential function . He describes a space as a location as yet undiffer- en tiated by in tim ate and personal associations. Flace is a space th a t has acquired special m eaning bo rn o f intense experience, w hether of com fort and fam iliarity as in a place called hom e, or o f solem nity and awe as in a place called sacred.11

A fo llow -up article will apply this m ethod to the spatial arts in a com parative context, w ith special em phasis on Islamic religious architec- tu re . Specifically, it will address in detail issues related to the n o tio n o f

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con ten t, in troduced above. I will discuss the various ways arch itecture com m unicates content, w ith a view to determ ining what is ،،Islamic” about Islamic c h i t e c tu r e , what is “H in d u ” about H indu A rchitecture, and how various religious trad itio n s express th e ir theologies and sp iritua lities th rough the sacred spaces they create. 1 will begin each of the tw o articles follow ing that, one on A rch itectu re as R itual O bject and one on A rchi- tecture as O rnam ent, by adapting the m ethod to the particular requirem ents of object and ornam ent.

N O TES

1 Admittedly many written texts were originally preached and were meant for broader consumption than theological treatises. In any case, homiletical texts farm a small proportion of the kinds of texts that scholars pore over.

2 See Geertz’s works.3 Ancient India is another such setting: Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist architects,

scu lptors, and pain ters frequently produced w orks for each o th e rs ’ communities and patrons; so also medieval India, with its intense interaction between Hindu and Muslim.

4 John Dixon points out that what is often called ،‘com em ” is perhaps better understood as “subject m atter,” and thus part of the larger category of “m atter” as distinct from “farm .” Dixon calls com em “everything that is communicated through and by means of the form .” Noting that subject m atter is not part of the purpose of a work, but of its material, he adds, “Subject m atter is not present in the work of art in order to be represented but to be represen ted . . . [it] is a vital part of the material. Furtherm ore, every w ork of art, however ‘abs tract/ has a subject m atter of a sort, in that it contains reference to experiences outside itself which are a part of the common life” (Dixon 89, 93).

5 See Fliade, Jung, Otto; and van der Leeuw.6 See Bachelard, Cohn, Dougherty, Govinda, McVey, N orberg'Schulz’s works,

Fatai, and Wildiers.7 This illustration of Sulaymaniye M osque, Istanbul, and the two fallowing

Illustrations are feom Stierlin 378-79. Reprinted with permission.8 This illustration of Selimiye Mosque, Edirne, is ؛٢ ©^ Kuban 91. Reprimed with

permission,9 John Dixon suggests that the concept of overall composition can farm a bridge

between those elements and the capacity of an architectural work to function religiously. He says that com position “sets out the image of the world of the artist.” It is “uniquely the setting om of the principle of relation and is a vital feature in the analysis of the religion set ou t in the w ork. The central importance of composition and design is the reason that analysis of ornam ent and nonrepresentational art is as central to the investigation as the more overtly

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؛© religious’ element؛ represented persons and expressive form s” (Dixon 99). Do that extent, the content 0؛ a work is known through the com ponents of its com position -line , plane, single or attached masses, enclosure or environment, and conceptual continuity—as well as through the elements o؛ symbolism and iconography discussed earlier. See Chang.

10 See Cohn, Fingesten, and Govinda.11 Form does not necessarily always follow function, and function is not always

neat and rational. As Chang observes, “A rt is artifact that grows. U nlikescience which gives form to what is formless, art releases what is artificiallycaptured. From a positive point of view ٠ . . form usually follows function. In order to release aesthetic and character expression from the prison of functional formalism as well as to tolerate physical lim itation, it is equally profitable to know that hum an adaptability has no definite lim it and that function may well follow form. It is when rationality and irrationality com prom ise each other that the art of architecture acquires its first liberty of growth” (Chang 71).

W ORKS CITED

Bachelard, Gaston. The Poetics of space. New York: Orion, 1964.Chang, I - t’iao. The Existence ٠/ Intangible Content in Architectonic Form (A lternate

title: The Tao of Architecture). Frinceton NJ: Frinceton University Press, 1956.Cohn, Robert. The Shape ٠/ Sacred space: Four Biblical Studies. Chico CA: Scholars

Fress, 1981.Dixon, ]r., John w . “A rt as the Making of the W orld: Outline of M ethod in the

Criticism of Religion and A rt.” Religion and Intellectual Life 1 (1983): 78-103.Dodds, Jerrilynn. “Islam, Christianity, and foe Froblem of Religious A rt.” The Art

o f M edieval Spain: A .D. 5 0 0 -1 2 0 0 . Eds. John O ’Neill, et al. New York: M etropolitan Museum of Art, 1993.

Dougherty, James. The Five-Square City: The City in the Religious Imagination. N otte Dame: University of N otte Dame Press, 1980.

Eliade, Mircea. The Sacred and the Profane. New York: Harcourt, 1959.Fingesten, Feter. “Allegories of the Gothic Cathedral.” The Eclipse ٠/ Symbolism.

Columbia SC: University of South Carolina Press, 1970. 67 -98.Fredericks, James L. “A Universal Religious Experience? Comparative Theology as

an Alternative to a Theology of Religions.” Horizons 22 (1995): 67-87.Geertz, Clifford. “A rt as a Cultural System .” Modern Language Notes 91 (1976):

1473-99.— . Islam Observed. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1968.— . “Religion as a Cultural System.” The Interpretation o f Cultures. New York: Basic

Books, 1973.87-125.

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