What is it about?
A short essay (from 'John Ruskin, the Pre-Raphaelites, and Religious Imagination', ed. by Beaumont & Thiele, 2023) about the mix of nineteenth- and twenty-first-century visual arts in the beautiful Chapel of St Michael and All Angels, Marlborough College (Wiltshire, UK). Inside, running the length of the nave, is a luminous cycle of 12 paintings of biblical angels by Stanhope, from 1875. Mark Dean's work intersected the space in 2019 with sound and visual ideas about the role of angels as agents of Scripture and hope.
Featured Image
Photo by Duncan Sanchez on Unsplash
Why is it important?
Commemorating the heritage of buildings like this (whose Service of Dedication was held in 1886) is not just about looking to the past. The opportunity to celebrate with a contemporary service of 'rededication' was opened up by Mark Dean's engagement with this place, and with a sense of angels mattering for our ideas about the future too.
Perspectives
Myself and Madeleine Emerald Thiele commissioned Mark in 2019, when we held a conference about Ruskin and the Pre-Raphaelites in the Chapel. He worked with the Bishop of Salisbury on the liturgy for the service, in which his video art works also used spoken word and digital content on audio devices. It was resonant and provocative.
Dr Sheona Beaumont
King's College London
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Sounds and Visions at the Chapel of St Michael and All Angels, January 2023, Springer Science + Business Media,
DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-21554-4_5.
You can read the full text:
Resources
Contributors
The following have contributed to this page
