The Bridge from Imagination to Reality
I always look forward to watching my favorite book come alive on the big screen. I find it interesting to compare my ideas of what the characters/settings look like and how different scenes play out to someone else's interpretation. Of course, since rarely do two people share the same idea, different scenes may be cut or changed - leaving people wondering why or simply disappointed that the particular event was excluded in the making of the movie. In Italo Calvino's "Visibility," he discusses the bridge between imagination and a universally understood visual representation of a given concept.
An important point that Calvino makes (page 86) is that the Church "possessed a fundamental vehicle, in its ability to use visual communication." Referring to the image of God, Calvino explains that God's appearance "was always a matter of of starting from a given image...not 'imagined' by the believer." I thought this is an important claim to emphasize because it demonstrates that through art/providing a visual illustration, people all over the world can have the same idea of what God looks like - something that would otherwise be left to everyone's own imagination. Visual representations allow descriptions and an imaginary fantasies became tangible; to become real.
As someone who grew up in a Catholic family, I find Calvino's claims about the visual of God particularly interesting. I always accepted his appearance without question. I naively figured that God simply look that way. However now, after reading Calvino's article, I see the significance of art. An illustration brought a physical appearance to God that is shared throughout the world - face is put to a name. Without art, this would not have been possible.
An important point that Calvino makes (page 86) is that the Church "possessed a fundamental vehicle, in its ability to use visual communication." Referring to the image of God, Calvino explains that God's appearance "was always a matter of of starting from a given image...not 'imagined' by the believer." I thought this is an important claim to emphasize because it demonstrates that through art/providing a visual illustration, people all over the world can have the same idea of what God looks like - something that would otherwise be left to everyone's own imagination. Visual representations allow descriptions and an imaginary fantasies became tangible; to become real.
As someone who grew up in a Catholic family, I find Calvino's claims about the visual of God particularly interesting. I always accepted his appearance without question. I naively figured that God simply look that way. However now, after reading Calvino's article, I see the significance of art. An illustration brought a physical appearance to God that is shared throughout the world - face is put to a name. Without art, this would not have been possible.
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