In 1975, Mircea Eliade constates in his book Sacred and Profane: „Desacralization is significant for the whole experience of non-religious man of the modern society and re-discovery of existential extents of a religious man from archaic societies represents for him still a bigger difficulty for the same reason,“ (Eliade, 2006, p.14). He also remarks: „modern non-religious man receives his new existential situation: he recognizes only himself as a subject and an agent of history and refuses any references to transcendence. Sanctity is an obstacle par excellence for his freedom,“ (Ibid, p.134).

In the same year, the Greek artist of arte povera Jannis Kounellis creates a minimalistic installation titled The Civil Tragedy consisting of almost empty, darkened room with one wall covered in gold. In front of this suggestively glowing monumental golden wall stands a regular wooden coat hanger with a black ragged coat and a hat. On a white wall opposite of the coat hanger burns a small lamp. However, where has gone somebody who could perceive the subtle and intangible atmosphere of the present light? Will he or she return?

The initial, a rather skeptic, Eliade´s quote along with the latently dramatic artwork by Kounellis anticipate a theme of the next Art Communication & Popculture issue. The topic touches upon the question of loss, crisis and transformation and metamorphosis of spirituality in the contemporary art, aesthetics and popculture but also in the broader cultural context. Its aim is a critical reflection of the categoric theses, respectively hypotheses that the spiritual background of being has vanished from the consciousness of the postmodern man. Is it true that man ceased to be a pilgrim seeking a higher, transcendental meaning of own life or does he/she need new forms to articulate it?
The term „spiritual“ refers to variants and synonyms of spirituality (believing, mystical, sacral, sacred) and to narrower notions (religious, Church). As an oppositional platform, the phenomenon of corporeal, sensual, tangible, civil, secular, profane and material emerges.

Etymologically, the Latin word „spiritus“ denotes not only „spirit“ but also „breath“ reminds of deeper, anthropological, foundation of the examined phenomenon as an existential need and almost unavoidable basis of human life.

Thus the topic of the next issue can treat a spectrum of themes:
How is the phenomenon of spirituality reflected in contemporary art, aesthetics and popculture? How is the form of spiritual transformed? Is spirituality anchored primarily in the religious context in the contemporary culture or could an experience from an artwork, nature, alternative space or deep interpersonal meeting become its implicit source? Is spirituality a condition for an artwork? How does the category of spiritual relate to other categories of high/low, deep/superficial, valuable/valueless or visible/invisible? How art and popculture relativize the boundaries between spiritual and carnal? How artworks articulate the relation between spirituality, eroticism and sexuality? Are there processes of desacralization of sacred and sacralization of profane in the work? Does nature remain a source of spiritual experience? How does authentic spirituality differ from its simulations and manipulations in the age of consumerism or digital-virtual culture? How could a deep analysis of different types of spiritualities in artistic and popcultural phenomenon contribute to intercultural and interreligious dialogue?

Potential contributors could realize lively and actual probing into the examined issue taking into regard interdisciplinary discourse (religionistics, philosophy, semiotics, anthropology etc.). They could attempt to define in broad strokes to what extent the current state of spirituality in art, popculture and culture tilts to its crisis or how does spirituality transform into new forms and types of spirituality, therefore unveiling to what extent does the initial provocative theses of „breathless spirituality“ in the contemporary culture is true and whether it is just „catching the second breath“.

The scholarly magazine Art Communication & Popculture accepts manuscripts (no longer than 10 pages) for its non-thematic sections on on-going basis. Studies, essays or reviews from the fields of art, popculture, aesthetics, literature, cinema, theatre, music, philosophy or their interdisciplinary variations should be consulted with the editors at artandpop.uluk@gmail.com .