Similarly to Mennekes’ story, Müller’s encounter with art came neither from a part of his upbringing nor from the subject of his courses at a university. The pastor’s interest in the visual arts was a byproduct of the studies in evangelical theology in Tübingen and Mainz between 1968 and 1973. At the University of Tübingen Müller was influenced by the thought of Jürgen Moltmann, Professor of Systematic Theology, and specifically the theologian’s openness on the issue of the Protestant prohibition of images (Bilderverbot). Moltmann superseded the conventional dispute between iconoclasts and iconophiles with neutrality that emphasized “the images, which opened for the humankind creative utopias and paved the way for the yet unexplored land.”403 In the early 1970s with Moltmann’s teaching in mind, young Müller came
across a lithograph Rückgrat raus (1951/1960) by a German graphic artist Andreas Paul Weber (1893–1980). The grim caricature left a lasting impression on the theology student by “boiling down the debates of one full semester to their essence.”404 After the experience Müller began to intermit the refined logical reasoning of his studying with “image-meditations” (“Bildermedidationen”), which he believed allowed to overstep the existing boundaries of the former.405 Since then Müller has been dedicated to pursuit of the answers about the essence of art as a whole and the effect that a single image could produce on the beholder. In addition to praxis–exhibition activities first in Backnang and later in Stuttgart–Müller committed to learning about contemporary art through, on the one hand, regular visits to museum and gallery exhibitions and, on the other, in-depth reading of art theory. Moreover, he supplemented the
403 Müller, Gesucht: Spirituelle Erfahrungsräume, 74–5. The original reads, “Auf dem Weg in eine menschengerechtere Welt, in der es keine Tränen, kein Leid und keinen Tod mehr geben soll, kommt es nicht mehr auf Bilderfreundlichkeit oder Bilderfeindlichkeit, sondern auf die Bilder an, die Menschen schöpferische Utopien eröffnen und ihnen einen Weg in ein noch unbekanntes Land bahnen.”
404 Ibid., 75. The original reads, “Webers ‘Rückgrat raus’ hat mir in Tübingen eindrücklich vor Augen geführt, dass ein Bild ganze Semesterdebatten auf den Punkt bringen kann.”
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investigation of art with his own creative writing that early on found its expression in the form of image-sermons. The following inquiry into Müller’s idiosyncratic preaching and concept of an image-sermon reveals his stance at the intersection of sacrality of the church and profanity of contemporary art. Secondly, directing of the educational program at Hospitalhof and close ties with academia reflect the pastor-curator’s rootedness in theology. Thus we will explore Müller’s understanding of the relationship between non-sacramental contemporary art and theology as well as between the arts and education in general. Lastly to complete the analysis of Müller’s theory and practice, we will trace the pastor-curator’s notion of “experiential space” (Erfahrungsräume) in relation to exhibitions in Hospital Church.
Helmut Müller’s idea of image-sermon and its practical application as a part of Sunday worship service in Hospital Church are the focal points of his talk given at the conference “Intervention: Church spaces as realms of faith experience” at the Catholic Academy Franz-Hitze-Haus (2002).406 Subsequently the revised text was included into the publication Gesucht: Spirituelle
Erfahrungsräume für Kunst und Religion (2012).407 Here Müller begins with a posit that art has its place at the heart of the church: where god services are celebrated and within god services themselves. He adds immediately that at the site shared by aesthetics and liturgy, the two are not left apart and do not exist on their own. Instead, Müller intertwines them through the medium of an image-sermon.408 The pastor brings one or several artworks from a current exhibition and one or several biblical texts into a conversation with one another; with the intention of helping attendants acquire new insights and new awareness. In Hospital Church art, liturgy, organ
406 “Vermittlung: Kirchenräume als Erfahrungsorte des Glaubens,” 2-6 September 2002, Catholic Academy Franz- Hitze-Haus, Münster.
407 Müller, “Kunstpredigt als Mittel spiritueller Interpretation,” in Gesucht: Spirituelle Erfahrungsräume, 61–6. 408 Ibid., 62.
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improvisation, and sermon coalesce into a total work of art, or Gesamtkunstwerk, in which, in Müller’s words, “the real Present transpires.”409 So the beholder is given a chance to experience
the here and now by engaging all of his or her senses. However, the successful united effect is only possible when neither religion nor art dominates the common site and the shared moment. Rather, on equal terms and each in its own particular way the two participate in “the symbolic communication” of life, world, and God.410 Accordingly, an image-sermon is a quest for
meaning that involves both aesthetic and religious experiences. For Müller, the quest starts with his process of own writing and culminates in its visual-acoustic arrival to the attendants gathered at the worship space. Briefly put, in an image-sermon religion and art become dialogue partners. In a surprisingly non-evangelical way Müller argues that such communication is effective and cogent because art is the language of religion. “Moreover, what is most crucial to religion, must be expressed in the language of art because it cannot be outspoken otherwise. Religion needs the language of poetry, images, symbols, if it wants to talk about God as the cause, mystery, and purpose of this world.”411 Thus, art is not merely a favorable but indispensable element of the Christian worship service, and Müller’s continual practice of image-sermons is a testimony to that belief.
Inherent in Müller’s image-sermons is the nexus between appreciation of art and theological thought. Earlier we brought in the examples of sermons that topically referred to exhibitions by
409 Ibid., 63. The original reads, “Im Gesamtkunstwerk Gottesdienst ereignet sich reale Gegenwart.” See also Müller, “Bildung, Predigt, und Seelsorge in der City,” in ibid., 44.
410 Ibid., 64. “Dabei bearbeiten sie beide das Feld der symbolischen Kommunikation. Kunst und Religion chiffrieren und symbolisieren auf je eigene Weise Komplexität und Kontingenz.”
411 Ibid. The original reads,“Dazu kommt, dass Religion, das, was ihr zentral wichtig ist, in der Sprache der Kunst aussagen muss, weil sie es gar nicht anders aussagen kann. Religion braucht die Sprache der Poesie, der Bilder, der Symbole, wenn sie von Gott als dem Grund, Geheimnis und Ziel der Welt reden will. Kunst ist die Sprache der Religion.” Also see Müller, “Das Schöne im Gotteshaus: Zum Verhältnis von Kirche und Gegenwartskunst,” in ibid., 38.
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Thomas Lehnerer, Keti Kapanadze, and Rudolf Reiber.412 The former two applied the word
“God” to the titles of their artworks, forthright conducting Müller’s image-sermon to the pertaining subject. To a similar effect, Reiber posed a question “GLAUBEN SIE AN GOTT?” in his video projection at the altar of Hospital Church. Apart from these examples the pastor offered Christian interpretations of the exhibited artworks even when the latter did not provide palpable connections to any questions of faith or religion. In an image-sermon given on the occasion of Philipp Haager’s exhibition in Hospital Church, Müller referred to the tripartite structure of the abstract painting Melting Memory in terms of the Holy Trinity. We will quote parts of the homily at length and follow up with a critical analysis of the pastor’s interpretative tactics:
To me, this progression of color represents nothing less than Christian theology’s wrestling to find an appropriate concept of God… The tripartite triptych format is always a reference to the Holy Trinity… We might therefore be inclined to connect the green panel with the first person in the Holy trinity, reminded here also of the green and vital power… The red fields in the middle segue into dark blue and brown tones at the bottom. This panel might stand for God as he devotes his attention to Man. God who came down to Earth and became Man… Finally, the third panel with its crimson and blue hues seems to me to stand for the Holy Spirit, who here on earth already opens up to us the gates to Heaven.413
What immediately stands out is an association with theology that Müller proposes to the attendant. Theological background helps him to connect contemporary art with Christian faith, presenting exhibitions in the church as highly relevant to the believer. In contrast to Mennekes’ belief in the virtue of doubt and the absence of answers, the Stuttgart pastor sees the possibility of receiving answers at the junction of art and liturgy. Theology justifies art’s intrusion into the living worship space and supports art’s ability to provide answers to the fundamental questions of human existence. It is precisely the role of contemporary art as the channel to such answers
412 See pages 139, 150–1 and 152 in this thesis.
413 Müller, Phasis, 56. Translation into English by Jennifer Taylor. For the discussion of Haager’s exhibition in Hospital Church (2010), see pages 155–6 in this thesis.
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that makes it indispensable for the church and for theology. Art expresses Christian faith in a distinct form (Gestalt),414 while in its turn theology represents the Christian religion in the linguistic form (Sprachgestalt).415 The present excerpt from the image-sermon demonstrates how the latter can stem and develop from the former–references to divinity drawn from abstract constellations of gradated color. It is necessary to point out that the pastor’s intertwining of the painting’s visual qualities with theological interpretations does not determine one dominant side. Do crimson hues ascertain the association with the Holy Spirit? Or does the knowledge of the Holy Trinity serve as a prerequisite for understanding Haager’s artwork? Müller would answer both questions in the negative because he perceives both sides as fully independent from one another.416 Mutual autonomy as the ground rule is a crucial precondition for the interaction between art and theology: only with such autonomy can Müller venture to read a contemporary painting as a symbol of God or decode an artwork via a biblical episode. Thus, the pastor’s view on the relationship between theology and contemporary art is largely manifested in his image- sermons and hinges upon ever-new interpretative possibilities offered by art of the day. Always longing for the new, contemporary art moves into unexplored areas, challenges thought with new possible meanings, and thus fights against ossification of human mind and spirit.417 As such art is an essential element of church life, theology, and one’s individual education.
Since 1980 the Education Center Hospitalhof has been organizing lectures, seminars, workshops, and conversations, with an average attendance of circa fifty thousand visitors per year.418 Parallel art exhibitions in both Hospitalhof and Hospital Church have been inevitably drawn into what
414 Müller, Gesucht: Spirituelle Erfahrungsräume, 38–9; and Jetzt, Neugierig, Präsent, Offen, 62–3. 415 Müller, “Das Schöne im Gotteshaus,” 39.
416 Müller, “Grenzgänge zwischen Kunst und Religion–Die Citykirche Stuttgart Hospital,” in Zentrum für Medien Kunst Kultur, Kirchenräume–Kunsträume. Ein Handbuch, 134–5.
417 Müller, “Das Schöne im Gotteshaus,” 35. See also Jetzt, Neugierig, Präsent, Offen, 63. 418 Müller, 30 Jahre Bildungszentrum Hospitalhof, 9.
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Hans-Peter Ehrlich called discourse culture (Diskurskultur) created by Klumpp and Müller.419 As
part of the educational program, exhibitions of contemporary art have been regularly accompanied by lectures and discussions, which have usually built upon the issues raised by the invited artists and related them to other areas of contemporary life. While for most people the term “education” rings a distinct schooling and academic bell, Müller finds it important to distinguish a specifically Protestant notion of education. In that sense, the religious aspect of education takes its roots in Christian mysticism: the believers hold a mental image of Christ in their hearts, while constantly ridding themselves of already familiar images.420 Such continuous
regeneration of the inner image of Christ causes the cultivation of one’s life, i.e. education in the Protestant sense. Müller emphasizes that this type of education is lifelong and holistic: the process does not stop once a person acquires an academic degree, nor is it limited to intellectual or technical skills. For the pastor, vital education is personal lifelong development that involves one’s soul as well as mind. One of his goals for the events at Hospitalhof is “to help men know what they do,” and he believes that profound encounters with contemporary art can lead to this end.421 In addition to improved self-knowledge, Müller argues for better understanding of the world as another purpose of education. While natural sciences and philosophy contribute to our learning of the surrounding environment, art offers access to those aspects of reality that are unattainable through other types of human activities.422 For example, Lehnerer’s installation in
Hospital Church could respond to the existential concerns of the beholder through its own methods: ciphers, metaphors, images, and symbols. Lectures and seminars are informative and
419 Ibid., 7.
420 Müller, “Zum Bildungsverständnis in der Arbeit des Evangelischen Bildungszentrums Hospitalhof Stuttgart,” in ibid., 11.
421 Ibid., 12. The original reads, “Zusammenfassend gesprochen versucht der Hospitalhof, Menschen dabei zu helfen, zu wissen, was sie tun, wenn sie etwas tun und wenn sie etwas nicht tun.”
422 Müller, “Gegenwartskunst im Spiegel von Bildung, Religion und Wissenschaft,” in Gesucht: Spirituelle
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beneficial to a certain degree, while works of art can bring forward what remains unseen, unheard, and ineffable otherwise.423 Thus, experience of art can contribute to the holistic educational growth, in the Protestant sense of the term. How exactly does such contribution occur? In the church and specifically during worship services, “education and edification pathways” lead the attendant to observe the liturgy, reflect on allegories and behold symbols (Sinnbildern).424 In Müller’s understanding of personal learning and growth, engaged process of
looking plays a great role. Contemporary art challenges and trains visual perception; therefore it is conducive to holistic educational development of a person.
Let us now turn from the educational goals of the center Hospitalhof to the final key term in our analysis of Müller’s theory, “experiential space” (Erfahrungsräume). As part of the educational agenda, the process of looking, or observing, might seem self-explanatory. Nonetheless, this notion is complicated with an inherent physical aspect. Sight is part of the sensory system that reacts to physical surroundings and its particular qualities. Müller recognizes the visitor’s bodily presence as essential to profound encounters with contemporary art in the church. “Spiritual interpretation of artworks is possible, when it comes off without personal concern and is experienced in a subjective, physical manner.”425 Thus, the corporeal sensation is indispensable for the synergy of aesthetic and religious experiences. Likewise, for one, it is important for the effectual Gesamtkunstwerk of the liturgy that is created as the aggregate of art, music, and sermon; for another, it is necessary for exercising Bildermedidationen and thus overcoming the limits of intellect and reason. We have earlier introduced the ideas of “a total work of art” and “image-meditations,” both of which figured in Müller’s writings since the 1980s. The term
423 Ibid. See also Müller, “Das Schöne im Gotteshaus,” 35–6.
424 Müller, “Kunstpredigt als Mittel spiritueller Interpretation,” in Gesucht: Spirituelle Erfahrungsräume, 65. The original reads,“Bildungs- und Erbauungswege.”
425 Ibid., 66. The original reads, “Spirituelle Interpretation von Kunstwerken ist möglich, wenn sie interessenlos glückt und subjektiv, leiblich erfahren wird.”
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“experiential space,” on the other hand, first appears in the pastor-curator’s reflections in 2005, and culminates in the title of his latest publication dedicated to art exhibitions in Hospital Church, Wanted: Spiritual Experiential Spaces for Art and Religion.426 Müller cites neurobiologist Gerald Hüther as an inspiration for the concept of experiential spaces. In the outcomes of his recent study of human brain, Hüther proposes that so-called “inner images” have the power over the way man thinks, feels, and acts: “The evolution of life has an engine: with the aid of inner images the already existing living forms beget changes in the world… They have one direction: from the basic to more complex inner images, from simple instructions to viability of visions about the individual and collective malleability of the world.”427 In other words, man
shapes the outer world according to those inner images that gradually develop from DNA- binding patterns and collective memory into immaterial representations and ideas. Müller sees in Hüther’s work the bridge between physical matter and spirit–the transitory space (Übergangsräume) where the two co-operate. In this sense the pastor-curator suggests that together inner and outer images, while bound up in physical matter, surmount materiality and create spiritual experiential spaces.428 First and foremost such spaces stimulate personal “inner spiritual processes that allow us to think about the wholeness and fullness of life.”429 Similarly, when contemporary non-sacramental art enters a living church space, there emerge “bridges
426 In 2005 Müller presented a talk in Kunsthalle Baden-Baden and published it the following year under the same title in Artheon. See Helmut Müller, “Spirituelle Erfahrensräume. Warum brauchen die Kirchen die Kunst, wenn es doch Museen gibt und Museen Spiritualität, wenn es Kirchen gibt?” in Artheon 23 (2006), 26–31. The book in question is Gesucht: Spirituelle Erfahrungsräume für Kunst und Religion: 25 Jahre Gegenwartskunst im
Hospitalhof und in der Hospitalkirche Stuttgart; 1987–2012 (Stuttgart: Hospitalhof, 2012).
427 Quoted in Müller, “Spirituelle Erfahrensräume,” 26. The original reads, “Die Evolution des Lebendigen hat einen Motor: die mit Hilfe ihrer inneren Bildern von den bereits existierenden Lebensformen hervorgebrachten Veränderungen der Welt... Sie haben eine Richtung: vom Einfachen hin zu immer komplexer werdenden inneren Bildern, von bloßen Handlungsanleitungen zum Überleben hin zu Visionen über die individuelle und kollektive Gestaltbarkeit der Welt.”
428 Ibid., 27. See also Müller, Gesucht: Spirituelle Erfahrungsräume, 78–9.
429 Müller, “Spirituelle Erfahrensräume,” 27. The original reads, “inneren geistigen Prozessen, die es uns erlauben, das Gesamt und die Fülle des Lebens zu denken.”
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between art and the Other, between sacrality and profanity.”430 There emerge experiential spaces.
Summarizing twenty-five years of exhibition activities at Hospital Church, Müller returns to the notion of Erfahrungsräume with a few important additions.431 To experiential spaces the pastor- curator ascribes the capacity to point towards the invisible and by reason alone incomprehensible parts of the world and reality.432 Moreover, he accentuates the bodily presence as crucial to undergoing experiential space and thus to the experience of art in ecclesiastical settings. Müller advocates the art that is distinguished by “sensuality, presence, aura, and the sensually experienced synergy of all the contextual factors”; ergo: “The attendance of the beholder is preconditioned.”433 The pastor-curator expands on the last statement, “Alongside the
comparative look, of importance for me are one’s heartbeat, astonishment and occasional non- understanding [sic.]... the aura, which provokes in the viewer both acquiescence and rejection and draws him into the work [of art].”434 For the lack of more precise description Müller recapitulates experiential space as “creative leap between the times” that, arising from the