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In which May contemplates art and religion

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In this, the next segment of our continuing series ‘Yes May, but is it art?’, we consider a new exhibition that passed before the newly bespectacled eyes of little May this week.

It was not May’s first time at Salisbury Cathedral. She and I enjoyed the cathedral’s tea and scones while I was pregnant and unable to complete the Cathedral tour on a visit only four months ago. I was gutted. (A lie. That scone was love on a plate.)

This weekend, however, May was determined to see more at Salisbury Cathedral and was treated to the Conflux exhibition of Sean Henry sculptures. The exhibition’s life-like sculptures of people juxtaposed ordinary people with the saints adorning the cathedral.

I reached this woman's elbow.

May is a big fan of exhibits that challenge the viewers to consider the value of things. In this exhibition the question was: Should average people be considered equals to the saints they are placed amongst?

The sculptures had a surreal quality that May found easy to ignore, even if her mother found it slightly disconcerting. May can easily brush aside anything she feels is not significant enough to draw her attention. From afar the sculptures looked real, but up close it was a frozen reality and just that bit too large – large enough to make her Mama feel like she was in a scene from Alice in Wonderland. (My husband said I should be used to this since I am already so short, it is a feature of my every day.)

But, who cares what I think?

May, is it art?

On approaching the magnificent cathedral through the square:

Snoring. Bit of wheezing.

After a bottle of milk in the catherdral cafe:

Perking up. Ready to critique some art!

In baby changing room toilets listening to the hand dryer:

It’s art! It’s art! (May loves hand dryers.)

Outside by the sculpture of a woman walking:

Interesting. Possibly art. May listens carefully to see if she makes any funny noises.

Standing inside the open sculpture of the same man lying in bed and standing by a table:

It might be art, but it certainly isn’t interesting. You know what’s interesting, Mama? Dinner. Dinner is interesting.

At that point we retired to the pub where May and her daddy were both reacquainted with their bottles. I waited until then to ask the most pressing of questions: May, does art have a place in religion? Should places like Salisbury Cathedral celebrate modern art?

Slurp. Slurp. Big smile. Straight into bouncing!

Salisbury Cathedral, be proud. May approves.

Side story: My friends, who live in Salisbury and hosted us for the weekend – thank you Anthony and Donna! – saw a dog contemplating this exhibition the previous weekend. The dog could not figure out why the man in the bed looked so much like a man, but neither smelled nor moved like one. So if anyone fancies creeping out their dog, this exhibition is for you.

Want to read more from Stacie? Check out her posts on BabyCenter’s Momformation!



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