Includes bibliographical references and index.

The spiritual in contemporary art: 1980s to the present / Leesa K. Fanning -- Engaging the spiritual in abstract art / Leesa K. Fanning -- Making visible that which is known: sustaining connections in First Nations and American Indian art / Karen Kramer -- Art-making as spiritual process / Leesa K. Fanning -- The presence and promise of the ancestors: spirituality in Australian Aboriginal art / Stephen Gilchrist -- Sacred topographies: material, form, and faith in the contemporary arts of Africa / Karen E. Milbourne -- Materials, form, color / Leesa K. Fanning -- Light of the eye, light of the heart: Sufism and contemporary art / Ladan Akbarnia -- Sources of inspiration / Leesa K. Fanning -- Unearthing the underground river of the spiritual: the Judeo-Christian tradition in contemporary art / Eleanor Heartney -- The artist's body as signifier of spiritual content / Leesa K. Fanning -- The art of being in the world / Mary Jane Jacob.

Named artists identified in "List of Works" (pages 284-293): Lippo Memmi (Italian [Sienese], 1317-1350) -- Wolfgang Laib (German, b. 1950) -- Bill Viola (American, b. 1951) -- Sean Scully (American, b. Ireland, 1945) -- James Turrell (American, b. 1941) -- Ding Yi (Chinese, b. 1963) -- Spinifex Women's Collaborative (Annette Hoga, Mrs. Simms, Betty Kennedy, Carlene West, Myrtle Pennington, Ester Rice, Kathleen Donegan, Estelle Hogan, Judith Donaldson, Loraine Davis) -- Richard Long (British, b. 1945) -- Joseph Beuys (German, 1921-1986) -- Y.Z. Kami (American, b. Iran 1956) -- Enrique Martínez Celaya (American, b. 1964) -- Lee Mingwei (American, b. Taiwan, 1964) -- Aaron Taylor Kuffner (American, b. 1975) -- Yoko Ono (American, b. Japan, 1933) -- Mariko Mori (Japanes, b. 1968) -- Anselm Kiefer (German, b. 1945) -- Renée Stout (American, b. 1950) -- Kimsooja (Korean, b. 1957) -- Marina Abramović (Serbian, b. 1946) -- James Lee Byars (American, 1932-1997) -- Martin Puryear (American, b. 1941) -- Anish Kapoor (British, b. 1954) -- Agnes Martin (American, 1912-2004) -- Shirazeh Houshiary (Iranian, b. 1955) -- Natvar Bhavsar (Indian, b. 1934) -- Marianne Nicolson (First Nations, Dzawada̲'enux̲w/Kwakwa̲ka̲'wakw, b. 1969) -- Calvin Hunt (First Nations, Kwagu'l, b. 1956) -- Meghann O'Brien (First Nations, Haida, Kwakwa̲ka̲'wakw, b. 1982) -- Darcy Turenne (Canadian, b. 1984) -- Robert Houle (First Nations, Saulteaux, b. 1947) -- Barry Ace (First Nations, Anishinaabe, b. 1958) -- David Ruben Piqtoukun (First Nations, Inuit, b. 1950) -- Christi Belcourt (First Nations, Métis, b. 1966) -- Lonnie Vigil (American Indian, Nambé, b. 1949) -- Monty Claw (American Indian, Diné, b. 1977) -- Kathleen Petyarr (Australian Aboriginal, Anmatyerr people, Utopia, Central Desert, Northern Territory, b. ca. 1940) -- Emily Kam Kngwarray (Australian Aboriginal, Anmatyerr people, Utopia, Central Desert, Northern Territory, ca. 1910-1996) -- Yuendumu Women's Collaborative (Biddy Napanangka Hutchinson, b. 1931; Betsy Napangardi Lewis, b. 1940; Judy Napangardi Watson, b. 1925; Rosie Nangala Fleming, b. 1930; Amanda Nangala Jurra; Bessie Nakamarra Sims, b. 1932; and Pamela Napurrula Walker, b. 1957) -- Abie Loy Kamerre (Australian Aboriginal, Anmatyerr people, Utopia, Central Desert, Northern Territory, b. 1972) -- Maringka Baker (Australian Aboriginal, Pitjantjatjara people, ca. 1952) -- Spinifex Men's Collaborative (Ned Grant, b. 1942; Kali Davis; Ian Rictor, b. ca. 1920; Lawrence Pennington; Frank Davis; Fred Grant, b. 1941; Gerome Anderson, 1940-2011; Wilbur Brooks; Simon Hogan, b. 1930; Mark Anderson, b. 1933; Roy Underwood, b. 1937; Walter Hansen; Loren Pennington; Cyril Brown; Alan Jamieson; Lennard Walker, b. 1949; Byron Brooks, b. 1955) (Australian Aboriginal, Pitjantjatjara people, Tjuntjuntjara, Southwestern Deserts, Western Australia) -- John Mawurndjul (Australian Aboriginal, Kuninjku people, Mumeka and Milmilngkan, Western Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, b. 1952) -- Mick Kubarkku (Australian Aboriginal, Kuninjku people, Mann River region, Western Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, 1920-2008) -- El Anatsui (Ghanaian, b. 1944) -- Tchif (Francis Nicaise Tchiakpé) (Beninese, b. 1967) -- Theo Eshetu (British, b. 1958) -- Kwesi Owusu-Ankomah (Ghanaian, b. 1956) -- Jim Chuchu (Kenyan, b. 1982) -- Maïmouna Patrizia Guerresi (Italian, b. 1951) -- Yelimane Fall (Senegalese, b. 1945) -- Bronwyn Lace (South African, b. 1980) -- Georgia Papageorge (South African, b. 1941) -- Zarina Hashmi (Indian, b. 1937) -- Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian (Iranian, b. 1924) --Rachid Koraïchi (Algerian, b. 1947) -- Mehmet Günyeli (Turkish, b. 1955) -- Anila Quayyum Agha (American, b. Pakistan, 1965) -- Andres Serrano (American, b. 1950) -- Johanna Bresnick (American, b. 1973) -- Michael Cloud Hirschfeld (American, b. 1975) -- Mierle Laderman Ukeles (American, b. 1939) -- Steven Handel (American, b. 1945) -- Fred Tomaselli (American, b. 1956) -- Bruce Conner (American, b. 1933) -- Ernesto Pujol (American, b. Cuba 1957) -- Janet Cardiff (Canadian, b. 1957) -- Thomas Struth (German, b. 1954) -- Paul Pletka (American, b. 1946) -- Ana Mendieta (American, b. Cuba, 1948-1985) -- Makoto Fujimura (American, b. 1960) -- Lee Mingwei (American, b. Taiwan, 1964) -- Sonam Dolma (Tibetan-Swiss, b. 1953) -- Rirkrit Tiravanija (Thai, b. 1967) -- Marcus Young (Hong Kong Chinese, b. 1970) -- Christian Boltanski (Frenc, b. 1944) -- Hiroshi Sugimoto (Japanese, b. 1948) -- Kimsooja (Korean, b. 1957).

"The spiritual in contemporary art is everywhere evident, yet rarely examined in scholarly research. Encountering the Spiritual in Contemporary Art addresses the subject in depth for the first time since Maurice Tuchman's seminal 1986 The Spiritual in Art: Abstract Painting 1890-1985. It significantly broadens the scope of previous scholarship to include new media and non-Western and Indigenous art in addition to that of the West. Encountering the Spiritual presents art from diverse cultures with equal status, promotes its cultural specificity, and moves beyond previous notions of "center and periphery," celebrating the plurality and global nature of contemporary art today. This unprecedented book--a valuable reference for years to come--integrates different ways of exploring the spiritual in art. Essays based on cultural affinities are rhythmically interspersed with thematic categories. These themes demonstrate greater diversity and hybridity of artists' sources of inspiration and their emphasis on art-making as spiritual process. Finally, selected artists' statements further expand the knowledge of an academic and general audience"-- Provided by publisher.