Museums as a Religious Site: The High Museum of Art as a Numinous Experience
Disciplines
Architectural History and Criticism
Abstract (300 words maximum)
Fyodor Dostoevsky’s face showed agitation and dread; he was enraptured by the distorted, suffering face of Jesus Christ, and could not help but just stand and watch with an unearthly emotion. The Body of the Dead Christ in the Tomb by Hans Holbein is an example of how a person can experience something beyond the canny. Rudolf Otto describes this feeling of the presence of a divinity as numinous. It is revealing and indicative, coupled with “mysterium tremendum”, he draws attention to a non-rational, “awe-inspiring mystery” religious experience that people can feel. A sacred space can also break the bounds of reality, according to Mircea Eliade, and where hierophanies manifest the sacred. A similar experience can be found in museums, where our current-day example would be the High Museum of Art in Atlanta. Visitors feel as if they are going through a processional experience through the museum’s ramps. The skylights and the four-story atrium fill the museum with atmospheric light, and the design has places of pause and gathering. So, could museums be seen and experienced as religious and sacred spaces? This project investigates how museums, such as The High Museum of Art, can be considered religious and sacred spaces. The research draws on Rudolf Otto’s concept of “numinous,” where this “wholly other” falls outside the realm of the usual. This is further elaborated by Mircea Eliade, who, instead of studying the ideas of God, analyzed how humans experienced these ideas of the sacred. This research argues that there is holiness inside museum walls, where revelation, transcendence, and transformation can be found. This project demonstrates that, through its architectural procession, manipulation of light, and provision of spaces for contemplative pause, the High Museum of Art evokes a numinous experience.
Use of AI Disclaimer
no
Academic department under which the project should be listed
CACM – Architecture
Primary Investigator (PI) Name
Ehsan Sheikholharam
Museums as a Religious Site: The High Museum of Art as a Numinous Experience
Fyodor Dostoevsky’s face showed agitation and dread; he was enraptured by the distorted, suffering face of Jesus Christ, and could not help but just stand and watch with an unearthly emotion. The Body of the Dead Christ in the Tomb by Hans Holbein is an example of how a person can experience something beyond the canny. Rudolf Otto describes this feeling of the presence of a divinity as numinous. It is revealing and indicative, coupled with “mysterium tremendum”, he draws attention to a non-rational, “awe-inspiring mystery” religious experience that people can feel. A sacred space can also break the bounds of reality, according to Mircea Eliade, and where hierophanies manifest the sacred. A similar experience can be found in museums, where our current-day example would be the High Museum of Art in Atlanta. Visitors feel as if they are going through a processional experience through the museum’s ramps. The skylights and the four-story atrium fill the museum with atmospheric light, and the design has places of pause and gathering. So, could museums be seen and experienced as religious and sacred spaces? This project investigates how museums, such as The High Museum of Art, can be considered religious and sacred spaces. The research draws on Rudolf Otto’s concept of “numinous,” where this “wholly other” falls outside the realm of the usual. This is further elaborated by Mircea Eliade, who, instead of studying the ideas of God, analyzed how humans experienced these ideas of the sacred. This research argues that there is holiness inside museum walls, where revelation, transcendence, and transformation can be found. This project demonstrates that, through its architectural procession, manipulation of light, and provision of spaces for contemplative pause, the High Museum of Art evokes a numinous experience.