Living by the Rule:Contemporary Art and the Medieval Monastery

Abstract

How might assumptions about contemporary life be unsettled by historical models, specifically the 'Rule’ which underpinned medieval monastic life? And how does the rich visual material culture of that historical model find connections with contemporary art? This unique publication offers a vivid means of staging the encounter between the medieval and the contemporary, with many unexpected resonances sounding between recent works and much earlier objects and texts. Offering new perspectives on extraordinary artworks from monastic contexts, such as the Arundel and Gorleston Psalters, and works in a variety of media by celebrated contemporary artists, including Danh Vo, Elizabeth Price, Richard Wright and Andrea Büttner, Living by the Rule makes a compelling case for looking beyond the chronological tracing of art history