The Art of the "Global Church": Around the World with Liturgical Arts

Abstract

Abstract:The U.S. journal Liturgical Arts offered readers a glimpse into the art and architecture of the "global church" during the 1950s, when the journal's editor Maurice Lavanoux traveled widely in Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean, and Africa. Lavanoux's long relationships with missionaries significantly shaped the journal's presentation of how to inculturate art and architecture. Conflicting values, however, led the journal to inconsistent judgments. At times it leaned towards an adaptationist approach; at others, it moved towards interpreting inculturation as modernizing. When it came to art, however, Lavanoux wholly favored including art with nonwhite biblical figures in both mission and Western churches. This essay argues that Liturgical Arts is a valuable source for insight into Euro-American views on inculturation immediately prior to Vatican II and the advance of liberation theology.