Abstract

The Biennale in Venice and the Documenta in Kassel are starting-points in this article for the discussion of five characteristics of modern art as they were displayed there, with special reference to the image. These five characteristics are: a global perspective, a critical sense of commitment to society, a lack of form, the question of tradition, and the mixture of cognitive sources and genres. In light of Bruno Latour's thought, the author then shows how modern art, faith, and science are all dependent on the image, each in its own way, but all while having a paradoxical relation with it. Latour uses the term iconoclashes for this. In the formation of their images, all three are related to each other and engaged in a parallel discourse. In a third step, the paradox of the image is applied to the five characteristics that were perceived in Venice and Kassel, with the question of how far these are relevant for the Christian practice of faith and for practical theology. In the end, the conclusion is that academic theology should carefully preserve the paradox that surrounds the image.