Icons in Greek simply means ‘image’ and the painted Icon on a flat wooden panel, that we are familiar with today, has its origins in the Byzantine Empire. Icons are used today to focus worshippers prayers on a particular saint or subject.
The Byzantine Empire was the eastern Greek speaking half of the Roman Empire. While the last Roman Emperor was deposited in AD 476, the Byzantine Empire continued until 1453. What we think of as the Eastern Orthodox Church was created largely within the Byzantine Empire and the generations of icons is part of its legacy. This legacy is a symbolic proclamation of the power of images.
Some groups in the church strongly disapproved of the promotion of art. In response Pope Gregory the Greta, around AD 600, defended imagery as useful for teaching the Christian message to the illiterate and helping the faithful towards the contemplation of God.
And it is this education that underpins my love of art. An image can speak 1000 words, the same way a caricature, or a photograph can challenge, mock, ask questions or capture a moment in history. This is why we protect, promote and produce the image, in whatever form it comes. Art I believe is not just for the illiterate. I can read ten pages and the words depicts nothing but useless babble, yet a piece of art can capture a sentiment, an emotion, a thought. I believe art is a higher way of communication,
SydneySettler 