Agents of Faith : Votive Objects in Time and Place

"One of the great gifts of global consciousness has been to remind Western secular culture that some art has power beyond the aesthetic. And that power is what this book, the catalog for a show at Bard Graduate Center Gallery in Manhattan (through Jan. 6), is about. It brings together objects of spiritual significance from Africa, Asia, Latin America, medieval Europe and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington. Each item was designed to seal a vow, ask for help or give thanks for an answered prayer. Together they demonstrate that art is alive and interactive."-Holland Cotter, New York Times "Lavishly illustrated with colour plates, it is an absolute joy to turn pages that open up a complex expression of faith-namely, the desire on the part of the devotee to present something to a deity either in petition or gratitude"-Christopher Colven, Art Newspaper