Cross in the supermarket culture

Abstract

The hereby study is an attempt to classify different uses of the cross in contemporary visual culture. The first part presents the pagan and Christian symbolism of the cross in historical terms. The second part is dedicated to discussing the examples of non-sacred uses of the cross – mostly those related with war (from the time of Constantine the Great to World War II). The third part is a classification of artistic activities, grouped by the different methods of using the sign of the cross. Works of art are divided into those that utilize only the form of the cross and those which use part of its symbolic meaning (the cross as a tool of torture, the cross as a sign of the Church, the cross as a symbol of religion or of its manifestations, the cross as a timeless brand). Analysing the examples of exploiting the cross in contemporary visual culture in the context of concept and art doctrine, as expressed by the artists themselves, but also confronted with the audience’s reaction to its presence, leads to the conclusion that selectively utilizing the symbol’s rich meanings, fragmenting and deconstructing it, is a road to nowhere. A symbol of complex values functioning in a specific culture cannot be invested with isolated meanings.