Gaze Matters - When Does a Picture Become an Idol?
Wed 11 Nov · Venue to be confirmed
Price on the host's page
Online ecture by Beniamino Fortis, Christian-Albrechts University, Kiel. Is Idolatry in the eye of the beholder? Why do some pictures become objects of extraordinary devotion, while others remain mere pictures? At first glance, the Torah appears to take a clear stance by condemning imagery altogether. Yet the Torah itself commands the creation of visual artefacts, suggesting that the real issue cannot lie solely in their production. This lecture proposes a different way of approaching the problem. Rather than asking what an idol is, it asks how a picture becomes one.