International project for art and literature

This project of the OAC began in 1983 with an invitation to artists in Greece and, later on, all over the world to reflect on the spiritual text below, and express their understanding of it in a creative way.

The is about Saint Makarios of Egypt, the Great ascetic of the desert, 4th c. and is taken from the Proverbs of the Fathers (Apophthegmata Pateron, Migne P.G. 34:257-258). One day, while Makarios was walking through the desert, he found a skull in the sand. The following dialogue took place:

MAKARIOS: Who are you?

SKULL: I was a priest of the pagans. When you pray for us who are in hell, we are consoled.

MAKARIOS: What is it like in hell? What kind of consolation do you feel?

SKULL: We are standing surrounded by flames reaching up to the sky. The worst torment of all is that we are tied back-to-back and thus cannot see each other’s face - this is actual hell! But when you pray for us, the ropes become loose, and we can see each other again FACE TO FACE. That is consolation!

This dialogue between Abbas Makarios and the skull is a metaphor for the confrontation of man with the OTHER, the fellow human being. Plautus stated that “homo homini lupus” (Man is a wolf for man), and Jean-Paul Satre expressed it in an even more tragic way, saying “L΄enfer c΄est l΄autre” (hell is others). Here, the exact opposite is expressed, summarising Christian belief: not the presence, but the absence of the other, the lack of communication; loneliness is the cause of pain and torment.

Until today, 230 artists from all over the world have created 350 pieces of art concerning this topic: Paintings, sculptures out of wood, steel and ceramics; collages, silk-printings and batik, but also poems, texts, theatrical plays, musical compositions, and a TV-film.

They depict people in many different situations that result from the state of being tied back to back, from the estrangement from their fellow human beings, from their environment and God, topics that affect and move us every day. War, torture, terrorism, human rights violations, uprooting of people and peoples, racism, intolerance, lack of solidarity, pollution of the environment through industrialisation and its consequences, just to name a few.

However, a great many works also express hope and the prospect of deliverance: a way out of the terrible situation; hope that man will become better, regarding himself as well as his fellow human being. Therefore, also peace, love, faith, prayers, solidarity, forgiveness, shelter and consolation are some of the topics artists dealt with.

All of the works of art in this project were donations to the OAC, and most are exhibited in both conference buildings. A representative selection was exhibited in Athens and abroad. In 1989, the artists were invited to come FACE TO FACE personally, in the framework of an international conference and exhibition organized at the OAC.

Contributions come from the following countries:

Argentina, Australia, Austria, Canada, Cyprus, Denmark, Egypt, France, Finland, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, India, Korea, Lebanon, Netherlands, New Zealand, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, U.K (Northern-Ireland), USA and the former Yugoslavia.

The OAC gratefully accepts, following agreement, further contributions from countries not yet represented in the program.

In honour of the Saint, who inspired this program, the OAC transformed a little cave east of the Academy-buildings into a small chapel, Makarios-“KATHISMA”, where his memory is celebrated on the 19th of January.