Ecce Homo: Theological reflections on personhood and 'The Passions'

Here I will outline some of the background philosophy and theology relevant to The Passions exhibit from the stand point of Christian Anthropology. Secondly, I will briefly outline two ways in which theology and philosophy have tended to understand what it means to be a person; that is, the person as a metaphysical substance and as a relational subject. The final section of the paper is a personal reflection on how I think Viola’s work can contribute to our deeper self-understanding. In my view his art enables us to come to a new perspective on the phrase Ecce Homo – here is the person, one which takes account of our rich intellectual and artistic heritage but which also prompts us to develop our thinking into new avenues. In this final section my comments will focus on Emergence.