Kat Von D Gracefully Explains Why An Historic Piece of Her Furniture Is Not Demonic

Kat Von D, a recent Orthodox Christian convert known for her dark aesthetic and artistry, which she did not entirely abandon upon her conversion, was recently accused by her fellow Christians of having a demonic piece of furniture in her home. The piece of furniture is a beautifully carved 19th century cabinet shaped like a cello that Napoleon had commissioned for his favorite cello player. In a response to this on her Instagram page, she gracefully explains why dark aesthetics like this gothic furniture piece are not necessarily demonic upon closer examination.

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The Secret-Eater Monk

Painting: "The Secret-Eater Monk"

 

Location: Dochiariou Monastery, Mount Athos

 

About: The painting "The Secret-Eater Monk" hangs in the Archondariki (Guest House) of Dochiariou Monastery on Mount Athos as a warning of inappropriate eating habits. This is a modern painting based on a miracle that happened on Mount Athos in one of the monasteries. One of the monks who worked in the kitchen stole some food and secretly ate it in his cell in the evening. One day after Great Vespers, when everyone was going for supper, in the presence of many brethren, the earth opened and a serpent emerged from the earth, consuming the soul of the careless monk.   

How to Explain Spirituality To A Faithless Generation According to Guillermo del Toro

When dogma and religion are rejected, it is often the case that fantasy and art replace them to fulfill the human need for something that is beyond the everyday and mundane. When Dostoevsky said in The Idiot that "beauty will save the world," one way this can be interpreted is by looking at fantasy and art that explore spiritual themes metaphorically.

For director Guillermo del Toro, who early on rejected the dogmas of Catholicism, questions of faith are continually explored through metaphor. He said in a 2008 USA Today interview:

Controversial Public Art in Athens ‘Exorcised’ and Destroyed

Black-clad protesters in southern Athens have torn down a red sculpture shaped like an angel and broke its wings in a fresh act of violence against an artwork critics liken to Satan.

Protests against the 8-metre high sculpture called Phylax, which in Greek means “guardian”, have ranged from throwing white paint and spitting at it to attempting to exorcise it with a Greek priest sprinkling holy water. The priest described the statue as a “demon soldier of Satan” in a letter to the mayor of Palio Faliro, Dionysis Hatzidakis.

It was displayed on December 5th in a busy area in the coastal suburb of Palaio Faliro. Protesters have included some residents, religious conservatives and supporters of far right political groups.

The Christian History of the Gargoyle

Gargoyles and Saints of Siena Cathedral

In architecture, a gargoyle is a carved or formed grotesque with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building, thereby preventing rainwater from running down masonry walls and eroding the mortar between. Architects often used multiple gargoyles on buildings to divide the flow of rainwater off the roof to minimize the potential damage from a rainstorm. A trough is cut in the back of the gargoyle and rainwater typically exits through the open mouth. Gargoyles are usually an elongated fantastical animal because the length of the gargoyle determines how far water is directed from the wall. When Gothic flying buttresses were used, aqueducts were sometimes cut into the buttress to divert water over the aisle walls.