Art history professor publishes new book on art, culture and theology

Seemingly secular modern artifacts are often haunted by forms associated with the divine, according to a recently published book, Our Distance from God: Studies of the Divine and the Mundane in Western Art and Music, by James D. Herbert, department chair and professor of art history at UC Irvine. Using five case studies spanning four centuries, ranging from Louis XIV’s Versailles to Robert Wilson’s contemporary set designs, Herbert explores how specific works of art establish a relationship, or lack thereof, between the divine and the mundane. Our Distance from God is published by UC Press.