It could be argued that religion is the last taboo subject left in cotemporary art. In an industry known for pushing boundaries and reacting against cultural notions of decorum it seems that the only remaining topic the art world isn’t comfortable discussing is religion. Whereas artists from Damien Hurst to Kiki Smith have employed explicit religious content in their work the dialogue surrounding such content remains scarce. This is precisely what strikes me about the most recent project by New York-based artist Gene Schmidt.

LOVETOWN PA is a performance that not only reiterates the historical ties Philadelphia has to religion, it confronts the current perceptions of religion (western Christianity, to be specific) in the city along with religion’s existence within contemporary art. Schmidt’s project consists of displaying a biblical passage from the New Testament of the Bible (I Corinthians 13) famous for its definition of love and popular for its use in wedding ceremonies. For this project, though, Schmidt lays the passage out on custom-cut plywood squares, character by character, in a line extending from North Philadelphia to the campus of the University of Pennsylvania.

This arduous and grand effort serves to emphasize two things. First, it calls attention to love as an ongoing act – and often a very long-term and determined one. Second, it locates love within a concrete place and time. It is no coincidence that this project is set in the city nicknamed the city of brotherly love. If LOVETOWN PA is about questioning what love is in the present, it certainly questions what love has been, historically.

Perhaps a discussion about love is somewhat of a backdoor into a broader conversation about religion. After all, love is not the exclusive territory of Christianity (or any religion, for that matter). It is a concept claimed by secular as well as religious communities. Either way, LOVETOWN PA deftly navigates a new line of dialogue between the two.

-- Wayne Adams is an artist who lives and works in Brooklyn, NY