La Domenica
(2025)
author(s): Giovanni Pilato
published in: Royal Academy of Art, The Hague
Thesis of the Royal Academy of Art, The Hague, 2023
BA Fine Arts
This Graduation Research Project is a script for a catholic Mass. It consists of two
main parts: La Domenica and La Predica (translated from Italian: The Sunday and
The Sermon).
The text and design of La Domenica are based on the handout people receive at the
start of the catholic Sunday Mass in Italy. In La Domenica you can find the scriptures
of the day, the prayers to recite, some general information and relevant quotes for
the day. In this first part I assembled some biblical and non-biblical texts together
with pre-existing prayers and self-written prayers. The texts vary in topic such as the
story of the creation, the passion of Christ, but also Notes on Camp. The content of
those texts is then reflected upon in La Predica. It is therefore advisable to read La
Domenica first, up until The Sermon, and continue with La Predica. After La Predica
the reader can get back to La Domenica to finish the Mass.
La Predica is the script for the sermon: A personal essay on the relationship between
the Catholic traditions and Camp aesthetics. La Predica is a contemporary reflection
on the scriptures which starts with the creation. This story then leads to art creation,
matters of taste and homosexuality in Art. Homosexuality and erotica are then
related to the scene of the passion of Christ, specifically to suffering and death of
Christ as scenes for arousal. The theatricality of Catholic visual tradition is then
analyzed through Susan Sontag’s Note’s on Camp. What follows is a comparison
between queer visual culture, thus Camp, and Christian tradition.
