If a votive object has been damaged, is it any less worthy of our reverence?
Judging by the vast amount of art that is damaged, maybe not. I don’t think that art is diminished if it’s been broken.
We can’t duplicate or reproduce the same quality of great works. Even if we could make a fresh version, which should be routine with AI and robotic technology, we don’t. Yes, you can buy a reproduction of Michelangelo’s David (in different sizes, no less), but no one says such a copy is the same as the original.
If the object of your devotion is broken, but if it still activates your piety, that’s acceptable.
What about a person?
Many of us are older. We have injuries. We’ve been traumatized. We’ve been abused. We’ve faced devastating illness. We have shortcomings and faults. We are limited.
When it comes to your spouse, children, family, or friends, do you abandon them? You do not.
If you’re looking at yourself, do you feel bad because you’re not as perfect as a Bernini sculpture? You do not.
If you’re used to painting one way and you suffer a catastrophic change in your life, do you adapt? You do. For a contemporary example, consider the work of Howardena Pindell, * an artist and the first Black curator at MoMA. In 1979, she was in a car accident and suffered acute memory loss. With great effort, she returned to making art.
The broken pieces of art in museums are accurate renditions of key aspects of the human spirit: resilience, determination, and self-possession.
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Bodhisattva, probably Avalokiteshvara (Guanyin). Northern Qi dynasty (550–577). ca. 550–560. China. Sandstone with pigment. H. 13 ft. 9 in. (419.1 cm); H. with base 14 ft. 9 in. (449.6 cm). TheMet.
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/42718
Hatshepsut Wearing the khat Headdress. New Kingdom. Dynasty 18. Joint reign of Hatshepsut and Thutmose III. ca. 1479–1458 B.C. From Egypt, Upper Egypt, Thebes, Deir el-Bahri, Senenmut Quarry and temple, lower court, MMA excavations, 1928–30. Diorite. TheMet.
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/547761
Installation view. Howardena Pindell. https://www.garthgreenan.com/exhibitions/howardena-pindell-autobiography/installation-view
* https://www.garthgreenan.com/exhibitions/howardena-pindell-autobiography/installation-view