art as performative enactment

The example of play, as used by Hans-Georg Gadamer, that involves Christ was really revealing. At first, the concept of playing and then of the game being played through the players was confusing, but for some reason, this Christ example set me straight. Without the religious rituals that occur in a Catholic church, the figure of Christ will remain merely that: the figure of Christ. It means nothing, it does and signifies nothing. However, through these rituals, the figure of Christ becomes something alive and meaningful. This helped me understand that a work of art is made up of materials--of course there are endless possibilities for what these materials might be--and it is not until a viewer chooses to engage with these materials that it becomes something more than its physical object. I almost feel as if play is necessary for the other two concepts, symbol and festival, to exist, for they establish the willing relationship between work of art (or maybe even artist) and the viewer of the art.