Category Archives: Popular Art

Roundup: Jesus balloon, Oprahdoxy, minimalist Bible, Augustine, cave churches, and sugar sphinx

Posted on June 29, 2014 by

– Did you hear about the giant World Cup Jesus balloon that online gambling company Sportsbet floated over Melbourne two weeks ago? Resembling the famous Christ the Redeemer statue in Brazil, the balloon showed Jesus wearing an Australian soccer jersey … Continue reading →

Posted in Popular Art, Theology, Western Art | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

“Faith in Drag” podcast: on the role of images in Christianity and Hinduism

Posted on March 16, 2014 by

Encounter is a Sydney-based radio documentary feature program that seeks to explore the connections between religion and life. Two weeks ago they aired an episode, hosted by Allison Chan, that includes interviews with religious gift shop workers, Christian and Hindu … Continue reading →

Posted in Non-Western Art, Pop Culture, Popular Art, Theology, Western Art | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Jesus optical illusions

Posted on July 1, 2013 by

. . . for your viewing pleasure. The last one is being sold as a cross-stitch pattern and, believe it or not, has been tattooed on at least two arms that I’ve seen (click here and here for photographic evidence).

Posted in Jesus Kitsch, Popular Art | 1 Comment

Tap-Tap Art in Haiti

Posted on June 23, 2012 by

Last month a friend of mine, Rachel, told me about how when she visited Port-au-Prince, Haiti, in 2010, she found Jesus’s name and face painted all over the city’s public transportation vehicles, known as “tap-taps.”  Tap-taps are privately owned and … Continue reading →

Posted in Non-Western Art, Pop Culture, Popular Art | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Thomas Kinkade’s Portrait of Christ

Posted on April 19, 2012 by

Popular Christian artist Thomas Kinkade passed away this month at age 54.  Known for his soft-focus paintings of country cottages, lighthouses, churches, and main streets, Kinkade is one of the most collected artists in America, with his paintings hanging in … Continue reading →

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The Dagger Project

Posted on July 24, 2011 by

Hebrews 4:12 describes the Bible as sharper than any two-edged sword, in that it pierces the heart with its raw truthfulness, exposing our insides.  If we were to transpose this verse into a modern idiom, “dagger” might be the more … Continue reading →

Posted in Popular Art, Western Art | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Jesus Is My Homeboy: The Story That Started It All

Posted on June 25, 2011 by

The “Jesus is my Homeboy” T-shirt is a fashion trend that peaked in the mid-2000s, when celebrities like Jessica Simpson, Pamela Anderson, Ben Affleck, Ashton Kutcher, and Brad Pitt could be spotted wearing it. I remember seeing classmates in high … Continue reading →

Posted in Popular Art | Tagged , , | 10 Comments

Happy Jesus, Part 1: A Newish Conception

Posted on May 7, 2011 by

“There was some one thing that was too great for God to show us when He walked upon our earth; and I have sometimes fancied that it was His mirth.”  -G. K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy (1908) Many people—like Chesterton, apparently—think of … Continue reading →

Posted in Popular Art, Who is Jesus? | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

Gethsemane, Part 2: Hematidrotic Jesus

Posted on April 7, 2011 by

(If you’re not familiar with what happened in Gethsemane, the story is chronicled in three places:  Matthew 26:36-45, Mark 14:32-42, and Luke 22:39-46.  I will be referencing only bits and pieces at a time.) “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow … Continue reading →

Posted in Popular Art, Theology | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Sallman’s Pretty Jesus

Posted on March 19, 2011 by

In 1940, commercial artist Warner Sallman created the oil painting Head of Christ. This image has since been reproduced hundreds of millions of times, on prints, plaques, bookmarks, greeting cards, funeral announcements, church bulletins, buttons, calendars, clocks, lamps, coffee mugs, … Continue reading →

Posted in Popular Art | Tagged , , , , | 14 Comments