The Jesus Question

David Mach collages for sale

Posted on May 6, 2012 by Victoria Emily Jones

Last August I wrote about Scottish artist David Mach’s much acclaimed “Precious Light” exhibition, a commemoration of the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible. (His crucifixion sculpture, Die Harder, is one of my favorite crucifixion sculptures of all time.) Well, over the next two weekends, Mach will be offering about 100 of his works for sale at his studio in London.

The dates are May 12–13, May 19–20, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Address: Studio 16, 21 Wren Street, London, WC1X 0HF. And on Saturday, May 19, Mach will be presenting a talk on his work at 6:30 p.m. at FH Space, 9 Havelock Walk, London.

Mach has said that he is not religious, but that he is “struck by how much the King James Bible is about how we speak now.” The 70+ collages that made up the exhibition last year, and that will be exhibited in his studio this month, address the biblical/universal themes of love, faith, fear, suffering, and sacrifice. Destruction and judgment also factor heavily in his work—in his several depictions of the flood, Egyptian plagues, the Battle of Jericho, and hell, for example. Thirty-two of the collages from this series can be viewed on Mach’s website. Continue reading →

“The Robe” (1953)

Posted on May 3, 2012 by Victoria Emily Jones

This past weekend, my husband and I watched a 1953 film called The Robe, directed by Henry Koster and starring Richard Burton, based on the novel by Lloyd C. Douglas. It was nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Picture, but its real claim to fame is that it was the first film to be shot in widescreen (using CinemaScope technology).

The film is about a (fictional) Roman tribune named Marcellus, who lived during the time of Christ. At the beginning of the story, he is transferred to an undesirable military post in Jerusalem, where he stays for only a week before being summoned to Capri. But before he leaves, Pilate gives him the order to carry out three routine crucifixions. . . . I think you know where this is going. After crucifying Jesus, Marcellus wins Jesus’s robe in a game of dice, but his slave, Demetrius, runs off with it. On his way to Capri, Marcellus has recurring nightmares about the crucifixion, and begins to think that the robe is bewitching him—so he decides to return to Palestine to find and destroy it. While there, he meets some of Jesus’s followers (the time is presumably post-ascension) and is amazed by how great is their love and joy, especially in the face of oppression. He wonders if maybe there was something to this Jewish man’s teachings.

Here’s the trailer:

Continue reading →

Posted in Film | Tagged cinemascope, jesus movie, the robe 1953 | 2 Comments

Tee Time: Breakdancing Jesus

Posted on May 1, 2012 by Victoria Emily Jones

Found at newegg.com.

Posted in Jesus Kitsch | Tagged christian t-shirts, jesus t-shirts | Leave a comment

New Artists Page!

Posted on April 26, 2012 by Victoria Emily Jones

Whenever I meet people and they learn that I’m an art fan, they instinctively ask me who my favorite artist is. I can’t say that I have just one; I have many, and I’ve compiled them into a list, which you can access by clicking the “Artists” tab in the bar above.

This list has been a year in the making, and I assure you that it will grow, as I’m always discovering new favorites. I’d love it if you’d share yours with me!

Posted in Non-Western Art, Western Art | Leave a comment

Tee Time: Jogging Jesus

Posted on April 24, 2012 by Victoria Emily Jones

Here’s one in belated honor of last week’s Boston Marathon.

Found at zazzle.com.

Posted in Jesus Kitsch | Tagged christian t-shirts, jesus t-shirts | 2 Comments

Thomas Kinkade’s Portrait of Christ

Posted on April 19, 2012 by Victoria Emily Jones

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 an estimated 10 million American homes. Kinkade had said that it was his mission to bring peace and joy into the lives of others; “I’m trying to bring light to penetrate the darkness many people feel,” he said.

Despite (or perhaps because of) his immense commercial success, his work is often derided by art critics as nothing more than sentimental kitsch, devoid of truthfulness. It’s the sort of work that inspires spinoffs like this combo nightlight–music box…

Since Kinkade’s death on April 6, newspapers have been reflecting on people’s diametric opinions of his work, asking questions like what makes art art (does being commercially focused make you less of an artist?), and what is the artist’s role in society (to make people feel good? to challenge them, or move them to action? to shine a light on reality? to display beauty?).

I’m going to sidestep all these questions for now (though please feel free to comment on them below if you wish) and instead focus on one of Kinkade’s paintings, one that hangs in my grandmother’s piano room and in my parents’ hallway. It’s called The Prince of Peace. Continue reading →

Posted in Popular Art | Tagged thomas kinkade jesus | 1 Comment

Tee Time: Cheesus Chrust

Posted on April 17, 2012 by Victoria Emily Jones

I found this shirt at evolvefish.com.

It’s a reference to a scene from the movie My Best Friend’s Girl, starring Dane Cook. (Content advisory: This clip contains a piece of crude sexual humor at 0:56.)

Posted in Jesus Kitsch | Tagged jesus pizza, where pizza is a religious experience | Leave a comment

Augustine and Donne on Loving God Supremely

Posted on April 14, 2012 by Victoria Emily Jones

“He loves Thee too little who loves anything together with Thee, which he loves not for Thy sake.”
—St. Augustine, Confessions

“Nor Thou nor Thy religion dost control,
The amorousness of an harmonious Soul,
But thou would’st have that love Thyself: as Thou
Art jealous, Lord, so I am jealous now,
Thou lov’st not, till from loving more, Thou free
My soul: who ever gives, takes liberty:
O, if Thou car’st not whom I love
Alas, Thou lov’st not me.

Seal then this bill of my Divorce to All,
On whom those fainter beams of love did fall;
Marry those loves, which in youth scattered be
On Fame, Wit, Hopes (false mistresses) to Thee.”
—John Donne, “A Hymn to Christ”

Posted in Poetry | Tagged augustine's confessions, john donne hymn to christ | Leave a comment

“Plastic Jesus, sittin’ on the dashboard…”

Posted on April 12, 2012 by Victoria Emily Jones

I recently watched the movie Cool Hand Luke (1967), so this song has been stuck in my head:

“I don’t care if it rains or freezes
Long as I got my plastic Jesus
Sittin’ on the dashboard of my car.
Comes in colors, pink and pleasant,
Glows in the dark ’cause it’s iridescent,
Take it with you when you travel far.

Get yourself a sweet Madonna,
Dressed in rhinestones, sittin’ on a
Pedestal of abalone shell.
Goin’ ninety, I ain’t scary [sic: “wary”],
’Cause I’ve got the Virgin Mary
Assurin’ me that I won’t go to hell.”

In this scene, Luke just found out that his mother died, so the tone of his performance is tender, soulful, sad—completely unlike the obnoxious and irreverent premiere performance in 1962, which was intended as a parody. Singer-songwriters Ed Rush and George Cromarty wrote the song in reaction to a Christian radio station in Del Rio, Texas, which they said ran ads whose copy read like the lyrics of this song. They recorded “Plastic Jesus” as part of a fake Christian radio broadcast, under the fake band name “The Goldcoast Singers” (click here to read the script, or here to listen to the audio on YouTube). Ernie Marrs adapted the lyrics and tune in 1965. The song was adapted even further for Cool Hand Luke,and has since been covered by a few dozen artists, the most famous of which is probably Billy Idol.

To see some of the lyric variations that have developed in the last four decades, click here.

I put together a (nonexhaustive) Spotify playlist of different versions of the song. The only one I can stand to listen to is Rocky Votolato’s from 2007, which I rather like. (Still doesn’t beat Paul Newman’s, though.)

Click here to listen to the “Plastic Jesus” playlist. (You will need to sign up for Spotify if you are not already a member.)