I didnt really think that Jesus needed another make-over, not after the Buddy Jesus from Dogma. But Mark Jenkins in 2006 decided that he needed to create a new version that identified with people today. So logically, he outfitted two child-size blow up doll with alien antenna and hung it on a street lampposts. Obviously an artistic statement, what are your reactions? Is it funny? Offensive? Obscene? Or is it deeper than the surface might show? Any thoughts?
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well, it brought a smile to my face on this incredibly horrific Wednesday. So I like it.
Funny but… kinda creepy too… And I would never have guessed what he was going for if I had not known the name (maybe the point?).
It looks like a lot like an alien asking for a hug.
“Obviously an artistic statement, what are your reactions? Is it funny? Offensive? Obscene? Or is it deeper than the surface might show? Any thoughts?”
I am caught in the middle - for a few reasons:
(a) I think Christianity is so far removing itself from a Jewish Jesus already - and this ain’t going to help turn people back to Christianity’s roots and re-discover this area..we already have an identity crisis.
(b) I like what he is doing artistically - it’s new and has something to say. I think it looks alien in nature - but he may be making a great point on current Christianity.
Point being: Christianity has changed so much - why not change it some more - evolution of a faith over 2000 years. He also may be pointing out the idea of a Jesus crucified by ‘consumerism’ - since the person is all lit up like Las Vegas. Maybe he is pointing out the problems with the modern, consumered, and shape shifting Jesus we see in America.
I like what societyvs has to say. I looked at it and couldn’t quite understand my own reaction. I went to his website and I liked the nature scuptures that he made. I think his work is creative and his sculpting is very nice. I think if I were walking down the street in New York and I saw it, I would probably just shake my head and think, “This is another crazy artist trying to think up something new.” Perhaps I might put him in the same category as I would The Naked Cowboy. Creative, attention-grabbing, somewhat unusual. I’m not sure what he is trying to say though. I think he is just trying to grab attention.
Also, in way of art, I really love all of the new pictures on this site!!
Yippiee!!
waiting for reports to finish running at work allows me to troll blogs…………..I apologize.
Speaking as a person who creates street art, I would like to say that he probably didn’t think far beyond, “wouldn’t it be cool if…” Only the most pretentious street artists have multi-layered, deep meanings to their work. They usually go, “Hey! Making people out of tape is kind of neat to look at. Like ice. And, hey, if I stick this tape person upside down in a trash can, people might stop and look at it.”
and that’s ultimately the point of any good street art: it’s not really about the political/social/religious commentary. It all comes down to making people stop their daily routine and giving them something magical/miraculous/jarring/unusual to look at. Retaking the streets. Reclaiming them as our own.
Wow. Geekiness showing through……….
It is neat to see/hear people talk about street art, especially since it is almost always anonymous (because it is also often illegal).
My gut reaction was negative to be honest, but I realized that most of us have a very limited understanding of who Jesus is. We have all kinds of stereotypes which come from all kinds of traditions and even pop-culture. If this figure sparks a curiosity in people and stretches them beyond their stereotypes that could be a good thing.
On the other hand, I think we are already tempted to just see god as an impersonal force out there somewhere doing his inexplicable “god thing,” and this figure may well re-inforce that view. But the God of the Bible (the son included) is far from impersonal; He is intimately involved in human life.
But the buddy Jesus definately gives me more “creeps” than this!
Can I hear an Amen?
hahah! B.J., I love to hear your thoughts! I’m glad that you mentioned that the sculpture sort of de-personalizes Jesus, but it could also be the form that the sculpture takes of Jesus on the cross. It is completely recognizeable to us in that way, but at the same time it makes me feel really uncomfortable to always think of Jesus in that way, and in that position, because that is not the end of the story. I always consider the cross in connection with the resurrection… and that is where the sculpture is too small of an idea to try to convey the hope, the life, the faith that I have in Jesus.
Perhaps the antenna are meant to convey some sort of desire to communicate or connect, although taking the form of alien antenna, makes it seem that this Jesus is from a place and a world very different than ours, and probably does not speak the same language that we do.
MIKE– what are YOUR thoughts?
Thanks, Kyle, for giving us your artist’s perspective on street art. Yea, I think that you are right– even if the artist didn’t take too much time to purposefully craft layers of treasure-meaning through this tape-ice-sculpture, I’m sure it in some way is representing some area of this artist’s subconcious and reflecting a small portion of his heart and the way that he sees the world. Since he created the art, it is indeed a small reflection of who he is. I really do wonder what he is saying, even if he doesn’t have the words to describe it specifically.