Dark Night of a Gay Soul: John of the Cross

"St. John of the Cross" by Brother Robert Lentz, OFM, trinitystores.com

“The Dark Night of the Soul,” a spiritual classic with homoerotic overtones, was written by 16th-century Spanish mystic Saint John of the Cross, also known as San Juan de la Cruz. His feast day is today (Dec. 14).


For a new version of this article, click this link to Qspirit.net:
John of the Cross: Dark Night of a Gay Soul

Like some other mystics, John of the Cross (1542-1591) used the metaphor of erotic love to describe his relationship with Christ. Since Jesus was born male, his poetry inevitably celebrates same-sex love. Hear how passionately John speaks about Christ in these verses translated by A.Z. Foreman:

O night that can unite
A lover and loved one,
A lover and loved one moved in unison.


And on my flowering breast
Which I had kept for him and him alone
He slept as I caressed
And loved him for my own.

(The whole poem is reprinted in the original Spanish and in English at the end of this post). John, a Carmelite friar who worked with Theresa of Avila, wrote these beautiful verses while imprisoned in a latrine for trying to reform the church.

“The Dark Night of the Soul” is open to various interpretations, but is usually considered to be a metaphor of the soul’s journey to union with God.

John of the Cross also used same-sex imagery to describe divine love in “The Spiritual Canticle.” He wrote, “The love Jonathan bore for David was so intimate that it knitted his soul to David's. If the love of one man for another was that strong, what will be the tie caused through the soul's love for God, the Bridegroom?”

Detail from “Intimacy with Christ 3” by Richard Stott (for full image click here)

Gay writers explore the queer dimensions of the poem at the following links:

Richard Stott, a Methodist minister and art therapist in England, created three large paintings based on “The Dark Night of the Soul.” The triptych is called “Intimacy with Christ.”

Toby Johnson, ex-monk, gay spirituality author and activist, connects the Dark Night of the Soul with gay consciousness at TobyJohnson.com.

Terence Weldon explains why John of the Cross is important for LGBT people of faith at the Queer Spirituality Blog.

In the icon at the top of this post, Brother Robert Lentz shows John with the living flames that he described in this poetry. The inscription by his head puts his name in Arabic to honor the Arabic heritage that John received from his mother.

“Juan de la Cruz” by Tobias Haller

“Juan de la Cruz” was sketched with light pastels on dark paper by Tobias Haller, an iconographer, author, composer, and vicar of Saint James Episcopal Church in the Bronx. He is the author of “Reasonable and Holy: Engaging Same-Sexuality.” Haller enjoys expanding the diversity of icons available by creating icons of LGBTQ people and other progressive holy figures as well as traditional saints. He and his spouse were united in a church wedding more than 30 years ago and a civil ceremony after same-sex marriage became legal in New York.

Icon of John of the Cross at the Church of the Carmelite Friars in Segovia, Spain (Photo by Kevin Elphick)

John of the Cross is surrounded by scenes from the Song of Songs, the book of the Bible that celebrates erotic love, in an unusual icon at the Church of the Carmelite Friars (Iglesia de los Padres Carmelitas) in Segovia, Spain.  The saint's remains are enshrined there.

“A typical icon will have a central image of the saint (like this one) and the smaller images framing it will be of events from the saint's life. In this icon however, the framing images are of the Maiden from the Song of Songs and her Beloved! Effectively, the icon communicates to the viewer that John is the Maiden of the Canticle and invites the viewer to join him in this role,” says Kevin Elphick, a Franciscan scholar who studies the ways that saints cross gender boundaries. He photographed the original icon in its church home while retracing the footsteps of John of the Cross on a trip to Spain in 2015.

Individual images of the scenes from Song of Songs can be seen at parroquia-ns-europa.com.

The Dark Night of the Soul

By John of the Cross

From: THE COLLECTED WORKS OF ST. JOHN OF THE CROSS, translated by Kieran Kavanaugh, OCD, and Otilio Rodriguez, OCD, revised edition (1991). Copyright 1991 ICS Publications.

1. One dark night,
fired with love's urgent longings
- ah, the sheer grace! -
I went out unseen,
my house being now all stilled.

2. In darkness, and secure,
by the secret ladder, disguised,
- ah, the sheer grace! -
in darkness and concealment,
my house being now all stilled.

3. On that glad night,
in secret, for no one saw me,
nor did I look at anything,
with no other light or guide
than the one that burned in my heart.

4. This guided me
more surely than the light of noon
to where he was awaiting me
- him I knew so well -
there in a place where no one appeared.

5. O guiding night!
O night more lovely than the dawn!
O night that has united
the Lover with his beloved,
transforming the beloved in her Lover.

6. Upon my flowering breast
which I kept wholly for him alone,
there he lay sleeping,
and I caressing him
there in a breeze from the fanning cedars.

7. When the breeze blew from the turret,
as I parted his hair,
it wounded my neck
with its gentle hand,
suspending all my senses.

8. I abandoned and forgot myself,
laying my face on my Beloved;
all things ceased; I went out from myself,
leaving my cares
forgotten among the lilies.


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Original Spanish

En una noche oscura

por San Juan de la Cruz

1. En una noche oscura,
con ansias, en amores inflamada,
¡oh dichosa ventura!,
salí sin ser notada,
estando ya mi casa sosegada;

2. a escuras y segura
por la secreta escala, disfrazada,
¡oh dichosa ventura!,
a escuras y encelada,
estando ya mi casa sosegada;

3. en la noche dichosa,
en secreto, que naide me veía
ni yo miraba cisa,
sin otra luz y guía
sino la que en el corazón ardía.

4. Aquesta me guiaba
más cierto que la luz del mediodía
adonde me esperaba
quien yo bien me sabía
en parte donde naide parecía.

5. ¡Oh noche que guiaste!
¡oh noche amable más que la alborada!;
¡oh noche que juntaste,
Amado con amada,
amada en el Amado transformada!

6. En mi pecho florido,
que entero para él solo se guardaba,
allí quedó dormido,
y yo le regalaba,
y el ventalle de cedros aire daba.

7. El aire del almena,
cuando yo sus cabellos esparcía,
con su mano serena
en mi cuello hería,
y todos mis sentidos suspendía.

8. Quedéme y olvidéme,
el rostro recliné sobre el Amado;
cesó todo y dejéme,
dejando mi cuidado
entre las azucenas olvidado.

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Books related to John of the Cross

“Enkindling Love: The Legacy of Teresa of Avila and John of the Cross” by Gillian T. W. Ahlgren (2016)

“The Collected Works of St. John of the Cross,” translated by Kieran Kavanaugh and Otilio Rodriguez

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To read this article in Spanish, go to:
San Juan de la Cruz: Noche Oscura del Alma Gay (Santos Queer)

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This post is part of the LGBTQ Saints series by Kittredge Cherry. Traditional and alternative saints, people in the Bible, LGBTQ martyrs, authors, theologians, religious leaders, artists, deities and other figures of special interest to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people and our allies are covered.

Copyright © Kittredge Cherry. All rights reserved.
Qspirit.net presents the Jesus in Love Blog on LGBTQ spirituality.

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Icons of John of the Cross and many others are available on cards, plaques, T-shirts, mugs, candles, mugs, and more at Trinity Stores

Queer Lady of Guadalupe: Artists re-imagine an icon

“Coyolxauhqui Returns as Our Lady disguised as La Virgen de Guadalupe to defend the rights of Las Chicanas” by Alma Lopez

“Chulo De Guadalupe” by Tony de Carlo

Our Lady of Guadalupe brings a message of holy empowerment that speaks to LGBT people -- and angers Christian conservatives. Queer art based on Guadalupe is shown here for her feast day today (Dec. 12). She is an Aztec version of the Virgin Mary that appeared to Aztec peasant Juan Diego outside Mexico City on Dec. 12, 1531.


For a new version of this article, click this link to Qspirit.net:
Queer Lady of Guadalupe: Artists re-imagine an icon
In Juan Diego’s vision, the dark-skinned Virgin of Guadalupe spoke to Juan Diego in Nahuatl, the Aztec language, addressing him as if he were a prince. It was astonishing because Mexico had been conquered 10 years earlier by Spaniards who claimed to have the one true faith. Following her instructions, he gathered roses in his cloak. An icon of her, looking just as Juan Diego described, was imprinted on the cloak as a miraculous sign. Our Lady of Guadalupe became a popular symbol of dignity and hope for the native people of Mexico, and by extension to indigenous or oppressed people everywhere.

The hill where Juan Diego had his vision used to be the site of an ancient temple to the Aztec mother goddess Tonantzin. Her temple was destroyed by the Spanish conquistadors. Our Lady of Guadalupe (in Spanish Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe or Virgen de Guadalupe) asked for a church to be built in her honor right there, among the conquered people. That shrine is now the most popular Catholic pilgrimage destination, receiving more than 6 million visitors per year.

Even standard icons of Guadalupe are subversive because they show the Virgin as a dark-skinned Mexican, challenging the Euro-centric images of her as a blue-eyed white lady. The foremothers of the Mexican Guadalupe include the Black Madonnas, especially the medieval Spanish Our Lady of Guadalupe in Extremdaura, Spain.

Those who took the liberating vision a step further to create queer Guadalupe art include Tony De Carlo, Alex Donis, Ralfka Gonzalez, Alma Lopez, and Jim Ru.

“Our Lady” by Alma Lopez

"Our Lady of Controversy" cover

Erotically alive, feminist and lesbian versions of Our Lady of Guadalupe are a common theme in the art of Alma Lopez, a Chicana artist and activist born in Mexico and raised in California. A huge controversy erupted over her “Our Lady,” a digital print showing the Virgin of Guadalupe in a bikini made of roses, exalted by a bare-breasted butterfly. Lopez says she intended it as a tribute to Our Lady, “inspired by the experiences of many Chicanas and their complex relationship to La Virgen de Guadalupe.”

Encuentro (Encounter)
by Alma Lopez

Death threats, censorship efforts, and violent protests brought national and international attention to Lopez’ “Our Lady” over the years as artistic freedom clashed with freedom of religion. In one of the most recent conflicts, thousands of negative messages compromised the email system of an Irish university that dared to exhibit it in 2011. (For details, see my previous post Our Lady and Queer Saints art attacked as blasphemy - Show support now!).

“Lupe and Sirena in Love”
by Alma Lopez

In 2001 Catholic authorities tried to have Lopez’ “Our Lady” removed from an exhibition at the Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe. The debate is covered in the 2011 book “Our Lady of Controversy: Alma Lopez’s ‘Irreverent Apparition.’” from University of Texas Press. The anthology is edited by Alma Lopez and Alicia Gaspar de Alba. The two women were married in 2008, during the first brief period when same-sex marriage was legal in California.

“Our Lady” is erotic, but there is more overt lesbian content in some of the other images of Our Lady of Guadalupe that Lopez made. Her website, almalopez.net, includes images of a romance between Guadalupe and a mermaid in artwork such as “Lupe and Sirena in Love.”

The Aztec moon goddess Coyolxauhqui has been interpreted as a lesbian deity by Chicanas such as writer-activist Cherrie Moraga. Lopez paints Coyolxauhqui, machete in hand, as Guadalupe in the image at the top of this post: “Coyolxauhqui Returns as Our Lady disguised as La Virgen de Guadalupe to defend the rights of Las Chicanas.”

“Mary Magdalene and Virgen de Guadalupe” (from “My Cathedral”) by Alex Donis

Alex Donis painted the Virgin of Guadalupe kissing Mary Magdalene as part of “My Cathedral,” a series that showed people of opposite viewpoints kissing in same-sex pairs. Donis was familiar with contradictions from his own “tri-cultural” identity: pop, queer, and Latino. Born to Guatemalan parents, he grew up in East Los Angeles.

His “My Cathedral” exhibit caused a frenzy when it opened in San Francisco in 1997. Heated arguments erupted in the gallery, followed by threatening phone calls and letters. Vandals smashed two of the artworks: Jesus kissing the Hindu god Rama, and guerilla leader Che Guevara kissing labor organizer Cesar Chavez. Most people overlooked his painting of Guadalupe kissing Mary Magdalene, but it remains a potent, beautiful expression of the union of sexuality and spirituality. It is included in the book “Art That Dares: Gay Jesus, Woman Christ, and More by Kittredge Cherry..”

Guadalupe as Chenrezig by Ralfka Gonzalez

Outsider artist Ralfka Gonzalez adds an androgynous Buddhist interpretation by painting Guadalupe as the embodiment of compassion known as Chenrezig, Avalokiteshvara or Kwan Yin. Tradition says the compassionate bodhisattva is both male and female. In the Gonzalez image, he/she is wrapped in Juan Diego's cloak.

Pictured here is the first of many “Buddha Lupe” images painted by Gonzalez. He is a self-taught Chicano artist and gay Latino activist who divides his time between Oaxaca, Mexico and San Francisco. He often paints Mexican and/or gay themes in a colorful folk-art style.

Artist Tony de Carlo affirms the holiness of gay love with bright, festive paintings of queer saints, Adam and Steve, same-sex marriage and much more. His genderbending “Chulo De Guadalupe” appears near the top of this post. In Mexican slang “chulo” refers to someone who is cute and, in some cases, sexy.

De Carlo, who died in 2014, was a native of Los Angeles. His work is exhibited regularly in museums and galleries throughout the United States.For more on Tony De Carlo and his art, see my previous post: Gay saints, Adam and Steve, and marriage equality art affirm LGBT love: Tony De Carlo Interview.

"Virginia Guadalupe" by Jim Ru

Jim Ru painted a bearded drag queen version of the Virgin of Guadalupe. Titled “Virginia Guadalupe,” the painting was displayed in his show “Transcendent Faith: Gay, Lesbian and Transgendered Saints” in Bisbee Arizona in the 1990s. He discusses it in a 2015 video.



These bold paintings certainly give new meaning to the title bestowed upon Guadalupe by Pope Pius XII: “Queen of Mexico.” If the Virgin Mary could appear to an Aztec as an Aztec, then why not show up to a queer as a queer?

Guadalupe tends to dominate discussions of Latina/o depictions of Mary, but other icons of the Virgin tend to be more important outside Mexico, such Our Lady of Lujan in Argentina. And artists are making queer versions of these other Virgins too. For example, Giuseppe Campuzano (1969-2013) of Peru cross-dressed as Our Lady of Sorrows in art portraits that appear in his book “Museo Travesti del Peru (The Peruvian Transgender Museum).”
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Related links:
Virgen de Guadalupe Contemporary Art (Feminist Texican)

Decolonizing Sexuality and Spirituality in Chicana Feminist and Queer Art by Laura E. Perez (Tikkun)

A Visit to Alma Lopez’ Studio: Finding lesbian saints, mermaids, revolutionaries and goddesses (Jesus in Love)

Giuseppe Campuzano and the Museo Travesti del Perú (Hemisperic Institute)

To read this post en español, go to Santos Queer:
La Virgen de Guadalupe Queer: Artistas reinventan un icono

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Various icons of Our Lady of Guadalupe and many others are available on cards, plaques, T-shirts, mugs, candles, mugs, and more at Trinity Stores



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This post is part of the GLBT Saints series and LGBT Holidays series at the Jesus in Love Blog. Saints, martyrs, heroes and holy people of special interest to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) people and our allies are covered on appropriate dates throughout the year in the Saints series. The Holidays series celebrates religious and spiritual holidays, holy days, feast days, festivals, anniversaries, liturgical seasons and other occasions of special interest to LGBT and queer people of faith and our allies.

Copyright © Kittredge Cherry. All rights reserved.
http://www.jesusinlove.blogspot.com/
Jesus in Love Blog on LGBT spirituality and the arts

Gay rights are human rights: Hillary Clinton speaks for Human Rights Day on religion and LGBT rights

“Gay rights are human rights, and human rights are gay rights,” Secretary of State Hillary Clinton declared in a speech at the United Nations in Geneva this week. She gave the groundbreaking speech about LGBT rights in honor of Human Rights Day, which is today (Dec. 10.)

Clinton is magnificent in outlining and overcoming all objections to LGBT rights as human rights -- including the religious reasons. She stated that religion must not be used to justify violence against LGBT people, but can and should instead serve as a source of compassion.

I see her speech as a dramatic breakthrough for LGBT rights, based on my own experience advocating justice for queer people at the World Council of Churches in the early 1990s as ecumenical director for LGBT-affirming Metropolitan Community Churches.

Kittredge Cherry at the World Council of Churches headquarters in Geneva, where she advocated for LGBT rights, February 1994

In a sense I helped pave the way for Hillary Clinton’s LGBT rights speech! The WCC and the United Nations are both based in Geneva and have somewhat similar international structures leading to similar worldviews.

All hell broke loose at the World Council of Churches in 1993 when I asked their human rights committee to address lesbian and gay issues. Now almost 20 years later the U.S. Secretary of State herself has brilliantly answered the many objections they raised. Her speech provides the exact kind of carefully worded ideas that are needed by LGBT rights advocates in international organizations such as the WCC and UN.

Watch her speech on video or read the whole text at this link. Here I will simply quote the section where Clinton talks about religious justifications for violating the rights of LGBT people:

The third, and perhaps most challenging, issue arises when people cite religious or cultural values as a reason to violate or not to protect the human rights of LGBT citizens. This is not unlike the justification offered for violent practices towards women like honor killings, widow burning, or female genital mutilation. Some people still defend those practices as part of a cultural tradition. But violence toward women isn't cultural; it's criminal. Likewise with slavery, what was once justified as sanctioned by God is now properly reviled as an unconscionable violation of human rights.


In each of these cases, we came to learn that no practice or tradition trumps the human rights that belong to all of us. And this holds true for inflicting violence on LGBT people, criminalizing their status or behavior, expelling them from their families and communities, or tacitly or explicitly accepting their killing.


Of course, it bears noting that rarely are cultural and religious traditions and teachings actually in conflict with the protection of human rights. Indeed, our religion and our culture are sources of compassion and inspiration toward our fellow human beings. It was not only those who’ve justified slavery who leaned on religion, it was also those who sought to abolish it. And let us keep in mind that our commitments to protect the freedom of religion and to defend the dignity of LGBT people emanate from a common source. For many of us, religious belief and practice is a vital source of meaning and identity, and fundamental to who we are as people. And likewise, for most of us, the bonds of love and family that we forge are also vital sources of meaning and identity. And caring for others is an expression of what it means to be fully human. It is because the human experience is universal that human rights are universal and cut across all religions and cultures.

A few LGBT leaders have criticized Clinton’s speech as hypocritical, considering the ongoing violations of LGBT rights in the United States. However, Clinton acknowledged in the speech, “I speak about this subject knowing that my own country's record on human rights for gay people is far from perfect….We, like all nations, have more work to do to protect human rights at home.” I see her speech as a big step in the right direction.

Artist paints history’s gay couples: Interview with Ryan Grant Long

“Saints Sergius and Bacchus” by Ryan Grant Long

Historical men who loved men, including some gay saints, are painted by artist Ryan Grant Long in a new series titled “Fairy Tales.”

Spanning more than 4,000 years, the series includes 3rd-century Christian martyrs Sergius and Bacchus and Biblical hero David with his beloved Jonathan. The 12 scenes present a diverse and balanced assortment of a dozen male couples in various time periods, cultures and religions, starting in Egypt in 2400 BCE with the first recorded same-sex couple Khnumhotep and Niankhkhnum. All are real people and most are widely accepted to have been homosexual or bisexual.

Long created “Fairy Tales” in a calendar format for his Master of Fine Arts thesis at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he also earned a certificate in LGBT studies in 2009. “Fairy Tales” is available for purchase as a handsome 2012 calendar at Deviantart.com under his pseudonym “Eshto.”(Update: 2013 calendars are now available.)

The artist makes the past come alive by showing historical figures in unusual, informal slice-of-life moments. It’s almost like he was there taking candid snapshots. For example, saints Sergius and Bacchus are usually portrayed in static icons, side by side staring straight at the viewer. But Long catches them gazing into each other’s eyes during a private moment in their prison cell (above). In another image, Jonathan is depicted at the very moment he fell in love with David, soon after the young hero beheaded the giant Goliath (below).

“David and Jonathan” by Ryan Grant Long

The “Fairy Tales” series moves across the globe with figures ranging from a Chinese emperor to an Arab poet, a Japanese samurai warrior and Mayan athletes. He also presents famous pairs from Western culture: artist Leonardo Da Vinci with his assistant Salai, and poet Walt Whitman with his comrade Peter Doyle. The series continues to the present era with civil-rights leader Bayard Rustin holding hands with his partner Walter Naegle (below).

“Bayard Rustin and Walter Naegle” by Ryan Grant Long

Based in Madison, Wisconsin, Long is currently working as an assets and concept artist for mobile video games. His art covers a wide variety of subjects, but his other religion-themed work includes a design commissioned to promote “In from the Wilderness” by Rev. David Weekley. The book chronicles his journey coming out as a transgender minister in the United Methodist Church.

Recently Long took time to discuss his art with Kittredge Cherry, art historian and author of the Jesus in Love Blog.

Kittredge Cherry: Why did you decide to depict male same-sex affection throughout history?

Ryan Grant Long
in his Noah's Ark spoof
"You Shall Not Octopass"

Ryan Grant Long: My MFA was the end of my academic career, and I wanted my final project as a student to represent the culmination of all that I had learned throughout my college experience. Aside from art, I had focused on LGBT studies, sociology and anthropology. Most people do not get a formal education in LGBT issues, so I wanted to bring what I had learned into the public sphere, and use my skills as an artist to make it visually engaging and accessible to lay people. I also do not relate to much of the gay art I see, so I wanted to make something I would personally respond to as a viewer.

KC: How did you choose which couples to show?

RGL: I started by looking at the representative examples of historical lovers one would be exposed to if they took an intro college course on LGBT history. Sergius and Bacchus were a big deal in my LGBT studies classes because of how they challenge conventional notions of Christianity’s attitude toward homosexuality. I also wanted a wide breadth of cultures and time periods, to really make the point that homosexuality is not some modern invention or fluke, it’s an essential part of the human existence and has been around as long as humans have walked this planet. In general, I did not find it necessary for there to be absolute proof that the subjects had been gay as we understand it. I was looking for enough evidence to make a reasonable historian concede that they could have been lovers; and that if we saw the same affection in two people of the opposite sex, it would no doubt be taken for granted that they were romantically involved.

KC: Even in your MFA exhibition, the images are displayed as a calendar. Why did you present it in calendar format?

RGL: In keeping with my intention of normalizing and mainstreaming same-sex affection, I chose one of the most ubiquitous popular art formats I could think of. I wanted to make art that would be affordable and freely hung in homes and college dorm rooms, to facilitate getting the information out to people who wanted it. This decision put me at odds with the “fine art” mentality of my MFA program. I was pressured to blow the images up to comically huge sizes for the MFA exhibit, so they would function as museum art objects. But in truth the project was always designed with the intention of being available for everyone to purchase in a standard calendar form.

KC: Your series includes two couples that are popular with many of our readers: David/Jonathan and Sergius/Bacchus. What attracted you to those pairs in particular? How did you pick which scenes to paint from their lives?

RGL: I wanted each couple to have its own unique romantic theme based on what I felt was the most intense or characteristic moment in their respective stories. When I researched the story of David and Jonathan I was struck by the image of Jonathan removing his clothes and putting them on David. There was a humility there. The head of Goliath is included as an homage to similar depictions of David throughout art history, and I also found it a bit contradictory and amusing to contrast this violence with a very sweet gesture. It seemed to capture something of the contradictory tone of the Old Testament, being that it contains great beauty and poetry, but also some pretty horrible things like genocide and slavery. As for the saints, the moment where the ghost of Bacchus appears to his dying lover was not only very romantic, it was also a direct shot at the prevailing belief that gay people are not welcome in the Christian heaven. So like many of the images, it served the dual purpose of honoring same-sex affection, while challenging some of the common preconceptions that give rise to homophobia.

KC: Why didn't you include women who loved women? Do you have any plans to do a lesbian version? Or do you know of a female version by another artist?

RGL: This is a criticism that I received at the opening of the show, and it sort of mystified me as to why anyone would expect me, a gay man, to make art that speaks for lesbians. I think it would be wonderful if another artist tackled this subject, but not being a woman or a person who falls in love with women, I really do not have much passion for the subject matter.

KC: How have others reacted to your "Fairy Tales" project? What did your professors think? Did you face any opposition, controversy or attempts to censor it?

RGL: What’s interesting, and perhaps a bit unfortunate, is that a lot of people were thrown off by the “PG” nature of the images. So much gay art is focused on sex and “otherness”. I think most people were expecting Tom of Finland, but I made this series because I was tired of this stereotype. Being gay is a whole human experience. It’s not just about sex or minority status, but also love, friendship, community, etc. I wanted to see the same kind of celebrations of same-sex affection that heterosexual people take for granted. Also as I mentioned, my interest in popular art and illustration ran up against some of the faculty’s notions of what “fine art” is supposed to be, so I had to fight and compromise to get the idea approved.

KC: How does your perspective as an openly gay man influence "Fairy Tales"?

RGL: Well as I said, I was a bit tired of seeing gay art that was overtly sexual and superficial. And that’s not all gay-themed art but it seems to me like it is overrepresented. I was born in a small tourist town and raised with relatively conservative social values. I wanted to normalize gay relationships and same-sex affection, and make this information relatable to people who don’t necessarily identify with stereotypically urban gay culture. Despite that these are infamous historical figures, I wanted the depictions of their affections to be down-to-earth, heartwarming, inspiring - human - not shocking or outrageous or confusing, as so much contemporary art is, especially when the subject matter is alternative sexualities. As you said, they look like candid “slice of life” snapshots, and that is exactly what I was going for.

Kukai (774–835), also known as Kōbō-Daishi, is a monk who founded Shingon Buddhism in Japan. He is one of Japan’s most beloved Buddhist figures, credited with everything from inventing the kana alphabet to introducing homosexuality to Japan. He is shown with his male lover among the falling cherry blossoms in “Kukai” by Ryan Grant Long

KC: I was especially drawn to your picture of the Japanese Buddhist monk Kukai because I lived in Japan for three years as a young adult, and because some of our readers are Buddhists. Why didn't you include Kukai in the calendar? What are the legends about Kukai's homosexuality?

RGL: I needed twelve images to complete the calendar theme, and I just felt Kukai’s story was not as engaging in an intimate way as the other couples I ended up with. Even Abu-Nuwas, who was known to be quite promiscuous and downright filthy at times, was passionate about his lovers and his story lent itself to an interesting romantic image, but Kukai’s story didn’t have much in the way of romantic tropes. According to legend Kukai introduced homosexuality to Japan. It’s a fascinating tale, but I didn’t find anything about actual relationships and what their character might have been.

KC: What did you personally learn from researching and painting "Fairy Tales"?

RGL: Since I had been studying LGBT history throughout my undergrad and grad careers, the information I learned while researching this was fascinating, but not exactly mind-blowing; I was generally familiar with it. Most of what I learned while creating the project had to do with how to overcome formal and technical concerns in designing the images, and then getting blowing them up and printing them at a large size. After the show I had to completely revisit the formatting in order to fit the work to the calendar dimensions required by the DeviantArt website, where it’s currently available for purchase. That is when I added an extra vertical information bar on the right of each image, which was not present at the MFA show.

KC: When we planned this interview, you said that use of your images must be for a clear secular purpose that both religious and non-religious people can share in. Please explain for our readers why you have this policy.

RGL: A straightforward reason is that I am an atheist and often critical of religion, so I would not want my images to be used to promote a worldview or ideology I simply do not agree with. But I am also a humanist and progressive, and I think it’s imperative to build bridges between others who are interested in social justice. This is part of how I ended up making art for Reverend David Weekley. David had seen the Noah’s Ark spoof I created for shirt.woot.com, which had widespread appeal among both Christians and non-Christians. He thought it was cute and funny, and his wife approached me about designing a t-shirt to celebrate his book In from the Wilderness (ISBN: 978-1-60899-544-8).

Ryan Grant Long’s design
for “In From the Wilderness”

Despite that I am not a Christian, I absolutely loved the book, and I found David’s story to be perfectly accessible and engaging on a human level; I have recommended it to theist and non-theist friends alike as well as university professors teaching LGBT studies courses. Despite our differences, David and I probably agree on political and social issues 90% of the time, and so I have much more in common with someone like him than, say, a libertarian atheist like Penn Jillette. And generally the ways in which we will get to equality will be the same for everyone, I think. Education, legal and economic fairness, and (speaking as an American here) keeping the United States a secular nation in which religion is separate from politics and nobody has the right to impose their personal beliefs on others. So I can freely count many gay-affirming Christians among my friends and allies, even if we disagree on religious matters. And since my goal is a secular society where everyone is free to hold their own beliefs, I want my art to be enjoyed by everyone, not just those who follow a particular ideology.
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Update in August 2012:
You saw Ryan Grant’s “Fairy Tales” first here at Jesus in Love. Now it’s featured in the Advocate. To see all 12 images in the “Fairy Tales” series, visit
Artist Spotlight on Ryan Grant Long (Advocate.com)
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This post is part of the Artists series by Kittredge Cherry at the Jesus in Love Blog. The series profiles artists who use lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) and queer spiritual and religious imagery.

Saints bring hope on World AIDS Day 2011

Patrons of the AIDS Pandemic by Lewis Williams, SFO
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[Editor's note: A major windstorm in Los Angeles delayed my World AIDS Day post by one day. Fortunately my home and everyone in it is safe, but winds gusted up to 100 miles per hour, huge trees crashed all around us in LA destroying houses and cars. The power was out for 30 hours here. I still don't have Broadband service. Please keep all of us in LA in your prayers.]

Today, on World AIDS Day, the Jesus in Love Blog supports everyone affected by HIV. We applaud prevention and treatment efforts, and we honor those who died of AIDS -- more than 25 million people worldwide. This year (2011) marks the 30th anniversary of the first formal report of the disease that came to be known as AIDS.

“Patrons of the AIDS Pandemic” by Lewis Williams shows two pairs of medieval male saints who faced disease epidemics together with friendship and faith. Their man-to-man bonds speak to the gay community, where AIDS has a disproportionately large impact. The couples stand on each side of a chestnut tree, a symbol of life after death.

“It is hoped that they offer solace to companions who have survived a loved one’s death, or to friends\family burdened by the death of two companions,” says the text accompanying the icon.

On the left are 13th-century Franciscans who ministered in an Italian leper colony: Blessed Bartolo Buonpedoni and Blessed Vivaldo. Bartolo got leprosy while caring for the sick, so he had to live in segregated housing. His loyal friend Vivaldo moved into the leper house with him, even though he himself did not contract the ailment. They lived together for 20 years until Bartolo’s death. Today there are effective treatments for leprosy, now known as Hansen’s disease. AIDS has taken its place as a dreaded and stigmatized disease.

On the right stand 14th-century Carmelite monks St.Avertanus and Blessed Romeo, traveling companions who died together of the plague. Avertanus felt inspired to go to Rome, so he got permission to take Romeo with him. They faced rain and snow as they made an adventurous pilgrimage over the Alps from France to Italy. No Italian city would let them in, for an epidemic of plague was raging. Avertanus died first, followed a week later by Romeo.

The icon was painted by New Mexico artist Lewis Williams of the Secular Franciscan Order (SFO). He studied with master iconographer Robert Lentz and has made social justice a theme of his icons.

World AIDS Day holds great personal meaning for me. I ministered in the LGBT community of San Francisco in the late 1980s, back when there were no effective treatments and AIDS deaths were common . I wrote about the experience for Christian Century magazine in an article titled “We Are the Church Alive, the Church with AIDS.” The article is reprinted in the book The Church with AIDS: Renewal in the Midst of Crisis, edited by Letty Russell.

I lost many friends to AIDS. In their memory, I am pleased to add this post to the GLBT Saints series here at the Jesus in Love Blog.

Let us join in the following AIDS prayer by Diann L. Neu, Diann, cofounder and codirector of the Women’s Alliance for Theology, Ethics and Ritual (WATER). It was published in Equal Rites: Lesbian and Gay Worship, Ceremonies, and Celebrations:

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One Person: Compassionate Holy One, open our hearts and minds and hands so that we may connect ourselves to the global community of others responding to AIDS as we pray:
We remember all the women, men, and children in this country and around the world who are living with AIDS.

All: Justice demands that we remember and respond.

One: We remember all who care for people living and dying with AIDS in their homes, in hospices, and in support centers.

All: Justice demands that we remember and respond.

One: We remember all who are involved in research and hospital care that they may respect the dignity of each person.

All: Justice demands that we remember and respond.

One: We remember all partners who are left mourning for their beloved ones.

All: Justice demands that we remember and respond.

One: We remember all parents who learn the truth of their children’s lives through their process of facing death….
We remain vigilant,
Until a cure for AIDS is found,
Until those dying with AIDS are comforted,
Until truth sets us free,
Until love drives out injustice.
We shall not give up the fight.
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In memory of: Brian Dose, Rev. Ron Russell-Coons, Scott B, Stephen Clover, Richard O’Dell, Bruce Bunger, Scott Galuteria, Kevin Y, Harold O, Ric Hand, Paul Francis, Rev. Larry Uhrig, Rev. Jim Sandmire, David C, Wayne Mielke, Rev. Dan Mahoney, Bill Knox, Sue H, Tom, Jesse Oden, Jim Veilleux, John from Axios, Robert P, Daven Balcomb, Dave Eckert, Martin Lounsberry, Mark S, David Castagna, Kevin Calegari, Rev. Rick Weatherly, Don K, Michael Mank, David Ward, Rev. Howard Wells, Rev. Howard Warren, Ken Bland, Lanny Dykes, Rob Eichberg, Virgil Hall, Randy Cypherd, Charles Hosley... and all others who lost their lives to HIV and AIDS.

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More spiritual resources for World AIDS Day are available at:
World AIDS Day Campaign's Faith Advocacy Toolkit

MCC Global HIV and AIDS Ministry.

Another beautiful artwork supporting people with AIDS is “Il Martir (The Martyr)” by Armando Lopez (pictured at left). For the full story, see my previous post, “Art honors AIDS martyrs on World AIDS Day.”

Patrons of the AIDS Pandemic and many other icons are available on cards, plaques, T-shirts, mugs, candles, mugs, and more at Trinity Stores