Blasphemy charge aids queer Jesus project

Equal Means Equal Jesus by Bill Burch, 2009.

Photo, 8” x 10.” www.harepepol.com 

Below left: BFF Jesus by Bill Burch, 2009. Photo, 8” x 10.”

Accusations of blasphemy from an art school professor gave a big boost recently to an alternative Jesus photo project by Bill Burch, an art student at Adams State College in Alamosa, Colorado.

A conservative Christian professor harassed some of Burch’s models and threatened to “shut down” his project, which includes GLBT and female Jesus photos. The effort to stop the project had the opposite effect, inspiring many more students to volunteer as models!

“It seems the more biblical he gets, the more the student body reacts, like an equal and opposite reaction,” Burch reports. “Participation by his students has really increased, too.”

Now Burch is well on his way to completing his ambitious project of 64 alternative Jesus images. The flood of new models included the gay men pictured above in “Equal Means Equal Jesus” (above). Other queer images among the new photos are a female couple in “BFF Jesus” (left) and a man dressed as a woman in “Lady Liberty Jesus” (below).

The Alternative Jesus project is a concrete embodiment of Jesus’ own teaching that everybody is one with Christ. “If one believes in Jesus and accepts Jesus into their heart they become Christian, or Christ-like. They become Jesus, and Jesus them,” Burch explains.

The stated purpose of the project is to challenge traditional representations of the crucifixion by replacing the traditional Christ figure with other versions of the sacrificial lamb, archetypes usually repressed by conservative American Christianity. “If Jesus was a black lesbian would She be welcomed in Montgomery Alabama, or hung from a tree like strange fruit? It is this paradigm I question,” Burch says.

He plans to arrange the 64 unconventional Jesus images into a montage that looks like a traditional Jesus portrait from a distance. As the viewer approaches, the familiar face will disappear, revealing a multitude of different Christ figures. Each hangs on the cross, but they embody a variety of ages, races, body sizes, gender identities and sexual orientations.

Burch successfully defended his “Alternative Jesus” photos to a college committee including the conservative professor at a graduate review in December. ”Because of the depth of writing in my artist statement, my conservative professor’s arguments were totally defused,” Burch says. “The only question he asked was about the symbolism of two models on the cross. Previously, he had told me to ask my models what they would be willing to die for. I told him the two models said they would die for love, as simple as that. Amazing!”

The 2008 U.S. election inspired Burch to start the alternative Jesus project. He welcomed the “evolutionary leap” of America’s first black president, and decided use his art to counteract the “giant step backwards” of California’s Proposition 8. Conservative Christian groups were instrumental in passing Prop 8 to ban same-sex marriage.

“Many Christians are prejudiced against anything different, what they consider deviant. Jesus said, ‘What you do to the least of these you do to me,’” Burch says.

His own spiritual journey includes a Christian conversion followed by a religious phase, when he was so zealous that he was known as “Fireball Bill.” Eventually he became disillusioned by the hypocrisy of many Christians, and left the church.

Burch sees his Alternative Jesus project as “a post-modern iconoclastic reformation. It is a breaking and re-making of traditional religious iconographic representations.”

Sounds like what Jesus himself did!

For more Bill Burch photos, see my previous post “Transvestite Jesus appears in photo project.”

Lady Liberty Jesus, by Bill Burch, 2009.

Photo, 8” x 10.” www.harepepol.com

Alternative Christmas art shown

AltXmasArt, a groundbreaking exhibit of alternative Christmas art, is now showing here at the Jesus in Love Blog.

Nine artists mix Christmas imagery with a progressive vision of GLBT rights, racial and gender justice, and a world without war, poverty or pollution. Each image has a seasonal reflection by lesbian Christian author Kittredge Cherry.

AltXmasArt was first posted in December 2008, but it’s worth another look. Many people feel left out of the traditional Christmas scenes, but AltXmasArt breaks the stereotypes and shows Christ for ALL of us -- gay and straight, bisexual and transgender, male and female, black and white, rich and poor. I hope that it will inspire you.

The series offers a superb fusion of high-quality art, deep spirituality and socio-political commentary. Surprising variations on the traditional Nativity scene include black madonnas, lesbian madonnas, father-and-son scenes of Jesus and Joseph, and a multi-racial trio of female Magi.

Two favorites from the series have been posted here earlier this month. To see the rest, you’ll have to use this quick guide with links to the whole series:



“Annunciation” by Elisabeth Ohlson Wallin







“La Anunciación (The Annuciation)” by Armando Lopez







“Mother of God: Mother of the Streets” by Brother Robert Lentz







“Black Madonna - Mitochondrial Eve” by David Hewson







“The Holy Family” by Janet McKenzie







“San José (Saint Joseph)” by Armando Lopez







“Joseph and the Christ Child” by Father John Giuliani







“Mary Most Holy Mother of All Nations” by Father William Hart McNichols







“Pacha Mama Healing the Earth” by David Hewson







“Epiphany” by Janet McKenzie







“Radiant Baby” by Keith Haring







“Madonna, Lover, and Son” by Becki Jayne Harrelson




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If you like this art, you’ll also enjoy “Art That Dares: Gay Jesus, Woman Christ, and More” by Kittredge Cherry. The book is filled with color images by 11 contemporary artists. Five artists from AltXmasArt are featured in the book. The artists tell the stories behind their images and a lively introduction puts them into political and historical context, exploring issues of blasphemy and artistic freedom.

Lesbian couple portrays Madonna

“Annunciation” (from “Ecce Homo”) by Elisabeth Ohlson Wallin, 1998.
Photograph, 79 x 60 inches.
www.ohlson.se

The Madonna and her female lover are portrayed by a real lesbian couple, seven months’ pregnant through artificial insemination in “Annunciation” by Elisabeth Ohlson Wallin. The angel Gabriel comes in the form of their gay male friend, who floats in with a message from God—and a test tube for insemination.

A Bible quote is displayed with the photo: “The angel said to her, “ ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus.’” (Luke 1:30-31)

It’s important to imagine the Christmas story in new and different ways because it empowers people to grow in their relationship with each other and with God. Imagining the Madonna as a lesbian may be shocking, but it reminds the viewer that the story of Jesus’ birth has always been radical. It was scandalous that God’s son was born to an unwed mother in poverty. God became flesh—a shockingly total identification with all people.

“Annunciation” is the opening image in the Swedish photographer’s series titled Ecce Homo, a pun meaning “See the human being” and “See the homosexual.” Each image is haunting and sharply beautiful, with a fashion-photo clarity and documentary truth that makes the familiar story become acutely real.

All hell broke loose when Ohlson Wallin recreated twelve scenes from Christ’s life using contemporary LGBT models and locations. Her Ecce Homo series toured Europe, often in churches, but the Pope expressed disapproval by canceling a planned audience with the Swedish archbishop. Opponents vandalized the art, threw rocks at the artist and issued death threats. This kind of religious bigotry is exactly why images of a queer Christ are needed.

“I wanted Jesus for me and my own sexual sense,” Ohlson Wallin explains. “I wanted to be able to identify with Jesus. There are millions and billions of Jesus pictures for heterosexuals to identify with. In Africa they have black Jesus. In China they have Chinese Jesus. Lots of different countries each have a different Jesus.”
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For an in-depth look at this and other queer Christian art, see my article “Take Back Jesus,” published in Tikkun magazine.
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This photograph appears in “Art That Dares: Gay Jesus, Woman Christ, and More” by Kittredge Cherry. The book is filled with color images by 11 contemporary artists. Five artists from AltXmasArt are featured in the book. The artists tell the stories behind their images and a lively introduction puts them into political and historical context, exploring issues of blasphemy and artistic freedom.

Lesbian Madonna, lover and son affirm Christmas

“Madonna, Lover, and Son” by Becki Jayne Harrelson, 1996. Oil on canvas, 80 x 68 inches. www.beckijayne.com

Lesbian moms with the baby Jesus affirm the basic message of Christmas: Love is what makes a family. Two lesbian mothers cuddle the Christ child in “Madonna, Lover and Son” by Becki Jayne Harrelson. Love made this Holy Family. After all, the story of the virgin birth means that Jesus was conceived without the involvement of any man. Most galleries are afraid to exhibit this lesbian Christmas image. Probably the most common religious Christmas image is that icon of the nuclear family: the baby Jesus with mother Mary and father Joseph. Safe, saccharine Nativity scenes enshrine heterosexuality and obscure the shocking point of Christmas: God became human, and in a most disreputable context—born in poverty to an unwed teenage mother. He represents all people, including the outcasts and the sexually marginalized. Harrelson, a lesbian artist based in Atlanta, puts her Holy Family into the same landscape as Da Vinci’s Madonna of the Rocks. In Harrelson’s version, the Madonna has a classic stylized halo while the landscape forms a natural sunlit halo around her blonde lover (based on the woman who has been Harrelson’s partner since 1995). The contrasting halos are Harrelson’s way of saying that lesbians are a natural part of creation, as opposed to the roles of wife and mother imposed by patriarchal religion. A turkey baster is concealed in the bushes, a play on artificial insemination and virgin birth. “I think God has a sense of humor—where I get mine I like to think,” Harrelson laughed. Harrelson is rightly called “the lesbian Leonardo Da Vinci” because her prodigious talent, style and subject matter are reminiscent of the great Renaissance artist. A recurring theme for lesbian artists is Mary with her female lover, sometimes with references to the virgin birth and its and its similarity to artificial insemination. Lesbians can relate to the myth of Mary’s virgin birth because they use artificial insemination to have babies without heterosexual sex. Pro-woman views of the virgin birth go back at least as far as the famous 1851 speech by abolitionist Sojourner Truth who had been born into slavery. “Where did your Christ come from?” Truth asked. “From God and a woman! Man had nothing to do with Him.” _______ For an in-depth look at this and other queer Christian art, see my article “Take Back Jesus,” published in Tikkun magazine. _______ This painting appears in “Art That Dares: Gay Jesus, Woman Christ, and More” by Kittredge Cherry. The book is filled with color images by 11 contemporary artists. The artists tell the stories behind their images and a lively introduction puts them into political and historical context, exploring issues of blasphemy and artistic freedom.

Transvestite Jesus appears in photo project

Transvestite Jesus by Bill Burch, 2009

A transvestite Jesus and a female Jesus appear in a new series of alternative Christ photos by Colorado artist Bill Burch.

The images explore, expand and maybe even explode the gender of Jesus. They are part of an ambitious project to create a collage of 100 alternative Jesus images arranged to form a traditional Jesus portrait.

“When viewed from a distance the piece will appear to be a large (very large!) portrait of a traditional Jesus, but when viewed close up it will become the many alternative faces of Christ crucified,” Burch explains.

The model for “Transvestite Jesus” (pictured above) is not a transvestite in real life. Instead Burch found a friend who could represent a traditional Jesus, and challenged him to portray an atypical version. “I coaxed him into the bra and panties for five minutes to shoot these images, then he was back in his paint stained blue jeans and t-shirt,” Burch recalls.

The concept for “Fur Coat Jesus” (pictured below) came from the 62-year-old model herself. “She wanted to portray a feminist Jesus and picked the items of her costume accordingly,” Burch says. He describes the model as a pragmatic feminist who “enjoys stirring the pot, challenging our male dominated Biblical-oriented society.”

“Fur Coat Jesus” is disturbing on many levels because not everyone thinks of high heels and fur as feminist. Perhaps this photo makes a statement that high-heeled shoes are part of the “cross” of oppression born by women… and the animals sacrificed for women’s fashions.

So far Burch has shot Black Jesus, Skinhead Jesus, Fur Coat Jesus and Transvestite Jesus, in color and black and white. The color images, collectively titled “I and my father are one,” show Jesus looking into the light. In the black and white images, Jesus turns away from the light. Their collective title is “Why hast thou forsaken me?”

Alternative images of Christ are the subject of my book “Art That Dares: Gay Jesus, Woman Christ, and More.” These radically new Christ figures embody and empower people who are left out when Jesus is shown as a straight man. They can free the minds of everyone who sees them. I appreciate Bill Burch for inviting viewers question their assumptions about Jesus and connect with Christ in new ways.

Fur Coat Jesus by Bill Burch, 2009

AltXmasArt 12: Madonna, Lover and Son

“Madonna, Lover, and Son” by Becki Jayne Harrelson, 1996. Oil on canvas, 80 x 68 inches. www.beckijayne.com

Two lesbian mothers cuddle the Baby Jesus in “Madonna, Lover and Son” by Becki Jayne Harrelson. Love made this Holy Family. After all, the story of the virgin birth means that Jesus was conceived without the involvement of any man. Most galleries are afraid to exhibit this lesbian Christmas image. AltXmasArt presents it here on Christmas Day as a special gift. Probably the most common religious Christmas image is that icon of the nuclear family: the baby Jesus with mother Mary and father Joseph. Safe, saccharine Nativity scenes enshrine heterosexuality and obscure the shocking point of Christmas: God became human, and in a most disreputable context—born in poverty to an unwed teenage mother. He represents all people, including the outcasts and the sexually marginalized. Harrelson, a lesbian artist based in Atlanta, puts her Holy Family into the same landscape as Da Vinci’s Madonna of the Rocks. In Harrelson’s version, the Madonna has a classic stylized halo while the landscape forms a natural sunlit halo around her blonde lover (based on the woman who has been Harrelson’s partner since 1995). The contrasting halos are Harrelson’s way of saying that lesbians are a natural part of creation, as opposed to the roles of wife and mother imposed by patriarchal religion. A turkey baster is concealed in the bushes, a play on artificial insemination and virgin birth. “I think God has a sense of humor—where I get mine I like to think,” Harrelson laughed. Harrelson is rightly called “the lesbian Leonardo Da Vinci” because her prodigious talent, style and subject matter are reminiscent of the great Renaissance artist. A recurring theme for lesbian artists is Mary with her female lover, sometimes with references to the virgin birth and its and its similarity to artificial insemination. Lesbians can relate to the myth of Mary’s virgin birth because they use artificial insemination to have babies without heterosexual sex. Pro-woman views of the virgin birth go back at least as far as the famous 1851 speech by abolitionist Sojourner Truth who had been born into slavery. “Where did your Christ come from?” Truth asked. “From God and a woman! Man had nothing to do with Him.” “Madonna, Lover, and Son” affirms the basic message of Christmas: Love is what makes a family. _______ This painting appears in “Art That Dares: Gay Jesus, Woman Christ, and More” by Kittredge Cherry. The book is filled with color images by 11 contemporary artists. Five artists from AltXmasArt are featured in the book. The artists tell the stories behind their images and a lively introduction puts them into political and historical context, exploring issues of blasphemy and artistic freedom. _______ Thank you for viewing 12 Days of AltXmasArt. It’s our Christmas gift to you, and we hope that it inspired you this holiday season. We close with a quick guide with links to the whole series: “Annunciation” by Elisabeth Ohlson Wallin “La Anunciación (The Annuciation)” by Armando Lopez “Mother of God: Mother of the Streets” by Brother Robert Lentz “Black Madonna - Mitochondrial Eve” by David Hewson “The Holy Family” by Janet McKenzie “San José (Saint Joseph)” by Armando Lopez “Joseph and the Christ Child” by Father John Giuliani “Mary Most Holy Mother of All Nations” by Father William Hart McNichols “Pacha Mama Healing the Earth” by David Hewson “Epiphany” by Janet McKenzie “Radiant Baby” by Keith Haring “Madonna, Lover, and Son” by Becki Jayne Harrelson

AltXmasArt 11: Radiant Baby

“Radiant Baby” (from Icons series) by Keith Haring, 1990. © Estate of Keith Haring Silkscreen, 21 x 25 inches. www.haring.com

“Radiant Baby” strips the Christmas story down to its core: A child is born. It took a gay artist -- Keith Haring -- to get to the pure essence of Christmas. He paints a generic baby. The child is faceless, without any trappings of race, gender or family of origin. The only thing special about this baby is its radiance. Is “Radiant Baby” the Christ child, or every child? Art historian Natalie E. Phillips makes an excellent case that Haring did indeed consider it an image of Christ. In her essay “The Radiant (Christ) Child,” she writes that Haring’s teenage activity in the Jesus Movement during the 1970s left a lasting impact on him and his art. He created many works that transform Christian images to make more ambiguous statements. The “Radiant Baby” began as a “tag” that Haring left in his early days as a graffiti artist and often used as his signature on later artwork. Haring (1958-1990) first attracted international attention in 1981 for his chalk drawings in the New York subways. He drew simple line figures like “Radiant Baby.” In his brief but intense career, he became one of the best known artists of his generation. Haring died of AIDS-related illnesses at age 31. Christianity teaches that all people are created in the image of God. As Christmas approaches, “Radiant Baby” reminds us that every baby is born radiant. Please come back tomorrow for AltXmasArt 12: “Madonna, Lover, and Son” by Becki Jayne Harrelson. ____ For more on Keith Haring, check out the new biography Keith Haring by Jeffrey Deitch.

AltXmasArt 10: Epiphany

“Epiphany” by Janet McKenzie, copyright 2003. Oil on canvas, 42 x 54 inches. www.janetmckenzie.com Collection of Barbara Marian, Harvard, IL

A multi-racial trio of female Magi visit the baby Jesus and his mother in “Epiphany” by Janet McKenzie. Instead of the traditional three kings or three wise men, the artist re-interprets the Magi as wise women from around the world. The unconventional portrayal of the Magi makes good theological sense. Barbara Marian, who commissioned the painting, explains: “The story of the Magi in the Gospel of Matthew allowed the Jewish followers of Jesus to imagine the unthinkable -- God’s grace extending to the outsiders, the gentiles. Who are the outsiders in our world? Can we imagine the favor of God extending beyond the human boundaries of race, class, nationality, ethnicity, religious devotion, and gender?” Marian commissioned “Epiphany” for the Nativity Project, which revisits and revitalizes the Gospel with new images of women. “It’s easy to get so caught up in regal images of Matthew’s night visitors that we miss the core message -- Christ for all people,” Marian says. Conservative Christians raised a big stink over “Epiphany” in 2007 when it appeared on the Christmas cards of the Most Reverend Katharine Jefferts Schori, presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church. The Standing Committee of the Episcopal Diocese of Ft. Worth, Texas, sent a notice to clergy and 2007 convention delegates condemning Jefferts Schori for her choice of art. “Happy Multicultural Feminist Celebration Day,” sneered the headline of a traditional Anglican blog where nearly 100 comments are posted condemning the image as “stupid,” “faux-nouveau hipster theology” and worse. McKenzie denies the accusations that she is trying to be divisive and rewrite scripture. “Of course this is as far from my thinking as possible,” she says. “I feel called to create sacred and secular art that includes and celebrates those systematically ignored, relegated and minimized, and for the most part that is women and people of color.” The artist continues to be amazed that her loving images provoke so much anger. “Even this gentle image of a loving Holy Mother and Child, with no agenda accept to include and honor us as the nurturing feminine beings we are, surrounded in community with other women, is still misunderstood -- even at this late date,” she says. McKenzie has weathered even bigger storms before. Her androgynous African American “Jesus of the People” painting caused international controversy when Sister Wendy of PBS chose it to represent Christ in the new millennium. Critics focus on the content of McKenzie’s art, but her outstanding artistic style is one reason that her work attracts attention. The Vermont artist uses drawing and line with oils to build images that glow. Her painting technique and pastel colors are reminiscent of American Impressionist Mary Cassatt, who is famous for painting intimate scenes of mothers and their children. The controversy over McKenzie’s work is a reminder of the power of art, and the continuing need for progressive spiritual images. Opposition seems to fuel her passion to paint. “We all need to find ourselves included within the sacred journey of life, and afterlife,” McKenzie says. “I have been surprised to find archaic and out-dated hate still in place, still alive and well and fueled by fear, in response to some of my art. I have made the decision to respond to such hate not in the way it comes to me, but by creating ever more inclusive art that confronts prejudice and hate. The only path open to any of us is the one of love.” (Special thanks to Barbara Marian for permission to quote from her article “Recasting the Magi.” Please come back tomorrow for AltXmasArt 11: Radiant Baby _______________ The full story of the “Jesus of the People” controversy -- and more art by McKenzie -- are included in the book “Art That Dares: Gay Jesus, Woman Christ, and More” by Kittredge Cherry. The book is filled with color images by 11 contemporary artists. Five artists from AltXmasArt are featured in the book. The artists tell the stories behind their images and a lively introduction puts them into political and historical context, exploring issues of blasphemy and artistic freedom.

AltXmasArt 9: Pacha Mama Healing the Earth

“Pacha Mama Healing the Earth” by David Hewson, 2006. Oil and 22 K gold on panel, 24 x 24 inches www.davidhewsonart.com www.galleryminerva.com

Christmas themes of peace on earth and divine motherhood are celebrated in “Pacha Mama Healing the Earth” by David Hewson. He paints a Black Madonna figure who cradles the earth. Her pose is like an icon of “Mary Mother of All Nations.” Here she is called “Pacha Mama,” the name for Mother Earth in South America. Centuries ago Catholic missionaries introduced South Americans to Mary, the Virgin Mother who miraculously gave birth to Christ and continues to intercede with God for humankind. Natives of the Andes Mountains associated Mary with their own Pacha Mama, sometimes merging the two or worshipping them side by side in peaceful coexistence, practices that continue to this day. Mary has been blended with indigenous goddesses like Pacha Mama in many native cultures. Some deplore this “syncretism,” while others welcome the happy blend that comes from cross-fertilization. “This piece looks back and forward to the lost and new-found worship of the feminine,” Hewson explains. On the first Christmas, the birth of a Savior led angels to sing about “peace on earth, goodwill to all” (Luke 2:14). Hewson’s painting of mother earth healing the earth is one way to envision the glories that were announced by angels. Hewson addresses themes of social injustice and planetary evolution in his recent artwork. Born and raised in North Carolina, he received classical training in art, including several years in Italy studying traditional oil and water gilding. He moved to Iquitos, Peru in 2006. Hewson’s art is technically and intellectually brilliant with a classical style. A traveling exhibit of Hewson’s work will tour North America from January to June 2009 with stops in Southern Pines and Greensboro, North Carolina; Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; and Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Please come back tomorrow for AltXmasArt 10: 10. “Epiphany” by Janet McKenzie.

AltXmasArt 8: Mary Most Holy Mother of All Nations

“Mary Most Holy Mother of All Nations” by © Father William Hart McNichols St Andrei Rublev Icons www.standreirublevicons.com

Mary holds the earth as she would the baby Jesus in “Mary Most Holy Mother of All Nations” by Father William Hart McNichols. The Madonna is elevated to being not only the mother of Christ, but the mother of all humanity, indeed the whole earth itself. Against a starry backdrop, she truly is the “most holy” Mary, a regal Mother Nature who births and sustains the earth itself. This universal Mary embodies the divine feminine. The title “Mother of All Nations” came in a vision to Ida Peerdeman, an Amsterdam office worker, in the mid-20th century, and was authorized by the Roman Catholic Church for public devotion in 1996. McNichols has been criticized for depicting “saints” not authorized by the church, including such gay martyrs as Matthew Shepard and an anonymous gay priest killed in a Nazi death camp. Whatever hardships he faces, McNichols continues to get energy from dialogue with the icons he creates. “We need to gaze at truly conversational, truly loving images… images that will return our love,” he said. McNichols has created many icons in his own gracefully elegant style. Based in New Mexico, he is a Catholic priest who studied with world-renowned iconographer Brother Robert Lentz. Trained as an artist, he felt that icons were stiff and distant when he first began making them. “The icon appears as a rather shy, respectful friend who takes a long time to get to know,” he says. Icons differ from other art forms because they are meant for contemplation in order to make a mystical connection. According to tradition, artists don’t “create” or “paint” the icons, but “write” them because they are visual revelations of theology transcribed by the artist. Please come back tomorrow for AltXmasArt 9: “Pacha Mama Healing the Earth” by David Hewson. _______________ Other icons by William Hart McNichols appear in “Art That Dares: Gay Jesus, Woman Christ, and More” by Kittredge Cherry. The book is filled with color images by 11 contemporary artists. Five artists from AltXmasArt are featured in the book. The artists tell the stories behind their images and a lively introduction puts them into political and historical context, exploring issues of blasphemy and artistic freedom.

AltXmasArt 7: Joseph and the Christ Child

“Joseph and the Christ Child” by Father John Giuliani www.bridgebuilding.com

Respect for fatherhood and for Native Americans combine in “Joseph and the Christ Child” by Father John Giuliani. Religious Christmas images usually focus on the Madonna and child, often leaving Joseph out entirely. This icon does great service by affirming men as loving father figures, gentle enough to nurture a baby. Giulani’s icon also reverses the terrible history of Christian missionaries forcing their religion upon Native Americans with violence and cruelty. Instead of turning Native Americans into Christians, Giuliani turns Christian subjects into Native Americans. Joseph gives up his traditional Middle Eastern robes and dons a typical Navajo chief blanket, beaded necklace and headband. The baby Jesus is naked. Both have skin, hair and features that appear Native American. All they kept is their halos. Nobody would even recognize them as Joseph and the Christ child without the icon’s title -- and maybe that’s the point. All people are created in God’s image. Can you see the face of Christ in an ordinary Navajo man and his baby? Giuliani is an Italian-American Catholic priest who has made dozens of Christian icons with Native American imagery from a variety of tribes. He studied icon painting under a master in the Russian Orthodox style, but wanted to expand the concept of holiness to include Native Americans as the original presence of the sacred on the continent. “I suddenly began to wonder what I was doing using traditional Byzantine aesthetics and forms, living as I do in North America in the late 20th century,” he says in an interview in Sojourner Magazine. “Then the idea came to me of using the images of the continent’s original peoples in icons, as a way of celebrating the spiritual gifts they have given to the world.” The son of immigrants from a poor agricultural town near Naples, Giuliani attributes his affinity for Native Americans to a shared sense of connection to the earth and the cycles of nature. He lives in a monastic community in rural Connecticut “Even though I’m not Native American, I have a tremendous amount of respect for the varied indigenous cultures of this land,” says Giuliani. “Their understanding of the world of nature and of God, their emphasis on being caretakers rather than exploiters of the land—all that is wonderfully consonant with the best of Christian thought and tradition. In my work I try to celebrate a union of a common spiritual understanding, to show how a single mystery can be approached through diverse cultures.” Please come back tomorrow for AltXmasArt 8: “Mary Most Holy Mother of All Nations” by Father William Hart McNichols

AltXmasArt 6: San José (Saint Joseph)

“San José (Saint Joseph)” by Armando Lopez, 2008. Oil on canvas, 18 x 18 inches. www.armandolopez.com

The Christ child is usually pictured with his mother, but he makes a rare father-and-son appearance in “San José (Saint Joseph)” by Armando Lopez. Treasuring this scene of fatherly bonding is a way to reclaim the tender, nurturing side of men. The painting provides an important balance to the flood of Madonna-and-child images that circulate during the Christmas season. The Bible provides scant information about Joseph, but the few references do suggest that he was a working man of faith, kindness an compassion. According to the gospel of Matthew, Joseph was shocked to find out that his fiancé Mary was pregnant -- before they had “come together.” He decided to divorce her, and do it quietly to avoid exposing her to public disgrace. Then an angel came in a dream to reassure Joseph that Mary was carrying God’s own son. Joseph stood by Mary, perhaps saving her from being stoned to death for adultery. The rest is history. There is even less information about how Joseph interacted with Jesus. The lack of historical record leaves artists free to imagine Jesus and Joseph together. Lopez paints a Jesus who is no baby, but appears to be a young boy. The father and son are deeply connected, almost becoming one body. They face each other, but their gazes do not quite meet, for Jesus is looking upward past Joseph, perhaps toward his heavenly father. Lopez is a Tarascan native born in the small village of Santa Maria in the southwest Mexican state of Michoacan. Now living in Mexico, he uses both native Tarascan and Catholic imagery in his art, which has been featured in exhibitions across the Americas. The rich colors and stylized bodies, especially Joseph’s elongated neck in “San José,” also call to mind the work of popular 20th- century Italian artist Amedeo Modigliani. Please come back tomorrow for AltXmasArt 7: “Joseph and the Christ Child” by Father John Giuliani

AltXmasArt 5: The Holy Family

“The Holy Family” by Janet McKenzie, copyright 2007. Oil on canvas, 42 x 54 inches. www.janetmckenzie.com Collection of Loyola School, New York, NY

Mary, Joseph and their infant son Jesus are black in “The Holy Family” by Janet McKenzie. Her artistic mission is to create sacred images that honor those who have been excluded, which often means people of color. “The Holy Family” takes on special significance this Christmas, as the first African American president and his family prepare to move into the White House. African American commentators have emphasized the importance of the Obama family as a positive role model. Michaela Angela David of Essence Magazine put it this way on CNN, “It’s not just about Barack. It’s Barack, Michelle and those two little girls. We haven't seen an intact black family since the Huxtables -- and they weren’t real!” McKenzie’s painting provides another much-needed image of an intact black family. Her work is truly visionary because the art world has a whole genre of black Madonnas, but there are almost no images of a black Holy Family. The painting is not only meaningful, but also beautiful with drawing and line incorporated into oils to build luminous images. Sometimes McKenzie’s art sparks controversy. Her androgynous African American “Jesus of the People” painting caused an international uproar after Sister Wendy of PBS chose it to represent Christ in the new millennium in 2000. However, McKenzie says that the responses to “The Holy Family” have been accepting and positive, perhaps because it was commissioned and wholeheartedly supported by the Loyola School in New York. “As a school run by the Jesuits, it was important to them to have such an image, one that reflects their ethical and inclusive beliefs,” McKenzie explains. “ ‘The Holy Family’ celebrates Mary, Joseph and Jesus as a family of color. I feel as an artist that it is vital to put loving sacred art -- art that includes rather than excludes -- into the world, in order to remind that we are all created equally and beautifully in God's likeness. Everyone, especially those traditionally marginalized, needs the comfort derived by finding one’s own image positively reflected back in iconic art. By honoring difference we are ultimately reminded of our inherent similarities.” The Vermont-based artist had built a successful career painting women who looked like herself, fair and blonde, before her breakthrough with “Jesus of the People.” At that time she wanted to create a truly inclusive image that would touch her nephew, an African American teenager. “The Holy Family” continues the process of embracing everybody in one human family created in God’s image. (For another image of a black Holy Family, see “Madonna” by Elizabeth Catlett.) Please come back tomorrow for AltXmasArt 6: “San José (Saint Joseph)” by Armando Lopez _______ The full story of the “Jesus of the People” controversy -- and more art by McKenzie -- are included in the book “Art That Dares: Gay Jesus, Woman Christ, and More” by Kittredge Cherry. The book is filled with color images by 11 contemporary artists. Five artists from AltXmasArt are featured in the book. The artists tell the stories behind their images and a lively introduction puts them into political and historical context, exploring issues of blasphemy and artistic freedom.

AltXmasArt 4: Black Madonna - Mitochondrial Eve

“Black Madonna - Mitochondrial Eve” by David Hewson., 2004. Oil and 22K gold on panel, 20 x 29 inches. www.davidhewsonart.com www.galleryminerva.com

The Madonna and Eve become one powerful, dark-skinned matriarch in “Black Madonna - Mitochondrial Eve” by David Hewson. The Madonna appears without the Christ child. Instead she holds a collection of colorful eggs representing the races of the world. The gesture embodies themes of both Christmas and Easter, because Mary Magdalene is traditionally shown holding a red egg as a symbol of resurrection. Black Madonnas were fairly common in Europe during the Middle Ages. Hewson traces the motif back even further. “Another metaphor of the Black Madonna has its connection with the earth,” he explains. “Today the definition of black has a negative connotation. However, prior to 2,000 years ago when worship of the feminine was a common practice, black soil was a source of nourishment, of life itself.” The small marble bust of Venus next to her pales in comparison to Hewson’s hefty Black Madonna. The painting also grows out of Hewson’s personal experience. “I had an African American nanny who raised me, and she had a huge impact in my life,” he said. The model for his Black Madonna was a friend who grew up with him. The Bible goes over Jesus’ genealogy, tracing his family line back along the male line from Joseph to Abraham (Matthew 1:1-17). Hewson takes the opposite approach, portraying the Madonna as the “mitochondrial Eve” who is traced along the female line by scientists. Mitochondrial Eve is the most recent common ancestor of all people alive today. Scientists believe that she was a real woman who lived at least 140,000 years ago in Africa. Geneticists came up with the theory of mitochondrial Eve because the DNA in the mitochondria of each cell passes unchanged from mother to child This Black Madonna holds a set of colorful eggs in a gesture traditionally ascribed to Mary Magdalene, the disciple of Jesus who was first to see him after his resurrection. According to one tradition, she held a plain egg in her hand and told Tiberius Caesar, “Christ is risen!” Caesar laughed, saying that was as impossible as the egg in her hand turning red. Before he finished speaking, the egg turned bright red. Hewson’s artwork has addressed themes of social injustice and planetary evolution in recent years. Born and raised in North Carolina, he received classical training in art, including several years in Italy studying traditional oil and water gilding. He moved to Iquitos, Peru in 2006. Hewson’s art is technically and intellectually brilliant with a classical style. By taking time to digest the intricate symbolism in his gilded paintings, the viewer can discover genuine gold. A traveling exhibit of Hewson’s work will tour North America from January to June 2009 with stops in Southern Pines and Greensboro, North Carolina; Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; and Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Please come back tomorrow for AltXmasArt 5: “The Holy Family” by Janet McKenzie

AltXmasArt 3: Mother of God: Mother of the Streets

“Mother of God: Mother of the Streets” by Brother Robert Lentz, OFM, copyright 1986. Courtesy of Trinity Stores www.trinitystores.com (800.699.4482)

Solidarity with homeless people is embodied by a black Madonna in “Mother of God: Mother of the Streets” by Brother Robert Lentz. The icon expresses Mary’s message in the Magnificat, the hymn that she sang while carrying God’s child: “My soul magnifies God… He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty.” (Luke 1:46, 52-53). The icon was created by Robert Lentz, a Franciscan brother and world-class iconographer who is famous for his innovative icons. Here he builds on the medieval tradition of the black Madonna to draw attention to the contemporary problem of homelessness. Lentz explains in the text he wrote to accompany the image: “Each year, larger numbers of homeless people live in the streets of modern cities. These people may be jobless workers, battered women, the untreated mentally ill, or simply those too poor to get by. They tend to be ‘invisible’ to the rest of society, but they are a real presence of Christ, the Suffering Servant, in history.” Many of the millions who experience homelessness on U.S. streets are African American, so Lentz apparently found inspiration for his Mother of the Streets in the black Madonna tradition. The mother and child may look like African Americans, but the black Madonna motif dates back before there were any African Americans. Most black Madonnas are medieval or copies of medieval European figures, made between the 11th and 15th centuries. Some have suggested that the black faces were caused by candle soot and discoloration due to aging, but research has shown that some of the black Madonnas were originally made from dark materials. Medieval motives for creating black Madonnas are uknown, but there has been much speculation since the late 20th century that they are related to pre-Christian earth goddesses or rooted in African traditions. Lentz is a world-class iconographer who began creating innovative icons in San Francisco during a period of years away from monastic life. He makes an ancient art form relevant—and sometimes controversial—by applying it to modern “saints” such as Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Harvey Milk, the first openly gay elected official in California. His grandparents came to America from tsarist Russia. Lentz grew up on stories of saints and labor unions instead of fairy tales. Icons covered the living room walls in his Russian grandmother’s home. When he was old enough, he studied Byzantine iconography. He spent the first eighteen years of his adult life in Orthodox and Roman Catholic monasteries. Lentz left the monastery in 1982 and began painting icons full-time in San Francisco. At first he was shocked to meet openly gay men and lesbian women, feminists, anarchists, undocumented immigrants, and many others unlike the people he knew in cloistered life. Within a few months, he was making icons that expressed the holy passion for justice that he discovered on the streets of San Francisco. Please come back tomorrow for AltXmasArt 4: “Black Madonna - Mitochondrial Eve” by David Hewson _______ Other icons by Robert Lentz appear in “Art That Dares: Gay Jesus, Woman Christ, and More” by Kittredge Cherry. The book is filled with color images by 11 contemporary artists. Five artists from AltXmasArt are featured in the book. The artists tell the stories behind their images and a lively introduction puts them into political and historical context, exploring issues of blasphemy and artistic freedom.