Art That Dares: Gay Jesus, Woman Christ, and More
by Kittredge Cherry
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Book Summary Information
Author: Kittredge CherryEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2007-04-10
ISBN: 1933993294
Number of pages: 100
Publisher: AndroGyne Press
Book Reviews of Art That Dares: Gay Jesus, Woman Christ, and More
Book Review: A Much Needed Survey of Alternative Views of Religious Ideas
Summary: 5 Stars
Kittredge Cherry is a not only a well-trained student of the arts, art history, and journalism, but she is also an equally well schooled in religious studies. With such fine credentials it will be difficult for anyone to not pay attention to this provocative, beautifully designed and illustrated book ART THAT DARES: GAY JESUS, WOMAN CHRIST, AND MORE, a thoughtful book written in a style that is not the usual dry reportage encountered in many art history books. Kittredge, thankfully, writes as she probably preaches - with sincerity, warmth, and an unbiased and unfettered language style that is easy to read, making her thoughts and research far more credible.
Her courage to approach so many 'verboten' regions of religious imagery and concepts is refreshing and well informed. After an Introduction explaining her inspiration to share religion that she views as more inclusive for the world body than the present patriarchal stance that too often comes from the world's pulpits, Kittredge presents the art of eleven artists who dare to paint and sculpt religious images of Jesus as a gay man, the Christ figure as a woman, and other 'blasphemous' stances of variations on the figures of Mary and Jesus as viewed in a more human light with all of the inherent possibilities of presentation that invokes. She makes her case through biographies and interviews with the artists featured in a conversational style that is at once lucid and touching: many of the images of Jesus as a gay man grew from the seeds of destruction in the path of AIDS, a time when the gay population needed a religious figure who appeared less condemning and more accepting. A similar approach is taken by the artists who elect to examine the feminine side of religion and the succor that earth mother, so widely accepted throughout civilization, be made incarnate in the form of the virgin Mary and even to the figure on the crucifixion cross.
The art works in the book vary from splendid to simply touching: Gary Speziale whose magnificent colored pencil drawings are matched by is porcelain sculptures; the striking beauty of Janet McKenzie's androgynous and African American 'Jesus of the People' among others; Becki Jayne Harrelson's classically inspired portraits that happily include some much appreciated humor; F. Douglas Blanchard whose series 'Ecce Homo' is worth the price of the book; Elizabeth Ohlson Wallin's impressively staged and executed large photographs; Edwina Sandys' popular bronze 'Christa' as the crucified woman; the icon inspired works of Robert Lenz, William Hart McNichols, Alex Donis' amazingly rich light boxes of various world religion figures; Jill Ansell's magical realism inspired version of religious experiences; and the daring and provocative paintings of Sandra Yagi. One could quibble at the absence of the unique works in this vein of the popular artists such as Scott Siedman, Delmas Howe and others whose works are better known, but Kittredge does explain that after viewing the works of many artists she met with some resistance for inclusion in a book that may 'label' their output as either LGBT or anti-religious - a sad but realistic stance for many artists even today.
In her introduction Kittredge quotes Proverbs 29:18 'Where there is no vision, the people perish.' In this fine book she begins the path to change attitudes and embrace a larger audience who believe first and foremost that religion is a realm of divine embracing of all mankind. It is a book that dares as much as the art that dares, and Kittredge is to be congratulated on a wholly successful achievement. Grady Harp, July 07
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