Rev. Ewen Souter has removed a frightening crucifix sculpture from the grounds of his church in West Sussex because the public found it too scary. The ten foot Jesus made of coal dust and resin, Souter said, no longer represents the message of hopefulness the church wants to impart. I agree that the thing is sort of hideous--kind of like something a teenage goth kid would doodle in his spiral notebook. But aren't crucifixes supposed to be scary? How is this one any worse than the millions of other sculptures of a broken, bloody, nearly naked man dangling from nails? This dusty Jesus will be moved to a museum and replaced with a Christ-free stainless steel cross. It's supposed to invoke images of the miraculous resurrection, but I think this is simply a case of aesthetics. No one wants weird, ugly '60s tackiness anymore. Everything has to be sleek and modern and shiny. I blame the Fine Living network. More details here.
Friday, January 9, 2009
Scary Jesus
