Monday, April 02, 2007

Every Dog Has His Day

An easy way for an average artist to get noticed on a nationwide scale?

Make your artwork mock Jesus.

It's controversial, bombastic, and it gets the attention you crave. Think of the latest entries into the Ridicule Jesus parade:
- a New York creation of Jesus unclothed, made totally in chocolate.
- a Chicago art entry of Barak Obama as Jesus, complete with a neon halo

These follow the line of "daring" art pieces of the past that have shown Jesus in a jar of urine and the Virgin Mary splattered with feces. (Am I the only one to notice that none of these pieces show any talent?) The artists smile smugly at the camera and proclaim that this shows "boldness and daring" or (here's my favorite cliche) "it opens the door to discussion."

In virtual all cases, the artist portrays himself as being brave enough to address such an issue.

My question is: have any of these artists considered themselves bold enough to portray such a depiction of Mohammed?

No, it's safer to mock the Christian.