Todd Schorr: Pop Surrealism

A seminal figure in Lowbrow art, Todd Schorr paints cartoon iconography with the technical skill of an old master and the lens of a surrealist. His canvases are often crowded like an child's toy closet with images that fascinate the eye and imagination.

His Clash of Holidays(above) caused a bit of a controversy when exhibited in in several shows. It was taken down in Florida to avoid nasty phone calls, e-mails, and criticism from the City Commission. It raised debates about blasphemy and artistic freedom. The painting depicts a violent fight between Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny with baby Jesus in crown of thorns eating a chocolate bunny with Rudolph the red-nosed nearby. I'm wondering which is the greater controversy and blasphemy? Is it Schorr's depiction of a fight betwen Santa and the Easter bunny? Baby Jesus eating a chocolate bunny? Or is it our own culture's buying into the commercial creation of Santa and the Easter bunny to sell stuff that robs Easter and Christmas of it's sacredness? You decide. But, I think the painting raises issues about the holidays that most people are too blinded by commercialism to see!

I appreciate Schorr's lampooning of what we consider sacred and his amazing technical realism. Also I appreciate his paying homage to a shared childhood and youth with images of Ed Roth and monster cars, King Kong, monster movies,cartoons, and Salvador Dali.

Popaganda: the art of Ron English

Ron English is an "agit-pop" and culture jamming street artist who bends and twists popular advertizing and cultural icons in all kinds of directions. English's inspirations include Andy Warhol and uses his image and style in his works. His paintings are often photorealistic with a neon color pallate frequently using his children as subjects in odd settings. Or he can take a modern painting (he has done dozens of alterations of Picasso's Guernica)and pop-ulate it with his own characters, add KISS make-up to the subjects of a classical painting as a parody of "high art," or add a black boy to a Norman Rockwell painting (above) as a critique of Rockwell's all white world. His artwork often serves as a critique of modern consumerist culture using humor rather than a sword to cut his enemies. His obese Ronald McDonald and Marilyn with Mickey Mouse breasts have themselves beome part of pop iconography.

Ron English has been doing illegal street since the 80s. Called culture jamming, English uses mainstream media images to subvert mainstream media, such as MdDonalds, Camel cigarettes, and Disney. He hijacks public billboards to transgress consumerist advertizing liberating the space for an alternative social vision. Unlike graffiti artists, English produces slick, realistic images mimicing actual billboard advertisements.

Religious images are not off limits for English. He has done images of his son as Christ (above), a nun, and archbishop, himself as Jesus Christ, and Mickey Mouse crucified on a mousetrap or American Express card.

In the hands of Ron English pop icons and art become tools for subverting destructive and mind-numbing aspects of our consumerist culture.

Ron English wesite: http://www.popaganda.com/blog1.php

Finding Peace: Philippians 4:2-14

*This lesson can also be found at: http://www.faithandliferesources.org/Curriculum/abs/abs100822.html

I found Peace…just a couple of blocks from my house. Peace Mennonite was a small congregation I started attending when I first moved to Portland, Oregon last year. The reason I chose to go to that church was not simply because it was close, but because for being such a small Mennonite congregation it was racially, economically, and socially diverse. I thought that if there ever was a Mennonite congregation that should survive, it should be Peace Mennonite.

Over the years the diversity, divisions, and disillusionments took their toll leaving a small remnant of members. The congregation had already begun thinking about its future when my wife and I began attending. As a new member with years of church experience and having led another church through such a process I offered to create a process of discernment for the leadership team concerning the congregation’s future.

When first the idea of closing was presented as one of the options it did not bring peace, but rather emotional unrest among the members. At first no one wanted to even consider closing as an option. We started the process by spending each Sunday morning talking openly, honestly, and face-to-face about various options for the congregation’s future. It was a difficult process.

The church’s leadership team decided to use the Philippian text from this lesson as a focal text for our planning meetings and with the congregation. Rejoice in the Lord always and again I say rejoice…May the peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds. These verses offered a word of joy and hope and peace amid the depressing possibility of closure. Each Sunday we sang these words to a joyful tune keeping our wounded hearts and minds at peace.

There were moments of weeping when we remembered who Peace had been over the years. There were moments of hope when we considered future possibilities for the church and the potential use of the buildings and grounds. There was in the end a peace that passes understanding as unexpectedly the members unanimously affirmed closing the doors. And there was rejoicing during the final service when friends and former members gathered together on the last Sunday to celebrate the life and ministry of Peace Mennonite Church. I am glad I found Peace and that the church found peace.

Stephan Doitschinoff aka Calma: Brazilian street artist

Stephan Doitschinoff—the Brazilian street artist also known as Calma—creates a unique visual language and style by embracing his eclectic influences. Themes in his paintings and murals are inspired by an informed spiritual history and heritage, filtered through a distinctly urban point of view. The resulting imagery is rich in religious symbolism, often accompanied by Latin text as well as pichação (a style of graffiti writing, native to São Paolo). His work explores the rich history of Brazilian folklore and the syncretism between Christian theology and African spiritual traditions. As the son of an Evangelical minister, Stephan spent his entire childhood absorbing the visual vocabulary of religious art. As an artist, he has developed imagery which creatively combines Afro-Brazilian folklore with Baroque religious iconography, as well as Alchemic and Pagan symbolism. Stephan’s street alias, Calma (Portuguese for: Calm) is also a shortened version of con alma (Latin for: with soul). The artist says: “I personally see the church as an archaic institution that always aimed to control the masses. I think it is an appropriate symbol for corrupt modern institutions like big corporations, media channels, and governments.”

From 2005 to 2008, Stephan traveled throughout the Brazilian countryside of Bahia, painting murals on adobe houses, chapels and even a cemetery. In the small village of Lençóis, he collaborated with local artisans. Visuals from the trip are documented in his 2008 book, Calma: The Art of Stephan Doitschinoff, and are also the subject of a short documentary film, called: TEMPORAL.

TEMPORAL : The Art of Stephan Doitschinoff (aka Calma) from Jonathan LeVine Gallery on Vimeo.

Rick Griffin (1944-1991); Surf, Rock, Christian Artist

My first encounter with the artist Rick Griffin was in the 8th grade (1962-63). His cartoons of Murph the Surf were popular in Southern California, where I grew up. I drew a Murph the Surf-style cartoon on the cover of Foghorn, my 8th grade yearbook (above).

It wouldn't be until I was part of the late 60s Rock and Roll scene that I began to recognize the distinctive artwork of Rick Griffin among the Fillmore Rock posters. His style was easily recognizable with his wild, almost illegible lettering style, bright colors, and precise ink work. His Hendrix flying eyeball (a Von Dutch image) is an icon among psychedelic poster art.

Finally, when I was into Christian Rock I came across an illustrated copy of the Gospel of John from Chuck Smith of Calvary Chapel, which I still own. I immediately recognized the artwork of Rick Griffin. His style had continued to develop in new and interesting ways. His images were arresting.

Griffin died too soon in a motorcycle accident in 1991. His artwork spans three popular culture movements: surfing, 60s psychedelic rock, and the Jesus movement. Griffin was a unique popular artist and one of my favorites connecting to three periods of my life. The last illustration with Jesus, Lord of the wind and waves, brings his art full circle.

Hyper-realistic Sculptors: Ron Mueck, Jamie Salmon, Sam Jinks, Thomas Kuebler, Evan Penny

I remember from art classes back in the 60s realist sculptors like Duane Hanson, who created figures of common people in everyday life situations. There is a new generation of hyperrealist sculptors, like Ron Mueck, Jamie Salmon, Sam Jinks, Evan Penny, and Thomas Kuebler who are taking sculpture in amazingly realistic, creative, and dimensional directions.

One of my earliest encounters with hyper or superrealism was at the age of 19 (1968) when I saw the large close up paintings of Chuck Close in LA. My preference is realism in art and I am particularly amazed at the technical skills of superrealist artists. They are creating sculptures that mimic in exacting detail human figures, stretching and altering dimensions, sculpting wierd and humorous figures, and playing with the scale from small to huge in size.

Below are three examples of my favorite hyperrealistics sculptures in order by: Ron Mueck, Jamie Salmon, Sam Jinks, Thomas Kuebler, and Evan Penny.

David LaChapelle: Jesus is my Homeboy

From the earliest depictions of Jesus artists have placed him in their own contemporary settings. This is obvious in many of the paintings of Jesus during the Renaissance. Artists have a tendency to place Jesus in their own time and place, sometimes in provocative ways.

I view sermon writing as an art form crafted with words. In a sermon at a church where I was pastor back in the 90s I painted a word picture of the "immoral" woman who washed Jesus feet with her tears as wearing a tight mini skirt and stilletto heels. I remember some members being upset by this visual image and letting me know! Well, when I came upon David La Chapelle's depiction of the woman washing Jesus' feet, she has a tight mini skirt and stilletto heels!

Modern photographer David La Chapelle does what other artists have done for centuries in his series Jesus is my Homeboy. These blown up photographs depict Jesus on the gritty urban streets and in the 'hood among the homeboys. Except for the white-looking-Jesus-guy, La Chapelle's images are provocative and maybe can jar our minds into rethinking Jesus and his message for our time.

The video is of an exhibit of La Chapelle's series in a Protestant French Church in St. Moritz, Switzerland. The exhibition was part of the St. Moritz Art Masters‘ “Walk of Art”.