The Wardman Wire

There are two interesting current examples of attempts to generate controversy around art works touching on religion, where I am quite surprised to find that the works are thought to be controversial at all.

Paul Fryer’s Crucified Gorilla and Electrocuted Christ

This is part of an exhibition being held from October 14th to 22nd Within a former church in London, entitled “The Age of the Marvellous.” It has been trailed as provocative, and is expected to evoke “strong reactions”. From the Press Release:

a wax effigy of a primate nailed to the cross will certainly cause strong reactions for some, and may evoke sadness and compassion as well as outrage.

The exhibition is described effusively by the promoters:

The Age of the Marvellous features over 60 works of art, most of them especially produced for the exhibition, that display a new-found tendency for contemporary artists to look beyond the imitations of aesthetic conventions, to a varied, more cross-disciplinary approach that integrates areas of human knowledge that exist outside the boundaries of traditional art making.

The Telegraph is emphasising the “Church” connection, with the headline “Church art exhibition includes crucified ape and black Jesus on electric chair”. Unfortunately it isn’t in a church; it is in a building in Marylebone which stopped being a church several years ago in about 1936 (Updated 21/10 as it remained a consecrated church with an annual service while used as the headquarters of the SPCK Charity), when it became a Book Warehouse. The paper corrects its headline in the article, but that is hardly the point.

Personally, I’d suggest that the two works above actually follow the existing conventions, rather than “step outside them”.

The title of the crucified gorilla piece “The Privilege of Dominion” picks up on one strand of Christian teaching – “dominion over creation”, but misses out on the other side of the Genesis coin – the theme of “stewardship”. The latter has been coming to the fore in debate for several decades, so is perhaps more worthy of attention in 2009.

A Black Christ on an Electric Chair is more interesting, but still not “provocative”. As Rene Girard points out, this is a more a white Christ painted black rather than a black Christ; perhaps that itself is a revealing point.

If we want something properly provocative in London or the USA, perhaps we need to start with a non-Caucasian Christ, with non-Causcausian features – in keeping with the original, painted white by the artist to illustrate the process followed over recent centuries by a Western Church.

Robert Crumb, and cartooning Genesis

Robert Crumb, the cartoonist, has spent the last 4 years working on a version of Genesis illustrated by cartoons, Robert Crumb’s Book of Genesis: All 50 Chapters (aff. link).

Nick Baines, the Bishop of Croydon, has a background piece to a “controversy” which may (or may not) be manufactured this week. Robert Crumb is publishing a version of the Book of Genesis, illustrated with cartoons.” The publisher and the Guardian were stirring it up back in March:

The acclaimed satirist revealed on his personal website that he had finished the project, which is out this autumn, and which his UK publisher is predicting will “provoke the religious right”.

…

According to his publisher, Jonathan Cape, Robert Crumb’s Book of Genesis is a “scandalous satire” which “presents a complex, even subversive, narrative that calls for a significant re-examination of both the Bible’s content and its role in our culture”. It will be published simultaneously in the US and the UK on 19 October.

The Telegraph has taken over the baton of attempting to create a “Biblical Sex Row” out of thin air:

Biblical sex row over explicit illustrated Book of Genesis

A sexually explicit illustrated Book of Genesis by controversial artist Robert Crumb, which features Bible characters having intercourse, has been condemned by religious groups.

The only “religious group” the Telegraph cite as condemning the work is the Christian Institute, but as of this morning the Institute hasn’t even deemed it necessary to put out a press release. On the other hand the Bible Society and the Church of England welcome the book.

Bishop Baines comments:

So, who are the people likely to take offence at this book? I guess it will be the people who (a) haven’t read it or (b) take offence at anything that involves bodies, sex, God or cultural intelligence.

Ignore the sensationalist nonsense. If the publisher thought this was ’scandalous satire’ and ’subversive’, he should be sacked for having failed. It is an excellent book and well worth a read.

Wrapping Up

My conclusions? The usual, boring ones – read the book, not the over-hasty commentary about the book.