James C. Hormel LGBTQIA Center

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Re-Imagining Christian Imagery

Christmas is on the horizon again bringing with it a melange of seasonal joy and darker, more complex emotions. Today's book, "Art That Dares: Gay Jesus, Woman Christ, and More," is a collection of non-traditional, Christian iconography by eleven different artists who identify as Christian, Agnostic and even one Buddhist. It was a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award in the LGBT Arts and Culture category in 2007. That year the art was compiled by Kittredge Cherry, for an exhibit she mounted in Taos, New Mexico as part of the Festival of Progressive Spiritual Art . These are images that challenge the traditional visual interpretation of the sacred. Examples of the new visions include: a black, female "Jesus of the People," a lesbian "Madonna, Lover and Son," and a passionate, "Judas Kiss."

Cherry defines herself as a lesbian, Christian author, minister and art historian. She holds a master of divinity degree from the Pacific School of Religion as well as undergraduate degrees in journalism and art history. Click here for a video of her speaking about this book as well as the censorship of art in general.

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