World's largest Jesus statue

I will let the pictures speak for them selves this time...

What’s up with all the burning?

In the recent controversies surrounding the now-cancelled (?) burn a Quran day by pastor Terry Jones of the Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, state-leaders from the US, the UN to the Vatican has condemned the planned act. At the same time, media has shown us images of demonstrations in the Middle East where american flags and effigies of Terry Jones are burned. So what’s up with all the burning? 

The obvious answer is that the aggressive act of destroying a symbol of what you hate functions as a form of stress relief. Burning the image is channeling communal anxieties and antipathies. But burning effigies has its roots in ancient magical practice; a public desecration of an absent body. When burning a straw-witch, a flag, a book or a pastor-effigy, the burning is explained as a communal attempt to harm a hated subject (person, state, people or religion) who is otherwise unapproachable.  The act of burning an effigy or a key symbol as a substitute of the actual enemy is related to imitative (homoeopathic) image-magic, so-called envoûtement, although I doubt the culprits of today actually envision their acts to have any real effects on their victims. It is magic in the sense that there is no actual link between the harm done to the effigy and the actual victim, only an imagined effect.

If the effect is imagined, then why are people so upset by a torched Quran, (or rather the muṣḥaf – the physical book containing the Quran)? Would the outcry would be less vocal had some radicals planned a burn the New Testament day? To Muslims the Quran is more than a book and more than a scripture. It is an object containing the words of God and is treated with the utmost respect. It should not be touched in an impure state. In parts of the Muslim world, in particular where Arabic is not spoken, the Quran is treated more as a venerated object in the home – rarely to be opened. And the correct manner to dispose of an old Quran is to wrap it in pure cloth and bury it, much like the how a person is buried, or its pages can be tied to a stone and cast in a flowing river. The book then, is more like a relic or an icon then it is a book. Thus, both victims and culprits seem to agree that by burning the Quran harm is actually inflicted upon someone – probably God. The Quran contains the word of God and is thereby linked to His person; attacking the book is the same as attacking God’s only material manifestation on earth. Still, the effect of the attack is only a presumed effect, or is it?  

The envoûtement of the modern day seem to work in new ways through the power of media rather than through magic. What would happen had not the media aired the planned Quran-burning? Probably very little I suppose. A group or radical Christians would have made a bonfire, and probably felt good about it – just like magic has an interior communal effect rather than the presumed exterior effect on the victim. God, Islam or Muslims would be harmed as little as pastor Terry Jones felt the effect of his effigy being consumed by flames in Kabul. In fact, an illuminating parallel happened two years ago when the extremely radical Community of Christ actually did burn the Quran, but was ignored. The irony of it all, may be that when the international burn a Quran day is cancelled, the Community of Christ will step forward again and have their Quran-burning moment in the spotlight.

A ship's final port

The Viking ships of Norway are in need of a new home. Where should it be, and what should it look like?

One of the more important archaeological finds of the previous century was the unearthing in 1904 of a rich Viking burial by the Oslofjord in Norway. It contained a well preserved ship, the Oseberg ship, which is now one of the highlights for tourists visiting Oslo.

Based on the name of the mound, Ose-mound, the excavators hoped the mound would reveal the intact burial of Queen Åsa, the founder of the Yndlinga Dynasty in Norway, and buried in an earth mound around the year 834. At first, their hunch seemed to be correct. In the burial chamber two women was unearthed; a woman of high status in her fifties, accompanied by an elderly woman, perhaps her servant. They were laid to rest on the ship, ready for their final journey, and were surrounded by their earthly goods needed in the afterlife, including, beds, axes, tapestries, silk, a peacock, a sled and a wagon. Sacrificed dogs, hoses and an ox accompanied the two. Today, it is argued that the woman was a volve, a priestess of the Norse religion, or that the older woman is actually Åsa, but the final word on the matter is certainly not said.

The ship itself was beautifully preserved, 21m in length, 5m wide, and with exquisite carvings. Since 1926 it has been on display in a purposefully built museum-house in Bygdøy, near Oslo, where it was joined in 1932 by two other ships. Today the Viking ship Museum probably constitutes the most important exhibition in Norway. The two women were originally returned to their mounds, but have now been re-excavated and are on display in the museum.

The architect, Arnstein Arneberg, designed a chapel to house the three ships, which today seems in many ways outdated. It is difficult to view the ships as a whole in the narrow halls, which is also easily crowded by visitors. As important is the question of the symbolic connotations which the building itself conveys. The shape of the museum, and placement near Oslo should be understood in context of the need for Norway to stand out as an independent new country with ancient roots. Norway achieved independence in 1905, and the Viking-history had a central place in the national narrative. Archaeological context was downplayed and national history underscored. 


The ships and their occupants belong to a very different religious tradition; a time before Christianity reached Norway, and a time before Norway was unified. Even so, when seen from above, the museum has the appearance of a cross, a Christian church, meaning that the ships have been re-buried in a new religious setting. Inside the museum a similar context is conveyed. Here the framing of the ships and the visitor’s experience is more of a Christian mausoleum containing ships, rather than an exhibition. Although an esthetically forceful experience, the Norse burial in this way is not only de-contextualized, but also Christianized and nationalized, making the story told not about the Vikings, but about Norway. One may even get the impression that the ships belong to the early Christian nation, rather than the pre-Christian era.

It is now being discussed whether or not the ship should be moved to a new building near the attractions of Oslo city, or if they should stay where they are. The third alternative, to open a new museum closer to the original mounds is regarded an option by only a few. 

Visualizing political opinion in Holland

Today the blog Islam in Europe reports from the dutch preparations for election. Here a visual compass has been created by the newspaper Trouw to assist voters with reading disabilities to find the party close to their hearts. Among the thirty issues raised are expulsion of immigrants and the right to free speech. 

As Islam in Europe notes, the illustrator has decided that no blondes (or read-heads) should be present in the Muslims crowd, while the presumably right-winged group on the left have several blondes. Another interesting feature is the way the speech bubbles seem to communicate the message that the mullah is propagating a positive message about gays, Jews, and western women, while the blond politician is giving a straight forward-speech on Muslim immigrants. For a reader not fluent in dutch, like me, the message then is "should we be allowed to talk (positively) about other groups in the society", rather than the actual "Everyone may say in public what he wants, even if it leads to discrimination".

Another image show immigrants leaving Holland. A man in a wheelchair, a woman in burka and a family. Here the illustrator is able to communicate the message well. Expulsion has grave consequences for the individuals involved, and should not be done lightly, although I'm quite sure the blond politician above would have drawn the image quite differently.  

Ways of Seeing

The 1972 BBC television documentary, Ways of Seeing, by John Berger was probably one of the earlier attempts to lift our understanding of art beyond its art-historical and aesthetic value. Although visual religion is hardly touched upon in the series, important issues in the study of visual culture are raised. Throughout the documentary, the focus is on the spectator’s ever changing perception of images.

The four program series explains how the meaning of an artwork changes with its context, in particular according to how the artwork is displayed. The same painting can be understood quite differently when it is on a museum wall, in a church or in a book, and its interpretation changes with the gender, age, education and culture of the spectator. Modern reproductions of artworks as postcards or as television images are seen as examples of how the meaning and function of art develop with its media. Here Berger is influenced by the essay "Das Kunstwerk im Zeitalter seiner technischen Reproduzierbarkeit" ("The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction") by Walter Benjamin in 1935. Other examples are how an accompanying text, i.e. an art historical descriptions or a commercial text, alter our perception of what is displayed. The textual, architectural, ritual, musical and social setting of an artwork determines how we grasp the message of the image.

Episode two and three in the program focus on oil-paintings and the female nude in particular; the materialization of female form in the images. It is argued that the paintings of nudes had a similar function as photos of female models in modern magazines and commercials. The images are created for the male spectator, but also become the form in which women reflect their own bodily-images. The program also focuses on the presentation of material wealth displayed in the images, arguing that the main purpose of oil-paintings was to display and enhance the owner’s social status.

Episode four talk about commercials. Berger argues here that the commercial photograph has taken the place of the oil painting. Both painting and photograph display material wealth, but where oil-paintings display the owner’s possessions and achieved wealth and status, the commercial photograph show us the possessions and status yet to be achieved.

Ways of seeing Episode 1: part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4.

Ways of seeing Episode 2: part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4.

Ways of seeing Episode 3: part 1, part 2, part 3.

Ways of seeing Episode 4: part 1, part 2, part 3.

Guinea-pigs in blasphemy?

When writing about guinea-pigs as the main course in some Peruvian paintings of the Last Supper, I came to think about a story which was reported some years ago from Hagenbeck Zoo in Hamburg, Germany. It took me some time to locate the story on the Internet, but I was at last able to remember that the story was retold by Peter W. Poulsen in Icon, the journal for students of religious studies at the university of Copenhagen back in 2002. It was based on a small story in Hamburger Abendblatt in 1999.

Hagenbeck zoo has a large open outdoor area for free ranging guinea pigs. It consists of a large grassy plain and a miniature alpine village where the critters roam and are their own masters. Among the buildings is also a church standing two meters tall; a monumental building for such small animals.

Way back, now about 40 years ago, a local catholic pastor was enraged when he over time observed how the critters entered the church at all times of day. Only God knows what blasphemous acts the furry animals conducted behind the walls of the church, hidden from view of the priest. The case of the sinful activities of the guinea pigs became a major topic for Sunday lectures in the church, and soon sufficient public support was raised to demand that the door of the church was shut for the critters once and for all, and so was their access to Christianity.

The case was first reopened after 30 years in excommunication, when the Catholic Church and Hagenbeck zoo in 1999 came to an agreement that the doors would again be opened. By then the zoo had received complaints from hundreds of children. Why were the doors of the other houses in the village open, but the church closed, they asked. Do not guinea pigs have access to God? The church backed down and gave the following statement:

“Of course guinea pigs should go to church. The attitude of the church to the creatures of creation has become more conscious and open. The story of creation places the animals of creation under man’s supervision”.

For the study of visual religion, and perhaps for cognitive theorists as well, it is fascinating to take note of yet another example of how animal behavior is made anthropomorphic. First by the animal-keepers when they decided to build an alpine village for animals originally living in burrows, and then later by the priest who must have judged the behavior and church-going practices of the critters by human standards. Also the children’s interpretation has this tendency. The function of the church is important as well, as children and priest alike understand the model-church as a sacred building that may be used or misused by their furry congregation.



(Photo by AMagill)

An update on Muhammad in South Park

In a surprising new twist to the controversy over images of Muhammad in western media, South Park continued the censoring Muhammad's image in the recent follow-up episode (no. 201) of last week's story. This was hardly surprising, in particular as this story has now reached mainstream media, and the threats against the cartoonists have become more vocal. But now, in addition to the visual censorship, Comedy Chanel apparently this time around also chose to censor his spoken name, making the episode full of bliips every time the name Muhammad should have been heard.

At first, it seemed as is this form of censoring was intentional by the South Park crew. A form of hyperbolic  censoring to make it plain as daylight how the show is being repressed. This becomes particularly apprent when, at the end of the episode, the usual moralistic speeches by some of the characters are covered by long bleeps as well. This gives the impression that Stone and Parker are trying to show us how Comedy Chanel is refusing to see the real issue at hand, but is instead giving in to fundamentalist threats. This is the impression one is left with at the end.

However, Stone and Parker have now issued a statement explaining that the new form of editing was not intentional, and that the Comedy Chanel actually did censor the name of the prophet and the moral speeches at the end of the show, one of which actually did not even mention Muhammad.

Here is the full statement as posted on another blog (M. Greenberg):

In the 14 years we’ve been doing South Park we have never done a show that we couldn’t stand behind. We delivered our version of the show to Comedy Central and they made a determination to alter the episode. It wasn’t some meta-joke on our part. Comedy Central added the bleeps. In fact, Kyle’s customary final speech was about intimidation and fear. It didn’t mention Muhammad at all but it got bleeped too. We’ll be back next week with a whole new show about something completely different and we’ll see what happens to it.

Another significant point made in the episode was again to reveal to all of us that an image is nothing but a semiotic device, where we interpret what we see based on our expectations. When the image of a person in a bear suit, claimed by the cartoons in South Park in the previous episode to be of Muhammad in a suit, actually was revealed to actually be Santa in a suit, the joke is on all of us. A cartoon pretending to be a cartoon in a cartoon. Again, an image does not become, or even necessarily represent, a thing just because someone links a sound to an arbitrary image...

"We must not fear daylight just because it almost always illuminates a miserable world" (Magritte)

Muhammad in South Park

Originally, I had decided not to discuss caricatures and cartoons of Muhammad in this blog, as these are not originally religious images, but obviously created to provoke reactions from Muslims. Nevertheless, the reactions which such images do spark among Muslims transform the images from mere jokes and provocations into actual religious images, albeit as blasphemous taboos. So, when the 200th episode of South Park, aired on Wednesday the April 14^th, and again raises the issue of Muhammad as cartoon, it is ample reason to take a closer look.

South Park has already shown drawings of Muhammad in earlier episodes. First in 2001, where he appeared as a member of the super hero group called Super Best Friends. Here  he was accompanied by other major religious figures, there-amongst Jesus, Buddha and Joseph Smith. Well, that was before the Danish caricature controversy, and was probably not directed at the Islamic prohibition of images of god and his prophet, but was rather a joke directed at religion in general. The situation was different when the South Park crew decided to show Muhammad again in 2006, but this time in context of the Danish scandal. This time they decided to press the issue of Muhammad’s visual presence, which was actually censored by the Comedy Channel.

In the recent episode Trey Parker and Matt Stone are again testing the limits, questioning the relationship between images and the illustrated object. They are asking the question; when can a cartoon be said to be representative of Muhammad? In an interview the cartoonists actually do not seem to have created these drawings to provoke Muslims, but are actually provoked by the decision of Comedy Chanel to limit free speech, or rater free drawing. The question is, what will the Network allow?

The plot in the episode is as follows. All the stars and celebrities who over the years have been ridiculed in South Park decide to file a class act lawsuit against the town. The only way to stop the lawsuit is to present Muhammad to the celebrities, whose plan is to steal the prophet’s superpower: no one can criticize him. As before, to hammer in the issue the censored image of Muhammad is contrasted to uncensored images of others members of the Super Best Friends in rather blasphemous illustrations. When Muhammad arrives in South Park, the city faces the problem that Muhammad can not be shown. Thus a number of different ways to conceal the physical person are proposed.

Basically four versions of Muhammad are shown. The original version where he featured among the Super Best Friends is shown again. Originally this was shown uncensored, but is now covered by a black square; i.e. an anthropomorphic figure of Muhammad is not acceptable. Probably this particular feature has its background in the 2007-news story of a teacher arrested in Sudan for naming a teddy, Muhammad. Secondly, in a trick paring with the famous painting of René Magritte's pipe, Muhammad is shown as a stick-figure drawn on a sheet of paper and held by Stan’s dad; a drawing made by a cartoon figure within a cartoon. This was not censored. Neither was the illustration of the car from which Muhammad was speaking. Probably more provocative was the idea to place Muhammad within a silly mascot bear-costume. Again, Muhammad is not seen, but we are told of his presence. This was also allowed. The point South Park is raising is the difference in our and the Muslim reaction to drawings of Muhammad before and after the Danish cartoon controversy, which completely changed how we and many Muslims use images of the prophet.  

So much for the television network’s policy. What about the Muslim reactions? Any yet? It is still early, and probably the reactions will be limited. The riots after the Danish cartoons had much of its background in Danish and Middle Eastern religious and political leaders fueling the fire for political gains. This time,  nothing of the sort should be expected.

In a quick Google-search a few reports in the news already report of threats to the cartoonists, but mainly based on various proclamations on twitter and similar media. There seem to be few reactions as yet, and hopefully this will will be the end of it. Some warn the South Park team with the faith of Th. van Gogh:

"We have to warn Matt and Trey that what they are doing is stupid and they will probably wind up like Theo Van Gogh if they do air this show. This is not a threat, but a warning of the reality of what will likely happen to them".

One blog reports the following from twitter: “May Allah kill Matt Stone and Trey Parker and burn them in Hell for all eternity. They insult our prophets Muhammad, Jesus, and Moses...” Note how the reactions are not only directed at the illustrations of Muhammad, but of other biblical figures as well. Anyway, the episode is to be continued, so perhaps that goes for this blog as well...

Visualizing collective grief in Poland

The tragedy which hit Poland yesterday has cast the country into collective mourning. 97 people were killed in the plain crash, including Poland’s president Lech A. Kacynski, his wife, the chief of National Security Office, the chief of the National Bank, and several other prominent figures of Poland’s political and cultural Elite.

Newspapers the world over are today filled with pictures of Poland in mourning. Tens of thousands have gathered in front of the presidential palace leaving flowers, and lighting candles enclosed in colored glass. The streets have been turned into a sea of colorful flowers and light accompanied by people singing hymns and the sound of church bells.

Collective grief is played out visually in the streets and in churches, but also in the polish online media (and in paper?). In contrast to the colorful display in the streets, the media are today published in black and white. It is interesting to experience the sober feelings this visual instrument creates – an aura of sorrow and remembrance. The use of black and white does not only visually demonstrate the grief of the publishers and newspaper staff, but encapsulates the reader, whether Polish or foreign, in a particular mood of respect or sorrow. In this manner, grief takes place both in the real world and online.

The polish tragedy is not the first time black and white publishing is used to demonstrate collective mourning. During the three day morning period after the earthquake in China in May 2008, most newspapers were published in black and white, online and offline, and on social web-sites people turned their buddy-icons into colorless images. One year later, the victims were again remembered in the same manner, but also including black and white photo montages on television accompanied by emotional music. Using black and white front pages to mark sorrow has been a tradition in China since before the Second World War according to some commentators. In the west, the first use of this visual effect known to me was when Yahoo turned its pages black and white to mark the grief after September 11, 2001 terrorist attack.

Wartime propaganda and the role of religion in occupied Norway

Today, 70 years have passed since the German invasion of Norway during the WW2. To mark the occasion the University of Bergen has opened a few new digital archives of newspapers and propaganda from both sides of the front. I thought it would be interesting to quickly browse through the pages in search of the place of the church and religion in these media from both sides.


What did I find – well, absolutely nothing. The pamphlets, booklets and posters are largely void of religion in both text and image. What is there is exactly what we might expect – a prominent place of the flag and the exiled king next to idolization of Norwegian history of the Viking age and its link to the bravery of modern seafarers. And of course, the usual antisemitic ranting for the nationalist party in charge under Quisling. 

The Norwegian bishops renounced the function of the church as a state church during the occupation years, and most of them were forced to leave their positions. Likewise, even though threatened with severe punishments, most priests renounced their positions, leaving churches empty. In one of the documents published, a general booklet, called Norway, created at the end of the war to educate the British about Norway, religion is briefly mentioned, and it is underscored that through their resistance, the clergy “have done much to maintain the moral of the Home Front”. Religion was important, but apparently the church did not achieve a vital symbolic role and place in propaganda comparable to that of the royal house and flag. Nor do the occupying forces seem to have used religion in their propaganda. 

The Last Supper: growing dishes and guinea-pigs

Even though easter has passed it may still be time for some comments on the last supper...

Religious historians Craig and Brian Wansink of Virginia Wesleyan College have in a new study observed how the portions served in illustrations of the last supper have grown over the last 1000 years. Using advanced computer technology 52 of the more famous images was compared; in fact by comparing the size of heads with the foodstuff. The result revealed a plate-increase of 69% and bread-increase of 23%. The scholars relate this trend to an increase in living standard - the image, albeit a timeless motif, is not surprisingly influenced by the contemporary world of the painter.

On a similar note, the Peruvian version of the last supper, from the cathedral at Cusco, show Jesus and company consuming, not bread, but a guinea-pig, a traditional dish in the Andean world. In fact, the overgrown and meaty cousin of guinea-pigs, the capybara, is excused from the list of meats to be avoided during lent. Apparently, so the story goes, it was classified as a fish as it lives in wetlands. Sadly, in Venezuela, this tradition has driven the big guys to the brink of extinction.

Of course, the last supper of Leonardo is among the most copied and imitated paintings in history. Here and here, you will find an extensive list of parodies, from the Simpsons to the Sopranos - perhaps you can note a growth in head size or an increase in the number of plates? For my part, I noted that Popeye's last supper consisted of spinach and hamburgers while the plate of the supermodel's supper was empty...

Episcopal Priest Barbie

It had to happen - Barbie ordained...

In the news these days it is referred to studies showing that Christianity is now the fastest growing religion, growing faster the the growth of human population, so why not Barbie? The doll apparently started out as a joke - a gift to a friend, but has at this moment gained over 3800 fans on Facebook, and a fair share of negative publicity on Christian blogs. I'm pretty sure Ken will join the new path soon. So, what does this mean? Just another piece of commercial-paraphernalia, or does this one have a meaning? - that is to early to say, as the doll will gain meanings and uses (visual use) as her popularity grows. Her creator gives these thoughts:

What does Episcopal Priest Barbie Mean? What do YOU think she means? Post your comments! I've been intrigued by eople's reaction to her. Speaking for myself, Barbie is a very powerful symbol and has many different meanings for women from the tyranny of the perfect body image (because of her looks) to girl empowerment (through her many different careers). I thought she might make a good vehicle for [1] empowering girls and women in ministry [2] glorifying God as a work of liturgical art and [3] highlighting God's great sense of humor!

Barbie has also entered other faiths, or at least Judaism and Islam, where a similar use of the doll has been known for a few years. The Jewish doll is known as Tefillin Barbie. She comes with a full educational plan for use by schools. 

Her role is to promote gender equality. The doll is actually crated by a female ritual expert; as such one may perhaps suggest the Tefillin Barbie is an extension of her creator.

In this context, then, the juxtaposition of super-feminine Barbie and the traditionally masculine deep black leather straps of tefillin may be startling, but what it signifies is open to interpretation. Certainly, women's feelings and preferences regarding ritual garb are at once very personal and also reflective of communal norms. The relationship between women and rituals such as tallit and tefillin requires continued consideration and conversation, and whether you see tefillin Barbie as an empowering figure or a satirical one, she is undoubtedly a provocative starting point for communal discussion. 

The Islamic Barbie, or Fulla, was as far as I know the first religious Barbie to be launched back in 2003. Her role is different from the other two dolls in that she is not entering an position in the clergy, but stands as a role model for modern modest Muslim women. There is also an Italian made Burka Barbie. Barbie dolls clad in traditional Indian dresses can be found on a simple Google search, but I cannot see that it is directly connected with the Hindu faith. Do you know of others?

One nation under god

I'll start of this blog simply by posting McNaughton's image One nation under God. By and large the painting speaks for itself, as an american right wing civil-religion propagandistic image. The good guys look towards Jesus, or they are attempting to awaken the religious spirit of the liberals in the lower left corner. An unbroken line connects Jesus, and the historical characters behind him, to the conservative crowd to the lower left, contrasting the liberals who are unconnected to religion and and history with their faces turned away.

McNaughton's image has been discussed quite a bit, even enough to prompt  the painter himself to give a detailed description of the "symbolism" (rather icons) presented. Here you will also find links to YouTube videos related to the image.

Apparently, the artist is Mormon, and some hints of this can be recognized in the details, but I'm quite sure the painting has a lager appeal in its target audience, the Christian right. More interesting is the debate the use of the founding fathers has awaken, placing this image in the front of debates on the role of religion in american society.