DEC. 8, 2003

HOLIDAYS
Picturing Jesus: How images reflect and inform belief

Christmas brings endless images of a babe in a manger. Those images - along with portrayals of the adult Jesus - have changed over time, reflecting shifts in theologies, historical research and the ethnicity of worshippers. In 2003, Christians have hundreds of images to choose from, from illustrated Bibles and Christmas plays to movies and art.

The Gospels portray Jesus as a divine human who can serve as a role model for all. In a visual society, more Christians are expressing their affinity with Jesus through images that look more like themselves, take into account historical research or simply imagine what he would look like in their own here and now. The results are fresh and sometimes challenging images that some Christians identify with and others question. One dramatic example is the National Catholic Reporter's Jesus 2000 art contest, in which the winner was as a dark-skinned, feminine-looking Jesus in simple robes.

Experts say these new images, seen in churches, culture and media throughout the country, are a mirror of the values and beliefs Christians hold dear.

Why it Matters
Like Jesus, Christians live most of their lives outside of the walls of institutional religion. Christians make up about 80 percent of the U.S. population and about a third of the world population. Religion scholars say Christians tend to project themselves - both in belief and likeness - onto their savior, so new portrayals of Jesus are likely to reflect the beliefs Christians live out in their daily lives.

Questions for reporters
• How is Jesus depicted in public displays in your area, whether in Christmas displays, in Christmas plays, in outdoor church displays or in commercial displays?
• What museums, universities and churches in your area have paintings, sculptures and other works of art that depict Jesus? How have their collections of images changed over the years?
• Do local clergy and religious leaders say research on "the historical Jesus" has affected the way he is visualized by Christians today?
• Do clergy and church members say images of Jesus in art or film affected how they visualize him?
• In what ways, if any, do they say physical images of Jesus can bolster or hinder a person's faith?
• What do clergy and Christians of different ethnicities say about how they imagine Jesus? What images of him do they use in their churches and in their homes?
• Talk to multiethnic congregations. What images of Jesus do they display?

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Click the map for interview sources in your state and region

National sources

• David Morgan is a professor in Christianity and the arts at Valparaiso University in Valparaiso, Ind. He has written numerous books and essays on religion and art and is an expert on images of Jesus in art, especially those of Warner E. Sallman and Dell Parsons. He says most people's idea of what Christ looked like are influenced by popular culture (movies, comic books, Bible illustrations, etc.) and the way they are marketed. He says many of the more popular representations of Christ have great authority with people because the artists say they are based on a revelation. Contact 219-465-7839, David.Morgan@valpo.edu.
• S. Brent Plate is an assistant professor of religion and visual arts at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth and the editor of Religion, Art and Visual Culture: A Cross-Cultural Reader (Palgrave Macmillan, 2002). He says images of Jesus change to suit the dominant culture. Current images of Jesus in art and popular culture continue to reinforce the image of him as a European white male (as he is depicted in such films as The Last Temptation of Christ and The Passion of Christ), but there is a "new openness" to picturing Christ as a racial minority, such as Latino, Asian or African-American, Plate says. Contact 817-257-6444, b.plate@tcu.edu.
• The Rev. Terrence Dempsey, a Jesuit priest, is the founding director of the Museum of Contemporary Religious Art at St. Louis University. The museum has several works from the "Jesus 2000" contest in its collection. Dempsey frequently lectures on images of Christ throughout art history and also speaks on contemporary representations of Christ. He says one of the biggest changes in 20th-century depictions of Christ is as an ethnic minority - Asian, Latino, African-American, etc. Contact 314-977-7170, dempseyt@slu.edu.
• Diane Apostolos-Cappadona is an adjunct professor of religious art and cultural history at Georgetown University's Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding in Washington, D.C., and the author of Dictionary of Christian Art (Continuum, 1998). She is an expert on images of Christ in art, especially as he is represented in the Nativity, and she can discuss the effect the pursuit of the historical Jesus has had on art. She says the language of art is like the language of theology in that it changes with the times. So as theological ideas of Jesus changed, so did his depiction in works of art. She says today there is no commonly accepted idea of what Christian art is, so contemporary visual representations of Jesus have become very diffuse. Contact 202-687-0289, apostold@georgetown.edu.
• Reg Grant is a professor of pastoral ministry at the Dallas Theological Seminary in Texas. He serves on the advisory board of NEST Entertainment, a Christian video and film company, and can address contemporary images of Christ in Christian media and their relation to an individual's faith development. Contact through Giles Hudson, director of media relations, A. Larry Ross Communications, 972-267-1111 ext. 223, ghudson@alarryross.com.
• Pattie Wigand Sporrong is director of marketing and communications for the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago and director of its Courtyard Gallery. She was one of four judges in National Catholic Reporter's Jesus 2000 contest. She says it is OK to answer the question "Who do you think I am?" with a variety of images; because we do not have the literal Christ to look at, she says, our idea of him becomes the absorption of many hopes and dreams of who God is. Contact 773-753-5319.
• Frederica Mathewes-Green is the author of The Open Door: Entering the Sanctuary of Icons and Prayer (Paracelete Press, 2003). She lives in Baltimore and can discuss influences behind Orthodox Christian iconography and the role they play in an individual's faith. Contact 410-691-9738, frederica@aol.com.
• Dr. Otto Maduro is co-director of the Hispanic Institute of Theology and a professor of world Christianity at Drew University in Madison, N.J. He is an expert in Latino images of Christ. Contact 973-408-3041, omaduro@drew.edu.

Background

• Read an essay by David Morgan about visual expressions of religion in American art, including images of Jesus.
• View a gallery of icons of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America.
• Read an Animal Planet interview with Diane Apostolos-Cappadona about animals in the Nativity and changing images of Jesus in the manger.
• View an Animal Planet/Discovery Channel art gallery of Nativities in art from the 10th to the 20th centuries.
• Artcyclopedia.com maintains a list of art museums in the United States and around the world and allows searches for many works of art.
• Read a report from National Catholic Reporter about the development of the Jesus 2000 contest.
• View an online gallery of contemporary images of Christ maintained by gospelcom.net.
• Christ Centered Art Gallery, a Christian retail web site, maintains an online retail art gallery with many popular images of Christ available for view.