ObsessionGarrett Lambur
September 14, 2008
Think of the face of Jesus. Alright, what do you see? Something strikingly similar to the image posted here? One of the most striking things from the video to me was the obsession with the face of Jesus. Perhaps because I have grown up surrounded by the idyllic face of Jesus (example pictured right). This picture is an atypical representation of Jesus in America. The picture was taken off of google images. In fact, go to Google Image search and type in Jesus Face, the first 20 or so results are all some slight variation of this representation. They all have similar features especially the long flowing hair and the beard. Other images will include the crown of thorns, usually piercing the skin with blood dripping down. How is there such a strong obsession with knowing the face of Jesus when most artists or people already accept a image similar to the one here?
Think of the face of Jesus. Alright, what do you see? Something strikingly similar to the image posted here? One of the most striking things from the video to me was the obsession with the face of Jesus. Perhaps because I have grown up surrounded by the idyllic face of Jesus (example pictured right). This picture is an atypical representation of Jesus in America. The picture was taken off of google images. In fact, go to Google Image search and type in Jesus Face, the first 20 or so results are all some slight variation of this representation. They all have similar features especially the long flowing hair and the beard. Other images will include the crown of thorns, usually piercing the skin with blood dripping down. How is there such a strong obsession with knowing the face of Jesus when most artists or people already accept a image similar to the one here?
There seems to be very little variation in people's imagination of what his face looks like. This is one of the easiest images to recognize. It is easy to recognize because all the images of Jesus have a very similar likeness. Most of this image is based off of guess work driven in large part by historical context. So what would happen if we found a picture of the real face of Jesus? If it was no different from the common context today then not much changes. Yet if it is strikingly different, what happens to all of the art depicting that face? Would people accept the picture or would they deny it? Would images of Jesus in churches that are over a millennia old be changed? Would the human race again lose part of its history over disputes in religion as in Constantinople?
Perhaps it would be wonderful to gaze upon the true face of Jesus in a picture. But I feel the impact of such a thing upon the world would be more harmful than wonderful. We have the teachings of Jesus, is that not what is truly important? This all leads back to my wonderment at the obsession with the Face of Jesus. Personally I do not have a great desire to see the true face of Jesus and I recognize that many will disagree with me but I see the repercussions doing more harm to the world than good.
No comments:
Post a Comment