A Dragon in Sheep’s Clothing

Sculpture of Obama as Jesus causes stir

Whenever I hear about things like this, I have to step back and think about what I define as art. I don’t think this qualifies in my book, no matter what statement the artist was trying to make. Even if he is sincere.

“All of this is a response to what I’ve been witnessing and hearing, this idea that Barack is sort of a potential savior that might come and absolve the country of all its sins,” the artist said. “In a lot of ways it’s about caution in assigning all these inflated expectations on one individual, and expecting them to change something that many hands have shaped.”

It’s almost too easy to create a piece of “art” about a political situation. And yes, I know even Picasso did political commentary pieces. But consider his “Guernica.” He makes a statement about something that affects both one area of the world and humanity as a whole. There’s an emotional impact there.

One definition of art is that an artist is showing how he or she views the world. The Obama as Jesus statue doesn’t qualify under this definition either. Because the artist doesn’t see Obama as a savior, he said that other people do. He wants to warn against putting too much expectation on one individual. But does a statue of Obama as Jesus say all of that? No. We have to get an explanation. The artist probably hopes it will start discussion and get people thinking. But the medium is too shallow.

Why not take the time and creative energy to create a more encompassing piece that will actually communicate a fuller message? I see a statue of Obama as Jesus and immediately dismiss the artist as someone who only seeks to offend Christian people — or as someone who really, really likes Obama. Instead of a simple statue, show me how all those expectations on one individual affect him; show me how people are blind to expect one person to fix years of mistakes; show me how Obama is trapped by public expectation.

Sure, the statue makes an impact. But it’s shallow. Artists must not mistake an artwork’s shock value as a catalyst for change. The change might be getting people to think beyond their normal boundaries or generating discussion on a particular topic. Anyone can make something with “impact” — “shock value” — but not everyone can make people see the world differently.

Then again, since the artist is a student, perhaps all he had time for was one papier mache statue before finals. It’s a shame.