Constructing Jesus: Jesus of the People

By Kelsi Roberts

In western society, the most common depiction of Jesus Christ is of a white man with long brown hair and a beard. All of us have seen this image somewhere—perhaps in church, at a relative’s house, or in a Bible. One could assert, however, that this white, male image of Jesus, could make certain groups of people feel disconnected from Jesus.

In 1999, Janet McKenzie, an artist from Essex County, VT heard about the Jesus 2000 competition put on by the National Catholic Reporter’s Commission. This contest aimed to attract pieces of art depicting a new “Jesus for the millennium” (janetmckenzie.com). McKenzie’s piece, “Jesus of the People,” depicting an African-American Jesus, won the competition.

The judge, Sister Wendy Beckett of PBS, said of the piece, “This is a haunting image of a peasant Jesus – dark, thick-lipped, looking out on us with ineffable dignity, with sadness but with confidence. Over His white robe He draws the darkness of our lack of love, holding it to Himself, prepared to transform all sorrows if we will let Him” (janetmckenzie.com).

Before creating this piece, much of McKenzie’s work was focused on imagery of women and African Americans—groups she feels are underrepresented in art and in our world. After hearing about the Jesus 2000 contest, McKenzie intended to make her image of Jesus in celebration of her nephew, who is a person of color, so that he might be able to see himself in Jesus. McKenzie also opted to utilize a female model to give Jesus a more feminine, soft appearance so that perhaps women would also be able to connect with the image as well. She feels that these two groups are often commonly left out when it comes to representations of Jesus. One of her goals with this piece was to show that “Jesus is in all of us” (Janetmckenzie.com).

McKenzie says that she did not intend this painting to cause controversy. Instead, her hope was that more people would be able to connect with Jesus on a different level. McKenzie herself claims to be a “devout agnostic,” but says that the painting is “about love” (Laredo Morning Times).

The first thing I noticed about this piece when first coming across it was that Jesus was depicted as black. This is an incredibly obvious observation, however, it is something that is not often seen in depictions of Jesus. Upon further inspection of the piece, I noticed a few things that I had never seen in an image of Jesus before: A feather and a yin-yang symbol.

As I researched the meaning behind these symbols, I came across McKenzie’s explanation. The yin-yang symbol not only incorporates another culture into the painting, it also symbolizes “perfect harmony.” The halo behind Jesus’ head (that we do see in many other paintings) represents “Jesus’ holiness.” The feather beside Jesus incorporates yet another culture into the painting (Native American), but also represents “transcendent knowledge” (janetmckenzie.com). The pink in the background signifies femininity, but also signifies the color of blood (natcath.com).

These meanings are definitely peripheral. At first glance, one may not notice just how many different kinds of people are represented in this painting. These symbols help to further McKenzie’s goal in making people feel that “Jesus is in all of us” and to incorporate as many cultures as possible. As I have mentioned, the cultures of women, African American, Native American, and Asians are all included in this work.

This painting seems to not necessarily be a retelling of biblical text, but more of a reinterpretation of what Jesus may have looked like. The artist is really trying to convey that Jesus can essentially be whatever we want him to be. She says on her website that she is not trying to replace any existing images of Jesus, she just wants to add this one “in addition to” the others, so that people who may feel disconnected to Jesus have a way to connect and can “see themselves in him” (janetmckenzie.com).

This piece certainly brings a new cultural perspective to Jesus, as I have mentioned throughout this analysis. This Jesus clearly strays from the white, male norm and goes toward a multicultural depiction that many more people can connect to. McKenzie is really challenging what we accept in western society as truth, and with this painting, tries to show that Jesus could have been any color, sex, or culture. What she is really trying to get at is that Jesus should symbolize love and acceptance, so that everyone can identify with Jesus, not just white men. As she says, “all of us need to be celebrated in the images of Jesus…” (janetmckenzie.com).

Much of McKenzie’s other works include women and multiracial holy families. For example, McKenzie has one piece depicting the “three wise women” and other pieces that depict the holy family as African, Asian, Caucasian, and Indian. She aims to allow, “all people to find themselves celebrated.” She has received some hate mail for “Jesus of the People,” but much more mail supporting it.

An interesting video interview with Janet McKenzie: