Shocking and thought provoking were the first words that entered my head when I first saw this picture. Many things struck me about this picture. The unavoidable truth located at Jesus’ waist was the first thing that was obvious to me. Do we need to see naked Jesus? What is the artist trying to say? My interpretation is that this is a western style homosexual modern day Jesus. His face, hair, and beard match a sort of stereotypical western view of Jesus. He is holding what I imagine are his clothes and is at peace with his baptism. There are a few things that triggered me that this seems to be a homosexual interpretation. First, he is naked. I don’t know many baptisms of adults where the person has to be naked. Second, John is behind Jesus and they are both standing. From what I have seen of baptisms it seems that the person getting baptized faces and even bows or kneels. Not only is he behind him, but his hand is also placed on Jesus’ hip. It seems modern day to me because they are in what looks to be a pool and John’s hair and facial hair. This doesn’t fit with my classical ideas of what they would look like if they were from before 30 A.D.
In addition to the features of the work I just mentioned there is a dove on Jesus’ shoulder. The two also appear to be very alone.
This photo was included in a collection of 12 photos called Ecce Homo. They were created by Swedish photographer Elisabeth Ohlson Wallin. She has been called one of Sweden’s best-known and established contemporary photographers. She is also ranked as the creator of one of the world's 20 most abused piece of art. The collection was shown in 1998 in Stockholm at Sweden's foremost church, Uppsala Cathedral. The photos show Christ at different stages of his life in the company of homosexuals. When it was first shown riots, demonstrations, and anger flowed towards Wallin and those who allowed it to be displayed. Pope John Paul II also canceled a meeting with Swedish Archbishop K.G. Hammar because of the exhibition. Ecce Homo is Latin for “behold the man”. Pilate used the phrase when he presented Jesus to the angry crowd before the Crucifixion. Wallin chose it for it as the title because of the obvious wordplay with the word homosexual.
In a Wired article she explained how the exhibition came about. "I realized what a great responsibility the church assumes when it issues statements about homosexuals. We still live by the morals and ethics of the Bible."
Wallin, a lesbian, wanted to remind people that Jesus worked with and helped the outcasts of the society. She had the idea when one of her friends died of AIDS in the early 1990s, and saw that some religious extremists called it God's punishment for homosexuality. In a translated quote she said, “The reason that I did Ecce Homo was that there were / are priests who said that AIDS is God's punishment.”
This picture is titled “Dopbilder” which translates to “baptism photo.” This photo is what she calls the source of the entire exhibition. She also said this picture represented her frustration the most.
What I interpreted to be a pool is actually a traditional bathhouse in Stockholm. The dove symbolizes the Holy Spirit coming to Jesus.
Since then, Ohlson travels with a bodyguard after receiving several death threats. In 2007, a Christian group tried to set fire to one of her pictures and a fight between 30 people broke out.
This is certainly an important piece. It has been shown around the world and is a time when it was far less acceptable to be gay. The fact that it was displayed in a church is remarkable to me. She is a significant artist because she has shown how religion affects our everyday lives and how the rhetoric of churches may not always include minority groups and represent their values of peace and acceptance. Jesus hung out with the outcasts and she points out through her work that there is some hypocrisy in that.
http://www.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/news/1999/08/21012 "
Exhibit showing gay Jesus inspires fracas." UPI NewsTrack. 2007. Retrieved March 23, 2010 from accessmylibrary: http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-32628172_ITM
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