Dana Ellyn art

“Silly Rabbit, Myths are for Kids” is one of the works created by Dana Ellyn. This piece of work features Jesus in a bunny suit, being laughed at by a female figure, who appears to be a woman, but is assumed to be a child based on the title and her size. Although this figure may imply that the message is geared toward children, it more than likely is implying the silliness of adults who believe in these Church teachings with the unquestioning acceptance of a child. It plays off the commercialization of Easter, portraying Jesus as the Easter Bunny, while also making a statement about the reality of Jesus, implying he and his resurrection as just as mythical as the holiday creature. The Trix slogan “Silly rabbit, Trix are for kids” is being used to add to the humorous intent of the piece.

Two of her other works, “Bottled at the Source” and “Jesus Does His Nails” follow a similar model. “Jesus Does His Nails” was brought to the public’s attention in September of 2009 when it was the featured artwork for Blasphemy Day. This faux holiday had the goal of “opening up all religious beliefs to the same level of free inquiry, discussion and criticism to which all other areas of academic interest are subjective.”

According to Center for inquiry, the organization that created Blasphemy Day, the day is part of a movement to stop the hindrance of honest criticism in the area of religion. They seem to view religion as they would any other academic subject, and would like to see it approached as such, with objective discussion. It is part of the larger Campaign for Free Expression. Looking at her other works, Ellyn seems to take a similar approach to subjects such as politics, evidence that she may really be trying to open up the subject of religion to a new kind of discussion.

Ellyn grew up without being exposed to religion, until one encounter with her father at age sixteen and then through college coursework. She viewed Christianity in much of the same light as she percieved ancient gods and goddesses. As she grew older, she sought to learn more about religion, although she never took to believing in any religion. She’s comfortable with her lack of beliefs. She says her works are not meant to offend, but she does admit she hopes they can bring people a laugh. Although Ellyn is happy with her beliefs, she has been quoted saying that she does not want to be a “poster child” for atheists. While she openly states that she neither believes in a any god, nor does she practice religion, she does not want that to be the defining aspect of her art.

Although we’ve discussed many artists who are not trying to offend, but simply “provoking discussion”, I do feel as though Ellyn may be at least somewhat sincere in her claim. I say this because she does approach other subjects, like politics, in much the same manner. We’ve all experienced the heated discussion political views can bring and yet how an objective mindset is often kept. Religious debate often seems to be taken more personal; it’s one thing to insult someone’s political choice, but their god? That’s hitting a little too close to home for most. Ellyn seems to be trying to break down some of the barriers in the discussion, making religion more like other disciplines.

At the same time, it would be naïve of her to think that such images would not offend believers in Jesus as the Christ. Because she is atheist, she has no ties to religious figures and feels comfortable poking fun at them. However, when looking at some of her works, I did not see her focusing on atheism or other religions to start discussion. Instead, she focused on Christianity, likely because it is one of the most accepted religions, and would give her a larger audience of people who have taken notice. She is purposely going after the big one here, and seems to do so successfully. While her intention may have been to foster discussion on religion, I doubt much talk goes beyond the scope of discussing her work.

Ellyn admits that she is trying to get a few laughs with her work. She is commenting on the seriousness of religion by adding humor into her works, which do have a message. As a Christian, I feel as though I should be offended by an image of my god presented in this way. Yet, I found myself letting out a little giggle. Her play on words is clever. The images themselves are slightly funny to me, and if I weren’t Christian, I’d probably be rolling on the floor laughing. I realize that this is probably because many of the traditions within certain Christian groups, such as believing that the wine at Church is literally transformed into Jesus’ blood (at least up until part of the digestive tract because Jesus can’t be bodily waste-I’m not kidding, my high school taught that), are rather ridiculous. If I, a Christian, can laugh at their seemingly absurdness, I would expect a stronger response from someone who didn’t believe in Jesus as the Messiah. While the idea of Jesus being equated to the Trix rabbit is also pretty humorous, it does point out that the story seems often more fiction than fact. That said, it would seem as though Ellyn’s works are drawing light to the ideas she hoped to presents.


Sources:
http://randazza.wordpress.com/2009/09/30/jesus-blasphemous-nails/
http://www.centerforinquiry.net/dc/events/blasphemy_day_artist_showcase_dana_ellyn/