Jesus of Nazareth preached about love, tolerance, and argued for a radical new approach to the mores of the day. His was a “new” paradigm and a condemnation of the material wealth that had integrated, ultimately absorbed, and over rid the religion he was born into. His was a New Testament. In todays society I am dismayed to witness so many quoting from the “old” testament to justify bigotry, misogyny, war, punishment, retaliation, and the pursuit of material wealth which all were an affront to the actual teachings of Jesus. My sculpture, modeled after a Jack in the Box, shows how Jesus blew apart the church to introduce a “New” spirituality; one based upon love first, tolerance above all, and the repudiation of wealth in society.

When I first showed this piece in a critique the sculpture was close with the yellow wooden cross holding the spring body in the closed box. I then said the “this is the church and this is the steeple and had a fellow student pull the cross out. When the figure of Jesus violently sprung from the box she screamed and I could not have been more pleased:)

Wood, Paint, Springs, Paper Mache, and Hands from a Homer Simpson Doll