As a young child, before a time when I was able to distinguish rationally the real from the unreal, before the onset of any real consciousness, as I understand it now- it seemed that the within the geography of my surroundings, everything held equal validation. Comic books, movies and television, all held as much sway with me as the miracle Bible stories relayed to me on a Sunday-that one seemed as plausible and tangible as the next. It's from that premise then,that this piece-Theothanatos VIII-False Prophets was borne.
With a climate of fear and political unrest, hastened by eight years of a madman in power, and a fervour for what some of the religious right call the rapture, I wanted to portray two cultural avatars of contemporary America,and pit them against each other in a sort of absurd heavweight WWF battle for power, in much the same way my childhood self would have capitulated such a scenario. In doing so, I took the Superman-a repatriated alien all American patriot,protector of the people, and the smiting Jesus of the book of Revelation,intent on the destruction of the world, and laid bare the modern paradox of a church indivisible from state-with a portrayal that by its very nature, and in its most basic terms, provokes the viewer to allegience in favor one over the other.
The banners epiphet is in latin, and is a segment of passage from the Bible, which says 'Peaceful meadows will be turned into a wasteland by the LORD's fierce anger.' which I felt seemed so at odds against the passive aggressive stance of the traditional Christ figure.
For the moment, the piece is finished-at least with my intention of submitting it for the Comicon exhibit. Wether the jury will balk at my depiction is anyone's guess, but it has legs beyond that forum anyway, and depending on how I look at the piece post Comicon, may demand a revisit with some additional props.
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