Representatives for a gallery in Gateshead appeared in court yesterday charged with outraging public decency, after featuring a statue of Jesus with an erection.
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The artwork was part of the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art’s September 2007-January 2008 exhibition Gone, Yet Still, by the controversial Chinese artist Terence Koh, which featured dozens of plaster figures including Mickey Mouse and ET – all in some state of arousal . |
Lawyers for Emily Mapfuwa, a 40-year-old Christian who was offended by the artwork, launched a private prosecution against the gallery for outraging public decency and causing harassment, alarm and distress to the public.
Christian Legal Centre – an organisation that aims to “promote and protect the biblical freedoms of Christian believers in the United Kingdom” – agreed to pay her legal costs…A CLC spokesman said Mapfuwa believed in freedom of expression, but “this statue served no other purpose than to offend Christians and to denigrate Christ”.
Um, very poor anatomy. It is located to low,a bout mid thigh, and the object of interest doesn’t just out like a nail in a floor. It stands up.
As a work of art, I’d give it an F-.
There was a big movement, as it were, in the Middle Ages where artists would show Jesus with an erection. There were also lots of depictings of Mary pointing at, and the wise men inspecting, his junk. This was after the Church had been emphasizing Jesus as God but then had to turn around and convince everyone he was man enough to do repentance on our behalf.