Meek. Mild. As If.

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Meek. Mild. As If.
Chas Bayfield and Trevor Web , 1999

Link to the picture
(please note copyrights )

Meek. Mild. As If. was the title of an advertising campaign run by the Churches Advertising Network (CAN), a UK-based organization that designs promotional materials for Christianity. The central element of the campaign was a poster showing a portrait of Jesus Christ , which is strongly reminiscent of the well-known, two-tone depiction of the Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara . The poster caused numerous press reports in Great Britain and abroad as well as mostly negative reactions from church representatives and politicians.

description

Vector graphic in the style of Jim Fitzpatrick's artwork, which served as a template for the Jesus portrait

The poster shows a portrait of Jesus Christ. Its outlines are only drawn in black, the background is completely red. With this style and the design of the facial features, the hair and the shadows, the representation is based heavily on the well-known two-tone graphics by Che Guevara, which are based on the photo Guerrillero Heroico by Alberto Korda and the most famous version of which comes from the Irish artist Jim Fitzpatrick . Instead of Guevara's beret , Jesus wears his crown of thorns on the poster .

Below the picture is in capital letters “Meek. Mild. As If. "(German:" Patience. Gentle. No way. "). This text refers to the well-known nursery rhyme Gentle Jesus, meek and mild by Charles Wesley . Underneath is “Discover the real Jesus. Church. April 4 "(German:" Discover the true Jesus. In the church on April 4th ") to read. April 4, 1999 was Easter Sunday .

With the merger of Jesus Christ and Che Guevara, the poster takes up a motif that has been used frequently in art and literature since Guevara's death. The emphasis on external similarities and similarities in the life stories of Che Guevara and Jesus Christ are so widespread in the reception of the Marxist revolutionary that the British art historian David Kunzle even devoted an entire book to this aspect. The poster differs from the majority of the works in that this time it is not Che that is made into Jesus Christ, but Jesus into Che Guevara.

Creation and publication

The Churches Advertising Network (CAN) was founded in Great Britain in 1991. The organization, which describes itself as an "independent ecumenical group of Christian communicators," offers churches its promotional materials to spread the Christian faith. The advertising campaigns, which focused on Easter and Christmas, were characterized by bold and humorous content, some of which aroused criticism. For example, a poster intended for the 1996 Christmas campaign was banned by some Anglican dioceses. It showed a cartoon of the Three Wise Men with the text “Bad Hair Day ?! You are a virgin, you just gave birth to a child and now three kings have shown up ”was subtitled.

The motif Meek. Mild. As If. was created for the Easter campaign in 1999. The design comes from Chas Bayfield and Trevor Webb, who at the time were employed by advertising agencies and volunteered for the CAN advertising campaign. To do this, they used a picture of Jesus that they found on the Internet. The graphic was published in early January 1999 and was not only seen as a poster on billboards in the UK, but was also sold as a badge and postcard.

Reactions and reception

Shortly after the poster was published, articles appeared in the UK in the Daily Mail , The Independent and The Guardian , among others . In the USA, the Los Angeles Times and The Washington Post reported, and in Germany a short article appeared in Spiegel .

The reactions of the churches in Great Britain were negative. The Catholic Church distanced itself from the campaign, and its press secretary voiced concerns that people might mistake April 4th for Che Guevara's birthday. The spokesman for the Church of England described the merging of Jesus with Che Guevara as "in no way appropriate" and for the Bishop of Wakefield it was trivializing the mystery of God. However, the Bishop of Ely Stephen Sykes defended the campaign. She is not blasphemous and has achieved her goal of getting attention.

Politicians also commented on the campaign. Harry Greenway, a former Conservative MP in the UK House of Commons , described the poster as "grossly outrageous" and called for those responsible to be excommunicated. Robert Griffiths , the general secretary of the British Communist Party , liked the poster. Imitation is the most sincere compliment. It is also encouraging that the churches are paying tribute to an important communist. Judy Beishon of the Socialist Party , on the other hand, found the campaign a little strange and a little unfair to Che Guevara.

Several members of the CAN explained to the press the motivation behind the campaign. The aim is to counter the classic image of Jesus as a weakling in a white nightgown and instead to emphasize his anti-materialist and revolutionary sides.

The poster was also noticed in the art world. In 2000 it was shown as one of only a handful of 20th century works of art in the Seeing Salvation exhibition at the National Gallery in London and discussed in the BBC broadcast of the same name . It was also part of the 2006 exhibition Che Guevara: Revolutionary & Icon at the Victoria and Albert Museum . British art historian David Kunzle dedicated a separate chapter to the poster in his book Chesucristo , which deals with the fusion of Che Guevara and Jesus in art and literature busy.

The CAN took up the idea of ​​merging Jesus with Che Guevara again in 2005. A poster for the Christmas campaign featured a black and white portrait of a toddler on a red background. The picture is signed with “Dec. 25th. Revolution begins. Celebrate the birth of a hero "(German:" December 25th. The revolution begins. Celebrate the birth of a hero ").

literature

  • David Kunzle: Chesucristo. The fusion of Che Guevara and Jesus Christ in pictures and text (= Wolfgang F. Kersten [Hrsg.]: Zurich Studies in the History of Art . Volume 20/21 ). De Gruyter, Berlin 2016, ISBN 978-3-11-034792-0 , pp. 290-294 (English: Chesucristo. The Fusion in Image and Word of Che Guevara and Jesus Christ . Translated by Martin Steinbrück).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Translation from: Che Guevara . In: Der Spiegel . No. 2 , 1999, p. 189 ( spiegel.de ).
  2. ↑ David Kunzle: Chesucristo. The fusion of Che Guevara and Jesus Christ in pictures and text. 2016, p. 291.
  3. ↑ a b David Kunzle: Chesucristo. The fusion of Che Guevara and Jesus Christ in pictures and text. 2016, p. 290.
  4. ↑ David Kunzle: Chesucristo. The fusion of Che Guevara and Jesus Christ in pictures and text. 2016, p. 290. Bad Hair Day. In: CAN website. Retrieved February 29, 2020 .
  5. ^ A b c Marjorie Miller: Church Ads Send Revolutionary Message. In: Los Angeles Times . January 7, 1999, accessed February 28, 2020 .
  6. ^ Clare Garner: Che to promote the church. In: The Independent. January 6, 1999, accessed March 1, 2020 .
  7. ↑ a b c Ann Treneman: The reverend revolutionaries. In: The Independent. January 7, 1999, accessed March 1, 2020 .
  8. ↑ Amalia Gentleman: Jesus sheds 'wimpish' persona in a revolutionary makeover. In: The Guardian. June 1, 1999, accessed March 1, 2020 .
  9. ↑ George F. Will: Jesus As Che. In: The Washington Post. February 14, 1999, accessed March 1, 2020 .
  10. ↑ Che Guevara . In: Der Spiegel . No. 2 , 1999, p. 189 ( spiegel.de ).
  11. ↑ a b David Kunzle: Chesucristo. The fusion of Che Guevara and Jesus Christ in pictures and text. 2016, p. 291.
  12. ↑ UK Jesus ad campaign 'not blasphemous'. In: BBC . January 7, 1999, accessed March 1, 2020 .
  13. ↑ David Kunzle: Chesucristo. The fusion of Che Guevara and Jesus Christ in pictures and text. 2016, p. 293.
  14. ^ Trisha Ziff (Ed.): Che Guevara: Revolutionary & Icon . Abrams Image, New York 2006, ISBN 0-8109-5718-3 , pp. 87 (English).
  15. ↑ David Kunzle: Chesucristo. The fusion of Che Guevara and Jesus Christ in pictures and text. 2016, p. 293. Celebrate the birth of a hero. In: CAN website. Retrieved February 28, 2020 .