Dick
Detzner, an artist working in the present day, creates paintings that
are known for juxtaposing religious scenes and tropes from Medieval and
Renaissance art, with characters from modern-day American consumer
culture. The images below are examples of works from this series of
paintings entitled “Corporate Sacrilege”.
The first is entitled St. Snugglebear
and is based off of the numerous canvases of St. Sebastian, the
biblical figure who is often depicted during his death, as tied to a
tree and shot at with arrows. However, in this reproduction, instead of
the Christian martyr, we find Snuggle Bear, the mascot for Snuggle
Fabric Softener, tied to the tree instead, with a golden halo emanating
from his head. Most unsettling is the fact that the character retains
his famous smile and appears not to notice the arrows which protrude
from his body.
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| St. Snugglebear |
The second image is entitled The Last Pancake Breakfast and is composed to mirror The Last Supper,
with Christ and his Twelve Disciples switched out for thirteen product
mascots/cartoons seated at the long table. Aunt Jemima, the female
bottle of maple syrup who represents the company of the same name stands
in for Christ, and Captain Crunch appears as the figure of Judas. All
of the characters chosen by Detzner are representatives of brands of
breakfast food (maple syrup, cereal, oatmeal, etc) which was likely the
fact because as Barry Hoffman states in his book The Fine Art of Advertising, “Da Vinci’s Last Supper
offers a perfect setting for any company that wants to draw attention
to mundane mealtime products” (Hoffman, 2003, p. 34). Therefore, it
would seem that Detzner is following this trend but for the opposite
purpose: the focus is on the fact that these brand symbols and mascots
are revered like high religious figures, especially those which
represent breakfast products.
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| The Last Pancake Breakfast |
The next two images are likely very legible to most viewers as they depict figures emulating Christ on the cross during and after the Crucifixion. In the first, it is the Pillsbury Doughboy who represents Christ, with a large finger slowly approaching his stomach as though to poke it and force him to emit the famous noise of glee which is also the title for the work. In the second piece, it is Ronald McDonald being crucified on the retailer's famous golden arches as the Hamburglar and Grimace raising their arms with expressions of grief, as the friends and family of Christ are usually doing in classical depictions of The Lamentation. As with Saint Snugglebear from above, the Pillsbury Doughboy and Ronald McDonald retain their same iconic smiles, despite spikes being driven through their palms. They seem completely unaware or even pleased with themselves that they are being revered in the same light as Jesus Christ.
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| Yee Hee Hee! |
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| The Lamentation |
The final canvas, entitled Original Sin copies the structure of depictions of Adam & Eve prior to their exile from the Garden of Eden after their inability to avoid temptation. However instead of the nude figures of Adam and Eve, naked Barbie and Ken dolls stand in instead. In commercialized culture, it seems there would be no more fitting couple to represent the first man and woman on earth, according the Bible. In all of his canvases, Detzner uses stark lighting techniques to add to the eery sense of constant happiness of the faces of the brand mascots and drawing even more attention to how out-of-place they appear in high-religious settings.
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| Original Sin |
I have prints of both Original Sin and The Last Pancake Breakfast hanging in my apartment and hold the dual happiness of seeing advertising mascots that I so cherish held in such regard as to be placed in the shoes of famous fine art figured; as well as the horror of the sacrilege that probably should be felt as religious figures are made such complete fools of. But that's the debate that has been had and the sentiments that have been expressed for decades whenever advertising and fine art combine. Interpretation is up to each individual viewer? What do you think? Impressive or Offensive?
Hoffman, Barry. (2003). The Fine Art of Advertising. New York: Stewart, Tabori & Chang.
