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Distributed for Reaktion Books

The Figure of Christ in Contemporary Photography

In the first book devoted to representations of Jesus Christ in contemporary photography, Nathalie Dietschy presents a rich range of images from the 1980s to the present day. Works by acclaimed artists such as Andres Serrano, Catherine Opie, Wang Qingsong, Joan Fontcuberta, Vanessa Beecroft, David LaChapelle, Renee Cox, and Bettina Rheims offer fresh—and sometimes provocative—depictions of Christ, embodied by a woman, for example, or a person of color, addressing issues from race to sexuality to gender. Stunningly illustrated throughout, The Figure of Christ in Contemporary Photography guides the reader through these alternative representations that often challenge and renew tradition, analyzing the complex social, political, and cultural issues that the photographs bring to light.

336 pages | 218 color plates | 8 3/4 x 11 | © 2020

Art: Photography

Religion: Religion and Society


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Table of Contents

Introduction: Jesus Christ in Non-religious Art

Part One: Revelatory Photographic Developments
1 The Image of Christ in the History of Photography
2 Photography and the vera icon
3 Faces of Man and the Face of God

Part Two: Quotations and Reinterpretations
4 Secular Stagings
5 From Text to Image

Part Three: Identity Claims and Political Statements
6 Self-portraits as Christ
7 A Female Christ
8 A Black Christ
9 Christ and Homosexuality
10 Christ and the Socially Excluded
11 Combining Cultures

Part Four: Provocation and Scandal
12 Andres Serrano’s Piss Christ
13 Renee Cox’s Yo Mama’s Last Supper
14 Elisabeth Ohlson Wallin’s Ecce Homo

Conclusion: Transgression and Reintegration

References
Bibliography
Acknowledgements
List of Illustrations
Index

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