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.

Acclaimed photographers such as Catherine Opie, Joan Fontcuberta, Greg Semu, Andres Serrano, David LaChapelle, Renee Cox and Bettina Rheims offer fresh – and often provocative – depictions of Christ that address issues from race to sexuality to gender. The Figure of Christ in Contemporary Photography guides the reader through these alternative representations, analysing the complex social, political and cultural issues that the photographs bring to light.

Content:

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




Right side:
Katerina Belkina, Personal Identity (Series: Revival), 2016, Archival Pigmemt Print