Holy Week Angst Over Naked Chocolate Jesus

Sculpture By Cosimo Cavallaro To Debut At Gallery In NYC

(AP)  The Easter season unveiling of a milk chocolate sculpture of Jesus Christ, dubbed “My Sweet Lord” by its creator, left a sour taste Thursday in the mouths of a Catholic group infuriated by the anatomically correct confection.

“This is one of the worst assaults on Christian sensibilities ever,” said Bill Donohue, head of the watchdog Catholic League. “It's not just the ugliness of the portrayal, but the timing — to choose Holy Week is astounding.”

The 6-foot sculpture by artist Cosimo Cavallaro was to debut Monday evening, the day after Palm Sunday and just four days before Roman Catholics mark the crucifixion of Jesus Christ on Good Friday. The final day of the exhibit at the Lab Gallery inside midtown Manhattan's Roger Smith Hotel was planned for Easter Sunday.

“The fact that they chose Holy Week shows this is calculated, and the timing is deliberate,” said Donohue, whose group represents 350,000 Catholics nationwide.

He called for an economic boycott of the hotel, which he described as “already morally bankrupt.”

The gallery's creative director, Matt Semler, said the Lab and the hotel were overrun with angry telephone calls and e-mails about the exhibit. Although he described Donohue's response as “a Catholic fatwa,” Semler said the gallery was considering its options amid the criticism.

“We're obviously surprised by the overwhelming response and offense people have taken,” said Semler, adding that the Holy Week timing was an unfortunate coincidence. “We are certainly in the process of trying to figure out what we're going to do next.”

The artwork was created from more than 200 pounds of milk chocolate, and it features Christ with his arms outstretched as if on an invisible cross. Unlike the typical religious portrayal of Christ, the Cavallaro creation does not include a loincloth.

Cavallaro, who was raised in Canada and Italy, is best known for his quirky work with food as art: Past efforts include repainting a Manhattan hotel room in melted mozzarella, spraying five tons of pepper jack cheese on a Wyoming home and festooning a four-poster bed with 312 pounds of processed ham.

The Christ sculpture will be on display April 2-7 from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m., with a final showing from midnight to 1 a.m. on Easter Sunday. Its location on the first floor ensures attention from the thousands of passers-by in the busy neighborhood just north of Grand Central Terminal.

Semler was particularly upset by the call for a boycott of the hotel, which he said was not involved in the selection of “My Sweet Lord.”

It's not the first time that Donohue's group and the art world have been at odds. A painting of “The Holy Virgin Mary” that used a splash of elephant dung drew outrage in 1999.

[kass56]

I wonder what the response would have been , if i white chcolate was used. Why dark chocolate?

[randalds]

Well, that and an uncensored picture of the chocolate Jesus. I'm still curious how well hung he is. Being as he's black (or rather dark brown) I assume the artist made his genitals racially correct too. LOL!

[randalds]

"Yes because god hates a hypocrite and a fanatic and so do I." Posted by RandalDS at 03:37 AM : Mar 31, 2007

-Case and point, you must not be an true atheist, because in this statement you've acknowledged that God does indeed exist by stating that He hates "hypocrites".

Fact is RandalDS you are searching for answers in life, and you are confused. For this reason I hope you are feeling some conviction in your heart to come to know the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal savior. Only He can erase the obvious doubts you are having. He loves you.
Posted by singinrick at 02:07 AM : Apr 01, 2007

To quote the Great Charlie Brown in A Charlie Brown Christmas "Don't you know a sarcasm when you here one?" Being an atheist doesn't mean you take some sort of vow never to mention god anymore then never mentioning Bozo the Clown. The only thing I'm searching for right now is a good deal on a Mexican Riviera Cruise for a month or so from now. Minimum 8 nights and a suite only of course.

[trq1-2009]

My first encounter with a chocolate Jesus was back in 1976, and it was at a fundamentalist country fair. Now, suddenly, the very same idea is sacrilegious.

godzooks.blogspot.com

[randalds]

Posted by ecuadoriana at 09:57 AM : Mar 31, 2007

What gave you the idea I'm a christian? I'm an atheist.

[ecuadoriana]

"Yes because god hates a hypocrite and a fanatic and so do I." Posted by RandalDS at 03:37 AM : Mar 31, 2007

Wow. That's so weird. I've always been led to believe all you god lovers believed that god loves unconditionally, that he/she doesn't hate, hate being a human condition of sin, hate is just a manifistation of jealousy, & jealousy/coveting was mentioned as one of those "thou shall not" commandments. Don't you all go around preaching how jesus was supposed to love & accept everyone, that only his dad, god, holds the right to judge, though w/out hate, that mere mortals- historically all sinners (because didn't adam eat some sort of forbidden fruit because he was a putz & also a snotty little brat because he got all whiney "Eve made me do it" like he had been tied down & forced by eve, who was just doing what wives are expected to do: get on down with the snake & also gather grocery supplies for dinner- was it her fault adam wouldn't get a job & so all she could get for dinner was an apple....I digress) are asked to love one another as jesus would...and all that stuff.

Yet, there is RandalDS going around hating & judging & doing it all in the name of god. That's so weird. Glad I'm not christian. Saves me the trouble of having to go around hating people who I disagree with or who disagree with me. RandalDS can do all the hating for us all!

BTW, RandalDS, you sound like a "fanatic' yourself so you must hate yourself. How so christian of you to spread so much hatred around!

[randalds]

He attacks me on here with insults and false accusations daily. Don't let him get to you, just lift him up in prayer.

God Bless,

Rick
Posted by singinrick at 08:33 AM : Mar 30, 2007

Insults? Yes because god hates a hypocrite and a fanatic and so do I. False accusations? Never. Ever time I accuse you of lying about something I have been fair and right on the mark. It's not my fault or problem if the truth hurts you.

[randalds]

Pray for me? Hell I'm still trying to figure out how the artist decided how well hung do you make the son of god? LOL!

[missut2]

Turn the other cheek at RandalDS and other non-believers on these boards. Pray for him(them), yes, but don't get into an argument with him. I speak from experience on here. They only want to argue in order to rip on Christians, that's it.

He attacks me on here with insults and false accusations daily. Don't let him get to you, just lift him up in prayer.

God Bless,

Rick
Posted by singinrick at 08:33 AM : Mar 30, 2007


Thanks for the advice! It's hard to read their attacks, which are relentless. But you are correct...I will lift them up in prayer and ask God to speak to their hearts. I don't think they have any idea of the power of prayer!

Dianne

[troyfreedman]

I am Catholic and submit to the magisterium in all matters of faith & morals. Catholic League president Bill Donahue's vitriolic response is absurd. His behavior is made worse by his ongoing vindictive action once the hotel removed the display. Donahue has yet to state what is the offending content of the piece.

Nude? It is likely that Jesus was crucified without the dignity of clothing. Do we prefer an emasculate Christ? Lets not forget, "like unto us in all things except sin". Admittedly, chocolate & nudity connote sensuality, and yet Calvary is the consummating, life-giving, and matrimonial act of a bridegroom for his bride, the church.

Chocolate? Perhaps it underscores the secularization of the paschal holiday, which is preceded by Lent during which a large number of people forgo . . . that's right: chocolate.

Portrayal as food? I need not remind the CL that Jesus self-describes as "true food" and "true drink".

Irreverent? I can see no reason to object to the image used to represent our Lord; if anything, the physical sufferings are too sanitized.

I am not positing an endorsement of this piece; I am simply embarrassed to have Bill Donahue represent me as a Catholic in the public forum and challenge the leadership of the CL to provide an intelligent defense of its leader or apologize.

[a8m3h]

JESUS WOULD SAY "LORD, FORGIVE WHAT THEY DO, THEY DON'T KNOW WHAT THEY DO"

I WILL SAY MAY THE CHOCOLATE MELT ALL OVER THEM...THEN THEY WILL BE COVERD WITH CHRIST'S LOVE

[frb01]

Can we possibly have one holy week some year, where they are not bringing up some controversy and instead reflect on what the week really is about.

[shamrocker6]

I agree with others that this isn't a REAL likeness of Jesus; I've seen paint by numbers of Jesus hung on walls like some sacred icon...lol.

Also, we rant and rave how the mullahs get furious over disrespect for their prophet, and here we have the EXACT SAME BEHAVIOR, don't we?

Let me clarify this behavior for those of you who find it so fanatical: No prophet should be disrespected by anyone, and to debase their piety by mean-spirited cartoons or indecent portrayals is considered a personal attack on those who regard these prophets as sacred messengers. Show some R.E.S.P.E.C.T.; it costs nothing.

[toolmangler-2009]

The fact that people get 'torn out of the saddle' by another persons interpretation of Christ, but aren't concerned in the least about Christs 'interpretation of them. As a 'chocoholic' I am more 'aghast at the sheer waste of this 'precious commodity' than the shape of it. Christ merely asked that we love him and care for our fellow man, not one whit more, not one whit less.

[pakaal]

RandalDS Wrote: "Have no doubt that the bible beaters will use this chocolate Jesus as a fundraising tool."

Well, they've already succeeded in shutting the exhibit down, so there ya go.

Funny how CBS has already posted a story on the show's cancellation, but this story's still up.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/03/30/ap/national/main2629821.shtml

[randalds]

Daystar is currently conducting one of their montly (?) "Sharathons."

What they call "sharing" appears to consist of endless hours of begging or cajoling listeners to send Daystar money.


Posted by tuckerndfw at 07:28 PM : Mar 30, 2007

LOL! Every once in awhile I pause on those channels while channel surfing and I just can't believe some of the garbage they say to raise money. And you just KNOW that most of their contributors can probably barely pay their own bills or buy food, but yet they send the money in to have some charlatan "pray" over their letters or heal them through the TV screen. It's a sick joke.

[tuckerndfw]

I think that works both ways too. Have no doubt that the bible beaters will use this chocolate Jesus as a fundraising tool. They'll scream and cry and moan about how they need even more money from the social security checks of the people they have conned to fight "outrages" like this. A win-win for all concerned.

Posted by RandalDS at 07:10 PM : Mar 30, 2007

We agree.

Daystar is currently conducting one of their montly (?) "Sharathons."

What they call "sharing" appears to consist of endless hours of begging or cajoling listeners to send Daystar money.

[randalds]

Religious groups reliability provide millions of dollars in free publicity to those they claim to oppose.

Posted by tuckerndfw at 07:01 PM : Mar 30, 2007

I think that works both ways too. Have no doubt that the bible beaters will use this chocolate Jesus as a fundraising tool. They'll scream and cry and moan about how they need even more money from the social security checks of the people they have conned to fight "outrages" like this. A win-win for all concerned.

[tuckerndfw]

Religious groups reliability provide millions of dollars in free publicity to those they claim to oppose.

The "DaVinci Code" would have probably never made it to mainstream bookstores had the Catholic church not provided the same free services.

That kind of publicity cannot be bought.

Thanks, Catholic church, for your efforts in promoting literature & art.

BTW, the "DaVinci Code" was one of the worst books I've ever read. Illogical plot, weak (cartoonish) characters and poorly written.

There is little doubt this "Chocolate Jesus" is as lame as the "DaVinci Code."

[randalds]

How do we know it's Jesus? Just because the artist says so. Since no one knows what Jesus looked like then it's nearly certain that he didn't look like this sculpture. Much ado about nothing, though I still hope he does an anatomically correct virgin Mary.