Roberts, Joe
ITDS 1145 – American Jesus
Summer 2012
The Calvary Nails of Rock Bottom In many Alcoholics Anonymous meetings the term “rock bottom” is used as often as the word recovery. In the painting “Calvary,” the artists presents to the audience two characters in a small room with objects of sinful desires. What is striking however, is the two very different men portrayed. A tattooed, pierced, and rough looking man is administering drugs intravenously into his arm. Or is it his arm? Behind this character, worthy of an intervention I might add, stands a bearded man dressed in white who is looking up at the ceiling with agony on his face. It is unclear whether or not it is this man’s arm, or the man in the chair. It is important to note that both arms have tattoos. While this could be argued as both men’s arm, let’s zero in on another detail that strikes at the heart of the audience – the face of the man dressed in white. First of all, who is this man? I asked my daughter, who is only 6 years old, to identify the man in white. Her immediate response was “Jesus.” How is it that we have been groomed to establish a connection with these images of visual piety? Is it because I take my daughter to church twice a week and have other images of this man Jesus in my home? Surely, this is not the case. So let’s assume that because this man is dressed in white, resembling pure and innocent, and he resembles many other forms of art depicting Jesus, that this man is indeed Jesus. Once we have established this man as Jesus we are drawn to his facial expression and after examining other contents of the room, we conclude that this facial expression is one of agony. Why? Is it because illicit drugs are being administered in his arm? Or is it because there is symbolism used here? I believe that the title of the painting has more to do with Jesus’ facial expression than the