Blessed Art Thou

Blessed Art Thou
ArtistKate Kretz Edit this on Wikidata
Year2000s
Mediumoil paint, acrylic paint, linen
[edit on Wikidata]

Blessed Art Thou is an oil-and-acrylic painting by American artist Kate Kretz.[1] It depicts actress Angelina Jolie as the Virgin Mary, hovering in the clouds with her children above a Wal-Mart store.[2]

Background

The painting directs attention to the celebrity worship cycle: each participant in the cycle perpetuates it while pointing a finger somewhere else.[3] The title of the painting, “Blessed Art Thou”, is gotten from a line in the Catholic prayer “Hail Mary”: “…blessed art thou among women...”.[4]

The painting was originally displayed in an exhibit that featured modern and contemporary art. The painting was exhibited at the Miami Art Fair in January 2007, and created a controversy that was covered by ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, and Fox television networks, as well as The International Herald Tribune, The New York Times, and many other international news sources.[citation needed] In 2007 the painting was for sale for $50,000.[2][5]

A full-size drawing study for the work was included in the exhibition "Beyond Re / Production: Mothering" curated by Felicita Reuschling for the Kunstraum Kreuzberg/Bethanien, Berlin in 2011. [citation needed]

References

  1. ^ Crosbie, Lynn (2007-01-09). "A hellish adoration of the holy Angelina". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2022-05-31.
  2. ^ a b "Angelina Jolie Versus Our Lady". campus.udayton.edu. Archived from the original on 2011-12-13. Retrieved 2011-10-22.
  3. ^ "Artist's work: 'Blessed Art' not". temple-news.com. 30 January 2007.
  4. ^ ""Angelic" Angelina Jolie". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved 2022-05-31.
  5. ^ "Painter depicts Jolie as Virgin Mary - USATODAY.com". usatoday30.usatoday.com. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  • Van Gelder, Lawrence, "Arts Briefly", New York Times, New York, NY, January 8, 2007 [1]
  • Hoberman, J., "A Mighty Heart, A Mightier Spotlight", Village Voice, New York, June 20, 2007 [2] Archived 2011-12-25 at the Wayback Machine