Jennifer Carrozza
Artist, Designer & Educator
My original concept behind this work was to draw attention to what is valued and visually abundant in the church, and contrasting it with abundant modern visual content, in this case, pornography. For these cut paper pieces, I used different skin tones to create a color pallet that correlated with the original colors used in the manuscripts to make the pieces as unassuming as possible.
Conceptually, this series was initially inspired by the history behind iconoclasm within early Christian visual arts culture. In the early days of Christianity, the religious, in part because of widespread illiteracy, often kept images of saints and the trinity on their person and in their homes. However, at one point, the church declared this practice illegal and destroyed thousands of pieces of art, claiming that these people were worshiping images too much and forgetting the immaterial nature of their true God. This turn of events is what compelled me to compare early iconography to pornography. Today, although there is a lot of discussion about sex and body positivity, pornography is still seen as something dirty and explicit. However, the pornography industry is outrageously successful, making tons of money every year, proving that most of us, in one way or another, are consumers of it. Because of this I wanted to compare and contrast these two forms of ‘forbidden visual worship’ – one from the past and one from the present – by juxtaposing them in this way.
My prints are also tied to a similar exploration between contemporary and historical religious iconography in the Roman Catholic Church. These images of Martyrs are compositionally inspired by cheap commercial prayer cards, but use symbols, materials, and deep contrast more commonly found in early manuscripts and relics. Although they may seem irreverent, this work is definitely heavily inspired by my love, not contempt, for religious art history. Contrary to the postmodern tradition, I adore using imagery and symbols from the past without passing negative judgment on them. Using modern methods to create work with subject matter that is usually seen as being dated- studied instead of created in contemporary times- is all part of my personal exploration of my relationship with visual arts and faith.
All of my work tends to be based around my ever-present desire to express a myriad of conflicting opinions. Mixed messages are a universal concept and are, in my opinion, the driving forces behind what makes some art successful and interesting, while a lack of it allows other pieces to fall flat. It is wholly my intent with this series to express love and contempt for both religious and “obscene” materials. This work, hopefully, will inspire, if nothing else, a conversation about what can and cannot be considered iconoclasm; but these pieces also speak to the sanctity of the human body, and the hypocrisy behind the condemnation of religious iconography that society holds to this day.
The imagery I appropriate for my own work tends to be used with an air of sincerity- unlike the post-modern sarcasm that still permeates most religious works today. However, no matter a viewer’s personal opinions or biases on religion and erotica, martyrs and the commercialization of faith, I expect this series is capable of making them reanalyze their original assumptions. This is what I strive for, more then any sort of clarity and simplification of a singular message meant to tear down or promote spirituality or luridness.