Christ The Redeemer

The image shown here depicts one of the world's most well-known works of public art. It's known as "Christ The Redeemer".

It's always struck me as a bit strange that the statue is located in Rio De Janeiro, which is also known for its colorful and carnal Carnival, and for its equally colorful beaches, where the swimming suits are sometimes so skimpy that they might as well not exist. It would be comparable to locating such a statue on the outskirts of Las Vegas.

However, regardless of what one may think of its location, there's no question that the statue is a big tourist attraction. There's also no question that it plays a role in terms of drawing people's attention to Christ, if only for a moment. After looking at this statue, it is impossible to deny that Christianity plays a major role in the lives of many people.

In my mind's eye, I can see a comparably influential sculptural work located on the campus of the Christian Artists' Resource Center, which would be an ambitious Christian ministry of the arts. Specifically, I would like to see a large sculptural grouping in which Christ would be in the center of a group of individuals who represented various major artistic disciplines. There would be a jazz sax player, a painter (with palette and brush), a writer (seated before a notebook computer), a cinematographer (with movie camera), a photographer (with camera), a ballet dancer, a choral singer and possibly others. The objective would be to portray the idea that all of those artistically talented people had dedicated their lives to the goal of serving the Lord with their respective talents.

I don't think that the individual statues would need to be as monumental as the "Christ The Redeemer" statue is in terms of size, but certainly, they would be lifesize, at the very least, and probably a lot larger than that. When they were all gathered together into one location, the effect could potentially be extremely impressive. To heighten the effect, it might be cool to place the sculptural grouping in front of an extraordinarily beautiful and photogenic backdrop, such as a large manmade waterfall.

The sculptural grouping might be located somewhere on the grounds of God's Glorious Gospel Gardens (the botanical garden on the campus of the Christian Artists' Resource Center).

In addition, I envision a high relief sculpture or a mosaic mural, based on that same image, located right next to the front entrance gates and the Visitor's Center.

Miniature replicas of the grouping could be sold in the gift shop (located inside the Visitor's Center), along with printed products (postcards, greeting cards, fine art prints, etc.) depicting the statues. One might also sell a DVD documentary which would tell the story of how the sculptural grouping was created.

It would also be nice if a highly talented Christian painter (such as Frank Ordaz) could create a full-color painting based on that same scene. Prints of such a painting and various products featuring that painting could likewise be sold for fundraising purposes.