All the World's a Stage

Recently, I reported the conclusion of the saga that unfolded from the 2005 discovery of a Virgin Mary image under a highway in Chicago. The image drew jeers and cheers for years, until it was spray-painted with devil horns and then covered over by city officials. The image is now gone, but the story will live on, not only in a forum such as this, but on stage as well.

Playwright Tanya Saracho has penned Our Lady of the Underpass and it runs at Teatro Vista until the end of March. I haven’t seen or read the play, but this review from the Chicago Reader makes it sound like Saracho’s approach to the topic is very similar to Madonna of the Toast’s, in that they both leave the image in question up to the viewer: “It’s Saracho’s genius to keep questions of reality unresolved, to leave open the gap between an indisputable fact—a salt stain on a cement wall—and what human beings make of it: art, faith.”

Sounds like the Madonna of the Toast mantra: What do you see?

Apparently the play is a series of monologues that covers the range of attitudes about the image, from devout to derisory, which are separated by “clever choral recitations that bring to mind different types of prayer.”

This is not the first play inspired by these stories. Who remembers this post about The Jesus Hickey? While I can’t vouch for the quality of either play it does not surprise me that writers, visual artists, film directors and actors delve into these stories. If approached correctly, they can yield so much about human nature, and that’s the real power of these visual manifestations.

If anyone out there reading is in Chicago and happens to see the play, let me know what you think.

A Colorful Stone

Sergio Romero of Pocatello, Idaho, took a trip to Las Vegas last year and traded an antique coin purse for the colorful stone pictured above. According to this KPVI story, back at home while polishing the new acquisition Romero discovered what he sees as the Virgin Mary in the asparagus-tip shaped blue of the stone. Said Romero: “I'm not a religious man. This has kind of turned me to looking into religion. As a matter of fact, I think I might even go to church this Sunday.”

I don’t see the shape, but the jade and blue are dazzling. That must have been some antique coin purse. Perhaps sometime soon Romero will be able to get the purse back, because no amount of newly discovered faith is going to keep him from selling this on eBay, which he plans to do within the next month.

Potato Chips: A Salty Sacrament?

I’m a big fan of potato chips, both as snack and Madonna of the Toast fodder. In fact, right before I read about the Jesus chip above, I had just polished off a bag of jalapeno chips, the perfect compliment to a PB&J sandwich.

The chip that Linda and Brian Hershey found while eating at a restaurant in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, doesn’t seem to have any additional flavoring (I assume it was salted), unless you count the face of Jesus as a flavor. Regardless if anyone ever has the chance to taste this particular chip, the Hersheys very much consider the discovery a sign that they are on the right path in life. About six months ago they, along with their 15-year-old daughter, accepted Jesus into their lives, and this chip bolsters their decision. Furthermore, just before Linda noticed Brian about to eat the chip, according to this Chambersburg Public Opinion report, the couple had been talking about quitting smoking. And now, perhaps they will, or not.

Of course, the doubters have chimed in, accusing the Hersheys of doctoring the chip. I’ve looked at lots of chips and I don’t think this one has been altered. Selling it on eBay has also been brought up, as has eating it – I guess that would be like taking communion, but tastier. As of now, the Hersheys are undecided, though they are worried about preserving the chip and its crispy countenance.



I should put them in touch with the ultimate maven of potato chips that have iconic qualities: Myrtle Young. One of the true stars of Madonna of the Toast, Young is the friendly octogenarian from Indiana who to this day lives with her famous collection of potato chips that resemble famous figures like Bob Hope and Mickey Mouse. She’s been on every late show of the 1980s and her collection has been featured on The Simpsons – now that’s fame!

If the Hersheys read the book, they would know exactly how Young has kept her chips safe, even when she used to shuttle them all over the world. I don’t know if Brian and Linda will ever travel with their Jesus chip, but they are certainly in the process of getting some decent figurative mileage out of it . . .

Does an Image Trump Location?

Jubilee Fellowship parishioner Mary Mitchum took it upon herself to give the church’s lectern a new shine. According to this Augusta Chronicle article, Mitchum stripped the old finish off and applied a new coat of varnish. As soon as she brought the lectern back to the church someone claimed to see Jesus in the wood grain: “There were two eyes, a nose, hair and maybe even a halo.”

Now, I don’t see much of anything in this photograph, but as regular readers know by now, it isn’t about what I see. What do you see? I’m guessing in this instance many of you won’t see much, but here is the story nonetheless, orbiting around in the 24-hour news cycle, a fleeting shooting star that only a handful of people may ever actually witness.

I’ve spent time in Augusta, Georgia, and even been to a church there, twice – once when my grandmother remarried and then again when she passed away, back in the mid-90s. She had moved there and on more than one occasion I spent several weeks on end in those hot, humid summers. We stayed with extended family and they had a pool so it wasn’t that bad, but those trips were the first time I realized just how different the country is depending on geography. With most of my family peppered around the northeastern part of the US, the funniest accent I had heard was an uncle’s “a”-heavy Boston speak. The drawls in Georgia can be syrupy, the same way people tend to move when the heat is at its fiercest.

Fact is, due to all sorts of circumstances, life is different in Augusta than it is in Philadelphia or Berkeley or Austin. And the same was true back when I was a kid first visiting places outside of the area where I grew up.

When I first endeavored this whole Madonna of the Toast project I had assumed that the stories would be limited in terms of geographical range. I was wrong, happily. While there are some geographic tendencies for these stories, namely areas heavily populated by Spanish-speaking populations (e.g. California, Texas), for the most part the stories favor the image over where the image is seen.

I haven’t really fleshed this idea out yet, but I haven’t thought about Augusta, Georgia, in a while either. I haven’t been back there since that funeral, yet I still have strong associations with the place. These images of Jesus and Mary seem to transcend place on some level, which I guess is the true power of iconography.

More on this once I’ve thought about it more . . .

Recession Proof

About 10 years ago, during a remodeling, the wooden door seen above was installed at Jarrett Ford Lincoln Mercury in Dade City, Florida. Recently, because of the recession, people working at the car dealership have some extra time on their hands, and one of them saw Jesus on this door, according to this St. Petersburg Times article. Or is it Sasquatch or a “Persian prince” (whatever that means)? There are some different opinions about the image, but the form has clearly given some people in need of something to do, something to do.

Chips Davis, who runs a dent removal service, was the first to liken the 3-foot tall shape to Jesus: "Anybody who's seen pictures of the burial cloth and image of Christ that's on that cloth — that same image is on that door.” (Davis attends church; I would think he’d be able to name the Shroud of Turin.) Anyway, he took a photo, sent a copy to the St. Petersburg Times and posted the image on his Facebook page.

Receptionist Ruth Johnson is credited for the Sasquatch quip and customer James Bauman Jr. suggested, “Christ in a Jedi outfit . . . [or a] Persian king." Then, as the article explains it, Bauman touched on a number of topical cultural markers, citing “significance in the stain, just as there is in Barack Obama being president and Israel's conflict with Hamas.” He said: "I believe the Rapture is just around the corner.” It’s beyond the scope of this post to figure out how all of this bundles up into a sure sign of the end, but if you’re reading, John, feel free to leave a comment.

General manager Cliff Martin hadn’t noticed anything until it was pointed out to him: "I like to say we're blessed but we're not breaking any sales records, so maybe we're just blessed to be in business." Judging by how quickly the US is shedding jobs, I’d say he’s right.

Where Graffiti and Religion Meet

For the most part, Madonna of the Toast stories end in one of two ways: they drop off the media’s radar, fading into obscurity or they get sold on eBay, making the attention last a bit longer (but not that much longer). But there is a third, less common possibility: defacement.



Above, a devil graffiti painted atop the Virgin Mary. The image in question is in Chicago, underneath the Kennedy Expressway. A hospital worker first spotted the image back in 2005 and since then people have wandered through litter and homeless encampments to leave a memento and say a prayer. The city’s department of transportation attributes the belled image to road salt, but that has not dissuaded the faithful, or the detractors.

This is not the first time the image has been vandalized. According to this article from Medill Reports (a creation of Northwestern University’s graduate journalism program), the image has been the victim of two previous attacks. Once, the words “big lie” were scrawled across the shape; the second time someone riffed on Edvard Munch’s The Scream.



In the past, the city has scrubbed away the paint, but not this time, so they just used one of the classic methods of graffiti abatement: a rectilinear paint over.

I like graffiti. It can be artful, political, smart, cute and funny. I think there is a lot to be said for the public reclaiming certain spaces and surfaces. Hitting someone’s home should never be done, unless requested. Yes, much of what gets tagged, stenciled or painted in urban settings is private or government property, making it a fine line (at least from a legal perspective).

So, what do we make of someone painting over an image that some people find important? The articles say that no one has complained about Mary being painted over by the city, but that doesn’t answer the question. Thoughts?

A Stony Jesus

"I ain't no rock scientist, but call Dr. Dre ...” So uttered Erik "Smoke" Jones. According to this Contra Costa Times article, Jones discovered the face of Jesus on this stone, one of many that comprises the counter at the store Cali Style in Redlands, California. Jones told his boss Jonathan Hernandez about the discovery, and presumably Hernandez told the media. The counter has been in the shop for years, but Jones only noticed the image a couple of months ago.

The writer reports that from different angles the face better resembles Che Guevara or just a black splotch. Whatever it is you see, however, Jones adamantly denies having painted the stone, and while neither a geologist nor Dr. Dre were consulted, the reporter does make it a point to say that the form seems to be a natural occurrence.

According to the article, “the image is viewed more as a curiosity than a sign of divine presence.” In fact, Hernandez hopes the visual manifestation doesn’t attract too many of the devout. I guess lots of folks praying and lighting candles could interfere with the business, and if really large groups began to congregate they could also get in the way of Hernandez’s business next door: THC Smoke Shop. Makes for a new interpretation of this phrase from the article: “stony store counter.”

Without incriminating myself too much, I can say that several years of living in California did prove to me that the state’s pot culture is something truly um, err, uhh . . .