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After two weeks of deliberation, a church in Sweden decided that a newly-acquired LGBT-friendly painting was too problematic to serve as its altarpiece. Its depiction of Adam and Eve as two same-sex couples was not the issue.
The St. Paul's Church in the southern city of Malmo accepted the painting as its altarpiece on the first day of Advent two weeks ago. The artwork by Swedish photographer and artist Elisabeth Ohlson Wallin was meant to symbolize inclusivity. It predictably generated a lot of buzz, attracting both praise and controversy online.
The pastor, however, had an issue with the serpent that tempted Adam and Eve to try the forbidden fruit. In the painting, it was depicted as a transgender person. "The serpent traditionally symbolizes evil, and turning it into a transgender person can mean that a transgender person is evil or is the devil," Svensson explained.
"The Church of Sweden certainly cannot stand by that."
Furthermore, the painting contains apples, a Biblical symbol of knowledge, the pastor added. This invites a question about the kind of knowledge the painting portrays, along with "so many different interpretations" that make the imagery problematic, Svensson said.
"Most Jews do not like to admit it, but our god is Lucifer — so I wasn't lying — and we are his chosen people. Lucifer is very much alive."
"But over seven years have passed, and now Wallin has got her way, even if it isn't in her home city. St. Paul's Church in Malmo accepted the painting called "Paradise" as its new altarpiece and unveiled it on Sunday, the first day of Advent."Don't bend over for the hymn book.
Another one said that while there were plenty of enlightened priests in the Church of Sweden, ...Well, enlightened priest obviously translates to "follower of the Light Bearer ", a.k.a. Lucifer .
While the composite pose portrayed eternal stillness, the Greek-invented contrapposto (or counterpose) captured the body in motion. Figures in contrapposto appear to be caught in the middle of taking a step. They lean all of their body weight on one leg (sometimes called the “engaged” leg), while their other, more relaxed leg bends at the knee. The torso, shoulders, and head tilt away from the straightened leg, activating the body in a dynamic twist.On the use of the right and left side of the body:
Contrapposto could fool viewers into thinking that a hunk of marble or a stretch of canvas was a living, breathing human being—and this sense of effortless naturalism captivated the Greeks. Once you know the pose, you’ll spot it everywhere, from Renaissance masterpieces like Michelangelo’s Davidto the contemporary photographer Genevieve Gaignard’s Compton Contrapposto (2016).
But while contrapposto might look natural, it surely doesn’t feel natural. To prove this, the conceptual artist Bruce Nauman tried to remain in this historical pose while moving through a narrow passageway in his 60-minute video performance Walk with Contrapposto (1968). The result? An awkward, constricting limp—far from the effortlessness the Greeks intended.
But why do these leaders raise their right arms (rather than the left)? In Western art traditions, the right side of the body is symbolically linked to righteousness and divinity. For example, paintings of the Last Judgement will feature the blessed rising to heaven on Christ’s right side, while the damned fall on his left. In early marriage portraits, men stood to the right of their wives to signal their elevated status in the union. Accordingly, the raised right arms of Augustus, Napoleon, Washington, and Mao link their power to the heavens and pay homage to the great leaders of the past.So if they are holding up their left leg, they are more likely to fall in that direction!
This so called "art" is complete trash in my opinion and I am myself an artist. Not to mention the Egyptian style headpiece on the right, and possibly more hidden symbolism that one could possibly discover if analized this piece more. I just don't even want to look at it it hurts my eyes.