Should Chocolate Jesus be Offensive?

Is it art or blasphemy? Artist Cosimo Cavallaro has created a life-size, anatomically correct, chocolate version of Jesus for display in mid-town Manhattan during the last week of Lent.

The sculpture, "My Sweet Lord" is made of 200 pounds of chocolate. Cavallaro's project was sponsored by LAB, an art studio. The sculpture is scheduled to move to the display window of mid-town hotel next week, but currently hotel staff are questioning their decision as many people have had adverse reactions to the sculpture.

The realm of art is open for interpretation, but many Christians believe the statue is derogatory. 1010 Wins has been reporting on the situation and quotes Cavallaro as describing his motivation to create the statue was not to offend. Rather, he wanted to be able to taste his devotion to religion.

This is not the first time Cavallaro has ventured into creating artwork with food. His most well-known medium is in sculpting cheese into and onto various objects such as chairs, coats, and even an entire bedroom. One of his works also includes ham. Cavallaro's artwork is to some pure genius and to others completely unartistic.

After visiting his website at www.cosimocavallaro.com, I found some of the photographs of his work somewhat offensive, especially one of mice being snapped in mouse-traps or the one of dead fish in toilet bowls.

However, I do beleive that artists have a right to express themselves. They have First Amendment rights like anyone else. Cavallaro's work is certainly different, but can it qualify as obscene? Obscenity is something that does not have clearly defined boundaries in American culture and is handled differently on a case by case basis. Should artwork like "My Sweet Lord" be censored?

The answer to that question should be "no," in my opinion. The chocolate sculpture of Jesus is art and it should be displayed on whatever stage chooses to host it. Not to mention, chocolate is something that is big around this time of year whether in the form of bunnies, chicks, and even crosses. Why can't Jesus be made of chocolate too?

I suppose the bigger issue in Cavallaro's sculpture is the fact that Jesus is sculpted to be anatomically correct. Traditionally, icons of Jesus do not portray him nude and this could be why Christians feel offended by the art. Cavallaro has stated that he wanted to portray Jesus as he truly was---not only a Savior, but a man.

Ultimately, the sculpture will mean something different to everyone. That is the beauty of art, it's meaning changes for each viewer because we each have our own unique perspective on life. Art comes from life and should be celebrated.

To see a picture of "My Sweet Lord" you can visit Cavallaro's website (the link is above). You will also find pictures of his other pieces as well as his biography.