Lego Logos
© 1995 Ginger Henry Geyer
glazed porcelain with acrylic
25 parts, installed 4" x 15 1/2" x 21"
Lego Logos is another play on words...this time the BIG word, the one which when paraded around too loudly, too colorfully, too brashly, tends to make most of us uncomfortable. The artist Ernst Barlach once said, "The word 'God' is too big for my mouth..."
Logos means Word, but it was long after making this Lego Logos that I discovered the meaning for Legos. A Danish toy, it means "I assemble" or "I put together". So it is, with an emphasis on "I" , me, myself, that "I put together the Word". And so I did, with considerable trial and error, and breakage. This is no plastic JEEZUS!
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, just before his execution at the hands of the Nazis, said, "It seems to me that the great question for Christians from now on is, 'Who is Jesus Christ for me?' " Jesus himself repeatedly asked his disciples, "But who do you say that I am?" (Matthew 16:15) Though it seems trendy these days to debate his nature, at least there is discussion. But as we deconstruct Jesus, do we play with certain personas and discard others? Besides other symbols of the faith which actually appear in Lego sets, you'll find ten common conceptions/misconceptions for Jesus in these porcelain Legos:
The Good Teacher--a nice role model
Robin Hood --the radical who steals from the rich to give to the poor
Fireman--offers fire insurance from Hell and rescues the chosen
Sweet Little Jesus Boy--the one who liked flowers, kids and sheep
Holy Ghost--glows in the dark and knocks on doors
Doctor/Healer-- Mr. Fix-It
Space Policeman--giving out celestial parking tickets
Pirate--the mean-spirited, capricious, vengeful God
Mr. Wizard--with his bag of magic/miracle tricks
Knight in Shining Armor--the "Onward Christian Soldier"?
