NY Art Exhibit Depicts Kim Kardashian as Jesus, Virgin Mary
An artist in Brooklyn, New York is making waves with her most recent art exhibit that features reality show star Kim Kardashian as Jesus, the Virgin Mary and a Satanic priestess.
The exhibit, entitled "The Passion of Kim Kardashian," was created by 23-year-old artist Hannah Kunkle and was recently shown for one night at the Palisades 906 venue in the Bushwick area of Brooklyn. Kunkle created a series of photoshopped images, each one portraying Kardashian as a god of a different religion.
One of the portraits shows Kardashian as the Virgin Mary, wearing a blue robe and surrounded by blue roses as a halo hovers over her head. Another piece of work shows Kardashian as Jesus, wearing a crown of thorns in front of a cross backdrop, surrounded by lambs and doves. A third creation shows Kardashian as a Hindu goddess, surrounded by lions and snakes.
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Kunkle told multiple media outlets that she has a fascination with Kardashian as a pop culture icon. "I think I probably defend her every day," Kunkle told the ANIMAL media outlet while standing outside of her art show. "I love Kim Kardashian. It's kind of unexplained, in my own head I don't really get it. Why do I like her so much? I really identify with her. She's such what we're not supposed to identify with as ladies."
The artist added to VICE magazine that she views Kardashian as the queen of pop culture. "I don't know if she's omniscient, but no one can deny she's not omnipresent. Kim floats above us all, even the deniers and the haters. We have accepted her into our lives via television screens, memes, and Instagram feeds. If Jay Z is the father and Yeezus is the son, then she is the ever-present holy ghost of pop culture."
Several local churches in the New York City area remain unamused by Kunkle's art exhibit, finding the images to be offensive and blasphemous.
"Leave Kim and Jesus separate," Pastor Reggie Stutzman of Real Life Church in the Bronx told the New York Daily News. "To cross so many lines and actually imagine her with a cross, which is the most important thing Jesus did, is inappropriate. There are other ways to depict that imagery without combining those images."
"It's deplorable," the pastor continued. "It's sacrilegious, irrelevant, and disrespectful. [...] It's idol worship."
