Angelina Jolie as Virgin Mary?

This painting of Angelina Jolie, "Blessed Art Thou" generated instant controversy from the moment of its exhibition at the Miami Art Fair in January of 2007, attracting coverage by all the major television networks as well as major print media outlets around the world. Commenting on the painting in a weblog post Kretz says, “I was raised on a regimen of Catholicism and Technicolor films. This rich, lurid vocabulary, full of resplendent light, is used as a seductive devise to pose questions about the more complex or convoluted aspects of the world surrounding me . . . . This painting addresses the celebrity worship cycle. The title, ‘Blessed Art Thou’, is taken from a line in the Catholic prayer ‘Hail Mary’: ‘blessed art thou among women.’ Our culture is deifying celebrities, but in the bible, it is the meek who are blessed, so the title presents a question for the viewer to ponder as to who is ‘blessed.’” (http://katekretz.blogspot.com/2006_12_1_archive.html)

It is a very interesting work of art. Matthew 5 reads: 1Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2and he began to teach them saying: 3"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. 6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. 7Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. 8Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. 9Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. 10Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

One of the surprises Jesus brings is a reversal of fortune. He came to bring good news to the poor, release to the captives, sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, speech to the lame. He came that the first might be last, the lost might be found, and the dead might rise. He often uses words that jump out at us to get across his point. Its the kind of thing you see with with the reality tv show "The Biggest Loser". Normally being a loser is a bad thing in our society. People use the sign of an "L" made with the thumb and forefinger on their forehead as an insult. To be the biggest loser is especially bad...but not on "The Biggest Loser". Really the biggest loser is the biggest winner.

Jesus reverses the fortunes of the world. Thou Art Blessed!