Following 9/11 and the U.S. War On Terror, the Bush Administration used Christianity as a banner for U.S. patriotism, and spiritual and political superiority. At the same time, Jesus was becoming an emblem for the hip, fashionable and profit-driven.

Logos: Born Again in the USA, multi-media, multi-site project, 2006

Logos: Born Again in the USA

Throughout both terms in office, George W. Bush frequently used what theologian Martin Marty described as “God talk” in the March 10, 2003, edition of Newsweek. He called for a “crusade” against terrorists, professed that “our nation is chosen by God and commissioned by history to be a model to the world of justice,” and declared "Americans are a free people, who know that freedom is the right of every person and the future of every nation. The liberty we prize is not America's gift to the world, it is God's gift to humanity."

At the same time, Jesus was becoming an emblem for the hip, fashionable and profit-driven. Celebrities, including Ashton Kutcher and Paris Hilton, sported “Jesus Is My Homeboy” t-shirts by the Los Angeles-based company Teenage Millionaire (one million of units had been sold, according to the New York Times in 2005). Fashion’s 2005 fall season featured sweaters by Dsquared with the slogan “Jesus Loves Even Me,” collections by Derek Lam and Yves Saint Laurent included Christian iconography, and the Christian Booksellers Association reporting $84 million in sales at bookstores and gift shops in 2004.

Yogyakarta, Indonesia

In Yogyakarta, Indonesia, I collaborated with a group of 10 young artists (Novi, Anton, Puji, Roly, Anto, Aries, Karyadi, Gedhek, Nova and Arie Dyanto) on a large wall that included the posters, stencils and spray paint works. The project took place over two weeks, starting with discussions about the message that the Bush administration is communicating to Muslims around the world. The posters were installed in a configuration that highlighted literal bombing as well as airdropped propaganda leaflets in the Middle East and elsewhere. The response was overwhelming supportive, with many passersby honking horns and giving the thumbs-up. The owner of the wall came out and thanked us for our work, as did the family across the street. We also got covered by a local newspaper, TrulyJogja.com. 

Capitalizing on these recent trends, "Logos: Born Again in the U.S.A." explores the relationships between Christianity, fashion and American patriotism and propaganda.

I created two designs for 20"x20" posters: 1) an image of Jesus and 2) the fish symbol with “USA” scripted inside of it. Both images are in red, white, and blue with a highly graphic/commercial style.

The posters were installed in different contexts:

— In San Francisco the were posted on commercial poster walls, competing with and adding to the propaganda of advertising. The images are purposely ambiguous, with the intent to create a dialogue.

As I posted on the iPod wall in downtown, what looked to be a well-to-do couple stopped to look, and kept asking if it had to do with the war in Iraq as a protest, to which I asked them what they thought the message was. They launched into their support for the war and that they are Christians and believe “we” (the U.S.) are doing the right thing. 2) Two other groups of people got the message and were in complete support of it, believing that Christianity is being used as a tool for propaganda.

Paintings, Placards, God’s Eyes

In addition to the posters, Wilson created a series of paintings, placards, and God’s eye works to accompany the overall body of work.