Problems with The WORD

Barry Krammes

It has recently come to the attention of the art department that for the first time since its inception in 1990, the eradication of Kent Twtichell’s The WORD mural is actively being discussed by a variety of Biola administrators.

With over 1,000 public murals, Los Angeles is sometimes referred to as “the Mural Capital of the World.” Leading the L.A. pack is muralist, Kent Twitchell, who has created over 18 major works throughout the Los Angeles area. In a highly unusual turn of events, Twitchell donated his time and all the materials needed for the Biola mural project which is currently valued at well over $300,000.00.

In 1992 Twitchell won a major victory when a court awarded him damages for the removal of one of his most popular pieces, Our Lady of the Freeway. Again in 2006 what many considered to be his best work, the Ed Ruscha Monument, was destroyed. Currently Mr. Twitchell is in a second multi-million dollar lawsuit against the owners of the building that painted over this masterpiece, which took Twitchell almost a decade to complete. Years ago, Kent helped establish the Mural Conservancy of Los Angeles, a public works organization that strives to preserve and promote all original mural projects in Los Angeles County. Biola’s The Word mural is on the official roster of MCLA’s protected pieces.

For much of its existence there has been heated controversy surrounding The Word mural. It seems that approximately every four years a group of students question its integrity and by extension the integrity of the artist. In the spring of 1993, a number of non-Anglo Biola students returned from a diversity conference where Christian sociologist, Tony Campolo, was a featured speaker. Some of these students told Campolo about a giant painting of a “white supremacist” Jesus on campus that really bothered them. Campolo’s immediate response was “go back and tear it down.” Upon their return this group of students approached the art department and a meeting between them and Kent Twitchell was arranged. Kent spent over five hours with these students and near the end of the dialog; he volunteered to pay to have the mural sandblasted off the wall. At this point the students backed down. Later Dr. Cook found out about what happened and vowed that as long as he was president, the mural would not be removed. Instead, Biola University bestowed an honorary doctorate on Twitchell for his generous gift.

Like Rembrandt of old, it was important for Twitchell to use a Jewish model for the Biola Jesus, since God sent His Son to a particular people at a particular time and place. Twitchell visited the Holy Land on a number of occasions, carefully observing the features and characteristics of its people. He knew what kind of model he wanted, and when he discovered artist Jay Gam, a Russian Jew, Twitchell was satisfied. He was also pleased that an olive tree stood on the ground in front of the mural site. For him the tree was another reference to authentic historical context.

For years Twtichell had been doing what he referred to as “underground religious art.” He would paint mural portraits of his artist friends or favorite television actors and then inform his audiences that these contemporary images were really representations of specific biblical personages like Christ, or the disciples or one of the Marys. In 1984 he tried something that he had never attempted before. He created what he called his first “blatant” Christ mural. Everyone who looked at it immediately referenced a biblical Jesus.

South Los (Solos) gang members from an east Los Angeles barrio approached Twtichell about painting this blatant Latino Christ on the side of the Tiger Liquor Store where one of their members had been brutally murdered just weeks before. They enlisted the help of a nearby parish priest, who rallied the support of the entire surrounding community. Children and grandparents and those in-between came to fill in the paint-by-number image. At the conclusion of the project, a neighborhood potluck dinner and dedication service took place. The people of this Spanish quarter loved Kent’s 111th Street Jesus, a sweaty, migrant, working class, “come unto me” Christ, with arms outstretched ready to embrace the entire world. Twtichell tells people that since the mural was installed over twenty years ago, no more violent crimes have occurred in the area, which is something of a miracle.

With the 111th Street Jesus Mural under his belt, Twtichell was ready to take on a more daunting task, that of painting a worthy image of Christ for the former Bible Institute of Los Angeles. Kent Twitchell, a born-again Christian and fan of J. Vernon McGee and the Biola Hour was anxious to share his faith through his art. The one accessible place on earth he could freely paint what he truly believed was Biola University. In the Biola mural, Twitchell depicts Christ, the incarnate living Word, as well as the Bible, the recorded “Word of God.” A bigger-than-life, elongated Jesus, a Savior firmly planted on this earth, looks up to heaven as He generously offers the observer Holy Scripture, “God’s revealed Truth”; the document that holds the answers to all of life’s questions; and the foundation on which Biola was built and now steadfastly stands.

Kent’s image of Jesus, a bit intimidating and reserved, finds its parallel in ancient Eastern Orthodox church domes, where gigantic, larger than life-size images of Christ the Pantocrator (Lord of the Universe, Christ in Majesty, Ruler of All, Sustainer of the World) are found. The centrality of Christ and the massive scale in which He is always painted in these high ceiling church interiors, speaks of His presence permeating all things. Twitchell’s Christ is an expansive vision of the “King of kings” and the “Lord of lords.” This is no “buddy-Jesus” or “chummy friend,” but an all encompassing Christ who unites male and female; slave and free; Jew and Greek; east and west so that distinctive differences melt away in His all consuming Love. Two subtle shadows to the left of Christ reference the trinity.

Twitchell’s intended meaning is the polar opposite of what a “white supremacist” Jesus would insinuate. To refer to the mural in those terms is a gross misrepresentation. What is appropriate however is a healthy discussion regarding the effectiveness of Twitchell’s attempt to honor His Lord through visual imagery at a university that shares his high Christological and biblical worldviews. At the recent art symposium, On the Strange Place of Religion in Contemporary Art, key-note speaker, Dr. James Elkins stated, “Wherever heartfelt religion and informed art meet, one wrecks the other. Modern spirituality and contemporary art are rum companions; either the art is loose and unambitious (not the case with Twitchell) or the religion is one-dimensional and unpersuasive.” Critics have stated that the problem with the Jesus Mural is that it has somehow come to symbolize everything that’s wrong with Biola. “Twitchell’s towering Christ seems stiff and rigid, without feeling, legalistic, narrow-minded and judgmental; ready to whack anyone on the head who walks by.” Is Twtichell’s The Word, effective? On some days, for some people it is. For others, it never will be. That is the very nature of art. What powerfully speaks to one individual, is lost on another.

Noted author, Anne Rice, an atheist for over 40 years, has recently converted to Christianity and dedicated the rest of her life to honoring Christ through her writing. She has begun a series of painstakingly accurate historical novels on the life of Christ that endeavor to reflect both Christ’s humanity and His deity. Rice states, “We must seize the media of our age to tell the Christian story anew. It is our obligation to tell the story over and over and to use the best means that we have—with the hope of exploring and celebrating the mystery of the Hypostatic Union as well as the mystery of the incarnation—in a wholly fresh way.” What both Rice and Twitchell are attempting to do is extremely difficult. If nothing else; Twitchell’s mural demands that each passerby confront his or her personal vision of Jesus.

To tear Twtichell’s mural down would cause a backlash as great or greater than preserving it. Years ago, Provost Sherwood Lingenfelter wanted the art department to explore the possibility of creating other murals that would reflect different aspects of Christianity; works of art that would specifically speak to the notion of “every tribe and nation” in compelling ways. The one condition that made this difficult was the fact that Biola could provide no monetary reimbursement for the artist or artists involved. The art department would like to modify Lingenfelter’s suggestion and offer other possible solutions for implementation that could, if done right, strengthen the case for Twitchell’s piece.

• Invite and compensate a Biola art department professor to execute a second mural, conceptualized by a team of concerned Biola community members.

•Install a permanent metal marker (like those recently placed throughout campus) that provides important and accurate information regarding Twitchell and his intentions.

•Host an interdisciplinary Faculty Forum on the Jesus Mural in the fall 2008 semester, where faculty from a variety of disciplines would present brief position papers with nuanced, thoughtful and prayerful insights and suggestions for dealing with the mural.

•Video tape the session described above and create an interactive DVD with the faculty panel presentations as well as footage that describes Twtichell and his process. This could be given to individuals who are unable to attend the forum and need to hear what was said.