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The Jesus Corner

The Jesus Corner - Sculpture; Assemblage
Accession #: 3714.1
Title: The Jesus Corner
Object Type: Sculpture; Assemblage
Participants:
Kienholz, Edward (creator)
Physical Description: Large free-standing sculpture with a store-front style window, a recessed door and a facsimile sidewalk. The space behind the window contains found objects representing Jesus Christ. The space behind the doorway (the door has a glass panel) is filled with "junk". The doorway and the window are illuminated by incandescent bulbs.
Description: Between 1979 and 1983, Ed Kienholz and Nancy Reddin Kienholz created five works in "The Spokane Series," of which "The Jesus Corner" is one of the largest and most significant. The idea for the series, inspired by Ed's memory of an encounter years earlier with an old man in a residence hotel in Pasadena, was to create a major work about loneliness and aging. In 1979 the artists gained access to several buildings in downtown Spokane set for demolition, including the Pedicord Hotel, on West Riverside and the Young Hotel, on Bernard Street. While scouting the buildings, Ed and Nancy discovered a storefront window across the street from the Pedicord that was filled with carefully arranged pictures and symbols, as well as a jumble of many diverse objects comprising a personal shrine. They learned that the window had been created by Roland Thurman, who had apparently long since stopped paying the rent and disappeared. The artists carefully documented all the objects in the window, disassembled everything, and hauled it all back to their Sandpoint, Idaho, studio where they created "The Jesus Corner."
Category: Art
Subjects/Topics/Concepts:
Sculpture & Carving (Artwork)
Dimensions:
Object H x W x D 99 x 178 1/2 x 60"
Materials/Techniques:
metal (Material)
wood (plant material) (Material)
Plexiglas (TM) (Material)
paper (fiber product) (Material)
(Material)
mixed media environment (Technique)
Related Exhibits:
Credit Line: Gift of the Artists, 1994; Museum Purchase, Works From The Heart Art Acquisition Fund, 1994-1998, with contributions from Sue Ellen Heflin, Betty Ostheller, Michael Meagher, Maxine Martell and Harold Balazs
Copyright:
non-exclusive license to the MAC
Copyright Holder: Nancy Reddin Kienholz, Hope
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