I was checking out an antiques store in New Paltz, New York last fall, when I saw this painting of Jesus on black velvet. It instantly grabbed my attention, as something so bad that it was good. I was completely enamored of this painting, both for the total cheese factor, and the mystifying question of why he was painted with a single front tooth. I thought about buying it, and my girlfriend talked me out of it, with her argument that it was such a bad depiction of Jesus (with that one tooth) that it would be sacrilegious to own it. I disagreed with that notion, but figured, I have enough art filling my home as it is, so I’ll just take a photograph of it and enjoy it in that form.
However, as time went on, I found myself still thinking about this painting … it became a running joke with my girlfriend, as I had referred to him as “Snaggletooth Jesus” and we shared laughs numerous times at such a ridiculous description (and hopefully calling Jesus “snaggletooth” isn’t sacrilegious either).
I mean, look at it – there’s so much to enjoy here (and wonder about) beyond the snaggletooth: he’s a giant figure in the moonlit night overlooking earth, which hovers in purple clouds with a mysterious deep fissure in the plannet running through the Atlantic Ocean. What was the artist thinking with this scene?
After I came to the realization that Snaggletooth Jesus was on my mind on a regular basis, I decided that I should just go ahead and buy it. But New Paltz is about an hour and a half away, so a trip to go get him would be a significant investment of time. I decided to reach out to the antiques shop about his availability … and … found out he was bought by someone else!! I was very disappointed, as I was ready to make the drive if I knew I could get it.
Lesson learned: don’t listen to outside opinions when it comes to what art I want to collect – if it really strikes me, I should just buy it. I hope he’s in a good home and being appreciated.
