Her Name, of Course, Means "Little Angel"

There's a small but interesting controversy going on right now about the painting seen here, and I think this controversy says a lot about the role of irony in public discourse.

Before reading on, take a minute to examine the painting--it's called "Blessed Art Thou"--by North Carolina artist Kate Kretz (click on the image to enlarge it). What do you notice about the painting? Who are the people in the painting? Where are they? What is your first reaction to the painting? Why do you react this way? What message do you think the painter is trying to get across to her audience?

After you've thought about these questions, read the artist's comments on the piece from her own blog. Here's an excerpt:

This painting addresses the celebrity worship cycle. [. . .]

Angelina Jolie was chosen as the subject because of her unavoidable presence in the media, the world-wide anticipation of her child, her "unattainable" beauty and the good that she is doing in the world through her example, which adds another layer to the already complicated questions surrounding her status.

Many of the commenters on her blog have simply reacted to the fact that Angelina Jolie is being portrayed like the Virgin Mary in traditional Christian art, and their comments either bash or defend Angelina or Christianity. But the painting, as the artist's comments make clear, is not a commentary or Jolie or on Christianity, but on our culture, which worships celebrities. Jolie isn't the Virgin and the artist knows it; she's being ironic. But that fact seems lost on most of her commenters.

So what's the lesson in this? One lesson (the one that's most relevant to our class right now) is that rhetorical analysis, which at its most basic consists of understanding an author's point and the choices he or she has made about how to convey that point, matters.

Please feel free to discuss the painting in the comments.