Christ of the Ozarks

Christ of the Ozarks statue is a monumental sculpture of Jesus located near Eureka Springs, Arkansas, atop Magnetic Mountain. It was erected in 1966 as a "Sacred Project" by Gerald L. K. Smith. The statue stands 65.5 feet (20.0 meters) high.

Christ of the Ozarks
36.409000°N 93.725268°W / 36.409000; -93.725268
LocationEureka Springs, Arkansas, United States
Typestatue
Height20 metres (66 ft)
Completion date1966
Dedicated toJesus Christ

Background

During the Great Depression, Gerald L. K. Smith served as an organizer for Huey P. Long's Share Our Wealth movement and led it briefly following Long's assassination in 1935. After many years of highly controversial, religiously charged activism that was primarily characterized by Holocaust denial, virulent racism, antisemitism, and pro-Nazi sympathies,[1] Smith retired to Eureka Springs, Arkansas, where he bought and renovated an old mansion. On other parts of the estate property, he planned a religious theme park, which he called "Sacred Projects". He commissioned the centerpiece, a gigantic statue of Jesus, completed in 1966. It is called Christ of the Ozarks.[2]

He also completed a 4,100-seat amphitheater. This is the site of seasonal annual outdoor performances of The Great Passion Play, styled after the show performed in Oberammergau, Germany. It is performed 3 nights a week from the first week of May through the end of October.[3]

Design

The statue was primarily the work of Emmet Sullivan, who also worked on nearby Dinosaur World. He had assisted in the work at Mount Rushmore. The statue is modernistic and minimalistic; there is little facial detail or expression, and the lines and forms are generally simplified. The arms are outstretched straight, sixty five feet from the tip of one finger to another, suggesting the Crucifixion; however the cross is not depicted.

It sits on 320 tons of concrete and was designed to withstand winds of 500 miles an hour. The statue, which was completely built by hand out of steel and mortar, is also reinforced in a way to withstand the force of a passing tornado.[4]

It has been nicknamed "Gumby Jesus" and "Our Milk Carton with Arms" by critics.[5][6]

The Christ of the Ozarks is featured briefly in the 2005 movie Elizabethtown and in the 1988 movie Pass the Ammo. It is also featured during the intro theme to True Detective, Season 3, which was filmed in the Ozarks region of Arkansas. It is featured in a 2018 documentary The Gospel of Eureka. The art collective Indecline hung a banner on it in July 2021 that said "God Bless Abortions"; the banner was removed. [7]It was also featured on The Daily Show in 2022 while discussing the topic of LGBT rights in Arkansas

See also

References
  1. Jeansonne, Glen (Winter 2000). "Arkansas's Minister of Hate: A Research Odyssey". The Arkansas Historical Quarterly (59, 4): 22–24 – via JSTOR.
  2. "Gerald Lyman Kenneth Smith (1898–1976)", The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture, 2009, accessed 10 May 2011
  3. "The Great Passion Play".
  4. "Encyclopedia of Arkansas". Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Retrieved 2023-05-09.
  5. Grubiak, Margaret M. (2020). Monumental Jesus : landscapes of faith and doubt in modern America. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press. ISBN 978-0-8139-4375-6. OCLC 1117310989.
  6. Bahr, Jeff; Peterson, Eric; Vaughan, Donald (2016). Unique America: Strange, Unusual, and Just Plain Fun: A Trip Through America; Hundreds of Extraordinary Sights (2nd ed.). Morton Grove, Illinois: Publications International. p. 127. ISBN 978-1-68022-574-7. OCLC 1022851563.
  7. "'God bless abortions' sign hung on Christ of the Ozarks statue". Arkansas Online. 2021-07-10. Retrieved 2022-12-15.
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