I wonder, if this post were to show a picture of The Birth of Venus or a depiction of one of the Stations of the Cross, would those be deemed controversial as well? Is it because this Skull/Cross image above is on a website and not in a museum or a church, which is where my two examples would most likely be found?

This post isn’t on the home page in as large a way as it was when it was in the “Vibe Features” section, so when someone comes to the site, they’re not going to see these images immediately. Furthermore, while I don’t think anyone is coming here to see mature images, I’d also like to think that no one is expecting a post about the subject of art to shy away from a picture seemingly as innocuous as one that mixes 3 crosses and a skull.

I think my main point here is that when you walk into a museum or a church, no one’s expecting the curators or clergy to keep certain bits of the rooms or building under cover or anything, and I feel that the people responsible for posting content to a website generally have a good idea of when its readers should be warned of potentially inappropriate content (most often this is nudity, violence, or obscene language, commonly known as Not Safe For Work, or NSFW).

For those of you leaving comments regarding the skull painting with the 3 crosses, you might want to understand that art usually has a meaning behind it. You, as a “Christian” as you refer yourself, might want to open your Bible and read this verse and the whole chapter at that. It is refering to Golgotha where Jesus was taken to be crucified.

I am a Christian as well and am usually not so fond of the skull paintings but this just proves that you (“Christian”) shouldn’t be so judgemental of a painting (or of people) until you understand the meaning behind it. You might already know Jesus Christ as your Savior but for those who don’t, this painting could touch their lives–please don’t take that away from anyone.

Hope this opened the eyes of some and touched the hearts of those in need. God bless.

I’ll say that not everything appealed to me, but being a child of the 80s, I loved all the iconic things from that time – Rubiks cubes, Atari and Nintendo games, Top Gun, Sesame Street, et al.

It’s interesting that both Carol and Sharon feel the skull and crosses picture is offensive or inappropriate. I was raised in a Methodist household, am 27 now, and don’t feel it’s either offensive or inappropriate. After all, it’s art; I’d never expect everyone to agree on an opinion about one piece.

What’s more is that if you check out Leighton’s site, he has these words to say in the “About Me” section on the right hand side: “I have been given an artistic talent from God and when I’m not teaching art, I’m creating it….I love GOD, my beautiful wife Mallary…”, so it seems to me that he too considers himself a Christian. I’d be interested to hear his thoughts on how or what he feels his art should communicate to both like-minded, and not-so-like-minded, individuals.

In this case, I’d definitely use the phrase “your mileage may vary” here, with regards to how everyone feels about the art displayed both in this post, and at the gallery.

Great post all-around, and I’m looking forward to more things from F6 and the VIBE!