Alma Lopez still doesn't get it.
She can't quite understand why some Catholics are so shocked by her voluptuous version of the Virgin of Guadalupe, the one causing a commotion in New Mexico. She can't understand why they're so angry with \o7 her--\f7 a Mexican-born artist who professes reverence for this mestizo manifestation of the Mother of God.
Sure, her Guadalupe appears half-naked, legs and navel exposed. But what's wrong with that? Doesn't the real Guadalupe have a real woman's body underneath her flowing gown and distinctive blue and gold cloak?
In Lopez's defiant computerized rendition of the nearly 500-year-old apparition, the Madonna's private parts have been digitally covered by wreaths of roses, like an ample floral bikini. A live model stands in for the Holy Mother in the photo montage, head cocked back and hands on her hips. She is held aloft by a bare-breasted angel, portrayed by another Latina model generously endowed by her Creator.
"I see this woman's legs and her belly and [the angel's] breasts, and I don't see anything wrong," said Lopez, 34, inspecting a copy of the artwork, trying to fathom all the fuss.
The problem, she said during an interview at her spare Santa Monica studio, is in the eye of the beholder. Especially the Catholic men who "freak out about it." And most especially the Most Rev. Michael J. Sheehan, archbishop of Santa Fe, who publicly denounced the artist for turning the Holy Virgin into "a tart."
That one hurt, Lopez said. She meant no disrespect. She intended to portray women as strong, not sleazy.
"They're just breasts," Lopez said, defending her buxom angel. "I have them. Don't rage against the breasts."
The rage against Alma Lopez and her Guadalupe is now in its 14thweek and still smoldering. Titled "Our Lady," the piece is part of an exhibition called \o7 "\f7 Cyber-Arte: Tradition Meets Technology," which opened Feb. 25 at New Mexico's state-sponsored Museum of International Folk Art.
Lopez, who holds a master's in fine art from UC Irvine, created "Our Lady" in 1999 with a grant from the city of Los Angeles. It barely raised an eyebrow when first exhibited here. But it's the talk of the town in Santa Fe, where waitresses hash out the controversy while pouring coffee for customers. Even a local taco vendor left his corner stand to join a protest against the piece.
