The Religion of Bruce Bacca. Based On Die Hard, Bruce Willis & A Chewbacca Mask.

First off, I realize I've recently posted many things related to Star Wars. It's just a coincidence and no, this is not a Star Wars blog (although I am a huge fan). That said, thanks to Upper Playground, I have learned about this very unique experience taking place in San Francisco, opening tonight and continuing through December 26th.

Friday December 10th at 7pm marks the opening of the Bruce Bacca Pop-Up Church, a unique artistic ideology by Alexander Tarrant, at 248 Fillmore St., San Francisco.

Like the earth itself, it took 7 days to construct this church and it’s vague system of beliefs based on the 1988 film Die Hard, it’s mythical leading man Bruce Willis, and an exquisitely carved wooden Chewbacca Mask (shown below, courtesy of the Citrusreport.com).



Churchgoers will want to bring their cameras to capture the moment they walk the carpeted broken glass gauntlet, wear the wooden mask, and become an indoctrinated member of this temporary system of worship.


above: Bruce Willis in the 1988 action flick, Die Hard.

Following the dry baptism, available for $10 is the short(er) film “Incident at Nakatomi” – a pious remastering of the classic film Die Hard (1988) in which the image and voice of Bruce Willis has been completely removed. The resulting film is introspective and thought provoking, yet still contains enough explosive excitement to keep even the most discerning action fan satisfied.

The church will be open from December 10th – 26th, and will be performing the civic duty of holding a soup kitchen on Christmas Day.

Cuddle Up In Modern Art. New Religion Cashmere Blanket By Damien Hirst.

New Religion Blanket, Damien Hirst, 2010
Wanna cuddle up with some modern art? This blanket by artist Damien Hirst features icons from his New Religion series and is large enough for a double bed.



Made in conjunction with Other Criteria, the luxury blanket is 100% cashmere, made in Scotland on a Jacquard loom and finished by hand. Each has a purled fringe and 2 New Religion labels.



Using techniques similar to those used 150 years ago, fabric and colour are built up in layers and given clarity and depth by the use of soft, pure Scottish water and cloth woven from the finest of fibres. Part of the finishing process involves air-drying and paper-pressing the blankets to ensure a lustrous surface.


materials: 100% cashmere with purled fringe, made on jacquard loom and finished with two hand-made labels
dimensions: 1470 x 1830 mm
Buy it here Or here.

Other items from Damien Hirst's New Religion series available at Other Criteria:

Shop for these and more wonderful artist editions here.

The Virgin Mary In Everything From Tech To Fashion.

The Virgin Mary as you've never seen her before.
In honor of Christmas, here's a round up of products inspired by the Mother of all Mothers.... Mary. Some modern and yes, blasphemous, Virgin Mary inspired designs and products. This post is not meant to offend, but to inform.

Of course, the Virgin Mary has been around in art for centuries and yes, there are many serious products that feature the Virgin Mary (aka Madonna, Mother Mary or Maria) as everything from clocks to night lights. But those you can find at your nearby church or online religious supply stores like catholic shopper.

But for this post, I'm featuring contemporary versions of the saintly icon in everything from usb storage drives to urinals. Now, there are thousands of contemporary artists who've used the religious icon in their pieces and I can't show you all of them, so I've chosen a few of the more unusual ones to share with you.


Virgin Mary tech:
The Maria USB data storage stick reads "Oh Mary keep my data safe" on her halo and her heart 'beats" as it's working.


Designed by Luis Eslava, it supports the following system software: Windows 98, 2000, XP, Vista, Mac OSX and makes a great stocking stuffer! Buy it here

Thanks to a reader who chose to remain anonymous, I have this wonderful last minute addition to the list. A Virgin Mary vibrator for your own personal theophany. Made of silicone, she's available in several colors including a glow-in-the-dark-version (Is that in case you can't find yourself?):

buy this and see more hilarious religious erotica here.


Virgin Mary modern art:
French artist Soasig Chamalliard's "Apparitions" series took Virgin Mary statuettes and decorated them with pop culture and artistic decor:

See all of his Madonna statuettes here.

Scott Campbell's cut up money caused controversy by both defacing US currency as well as using religious icons:

See much more of his work here.

Jason Clay Lewis' DCon Mary made of decoupaged rat poison boxes:


Part of his "Drop Dead Gorgeous" show, you can see more here.

Virgin Mary Housewares

Salt or pepper grinder:

buy it here.

Holy Toast:

buy it here

Throw Pillow:
As part of their Church series, DFCasa has created this Virgin Mary Throw pillow:

buy it here.

Virgin Mary blanket:

buy it here.

Virgin Mary fashion:
If you never saw Jean Paul Gaultier's stunning 2007 Haute Couture collection inspired by the Virgin Mary, you've missed out on some of the most beautiful gowns and headpieces ever:




See the collection here.

Another designer inspired by the Virgencita is Chilean fashion designer Ricardo Oyarzún's controversial collection of very sexy Virgin Mary inspired couture:

Bearing some seriously sacrilegious cleavage, his fashion show in Chile earlier this year caused much controversy.

see the collection and read about the controversy here.

Virgin Mary Keds:
yes, there are tons of artists who sell their Virgin Mary t-shirts, hats, stickers and more on sites like Zazzle and Cafe Press. But these Keds really caught my eye:


buy them here

Virgin Mary/penis soap:
One of the many fun and unusual products By Donkey is this soap which appears as Mary on one side and the male member on the other:

see more fun Donkey products here.

Can't show a soap without showing a candle. Soy Virgin Mary candle:

buy it here.

Other unorthodox sightings include this Playboy Cover from December 2008:




And giving the vibrator a run for its money as the most blasphemous, are the Virgin Mary urinals in China, which basically encourage men to piss on religion:

See more of the unusual urinals from China's largest public bathroom here.

So, as you can clearly see, from haute couture to erotica, housewares to tech, the Virgin Mother continues to make appearances (pun intended).

Holy Art Project, Batman! Saint Madonna Statues Reinterpreted by Soasig Chamalliard

Here's a wonderfully fun art project by french artist, Soasig Chamalliard called "Apparitions" by Soasig Chamaillard in which she takes existing figurines of the Virgin Mary and re-imagines them.