Photo Collection Makes Jesus Fashionable

Accomplished Fashion Photographer - Calvin Klein, Nautica, J.Crew - Creates Images of Most Famous Person of All Time After Seeing Many Struggle with Faith in Trying Times

ATLANTA, Sept. 13, 2009—In the midst of current global challenges, veteran fashion photographer Michael Belk, whose client work has appeared in Vogue, Vanity Fair, GQ and Elle, released a collection of compelling and controversial fine art photographs. 

Belk, who "left the rarefied air of fashion photography to shoot something even more ethereal" (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Sept. 10, 2009), hopes his Journeys With the Messiah project will illustrate to an anxious world the 21^st-century relevance of the ancient stories told by Jesus in the best-selling book of all time.

"I think many Americans don't know where to turn in the midst of the current worldwide financial crisis," said Belk. "I hope my collection will lead people on a journey to find the answers they are looking for."

Our nation's current financial turmoil was Belk's motivation for his "Rest for the Weary" image and accompanying journal.  Officially launched via virtual exhibit on Sept. 11, 2008, photographs in the Journeys With the Messiah collection use Nazis and prostitutes, Ferraris and motorcycles, and high rollers and Wall Street executives to "re-tell" the often politically incorrect stories of 1^st-century Jesus to a 21^st-century audience.

Intended to challenge thinking and generate dialogue, reflection and encouragement, Journeys With the Messiah is already stirring up debate.  President of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein said while he likes all of the images, the artist's journal for the image "The Second Mile" "inappropriately singles out Jews." 

With the winner of Italy's version of Celebrity Survivor Sergio Muniz to portray Jesus, more than a hundred extras, a production company from Rome and a film crew from the U.S., Belk directed what he called "the most grueling, but most rewarding shoot" of his career.  The sepia-toned photos with modern twists which were shot in Matera, Italy (filming location for The Passion of the Christ), tackle modern-day dilemmas including financial stress, addiction, poverty, materialism, hypocrisy, genocide, infertility and more. 

Belk hopes to take his "unique and . . . beautiful pictures" (CNN, Sept. 12, 2009)  well beyond "the gallery crowd" and is exploring exhibiting the Journeys images worldwide in counterintuitive venues such as mass transit stations, corporate headquarters and projections onto urban buildings.  Proceeds from the sale of art will fund the worldwide exhibit tour.  The collection of images is currently available in fine art limited edition photographs, posters, 108-page photography book, DVD, and - in keeping with its 21^st-century relevance - screensavers and wallpapers at TheJourneysProject.com.

MEDIA NOTE:  Visit these links on DeMossNews.com/JourneysProject for high-res images, b-roll, behind-the-scenes footage and the story of the Journeys With the Messiah in the artist's own words.

-30-