by Randall Murphree
(AgapePress) – A new project from WNET, flagship station of the Public Broadcasting System (PBS), is earning the public TV network rare praise in conservative circles. Historically, faithful Catholics and political conservatives were as likely to be signing petitions against PBS as singing its praises. If the publicly-funded network is one for creating controversy, this current film stands in stark contrast to that.
The Face: Jesus in Art is a two-hour film tracing artistic perceptions of the image of Jesus Christ through two thousand years. From early history, when art was often commissioned by the church, to the modern era, when the origin and function of art has changed, this film gives viewers a look at Jesus through artists’ eyes. From the eighth-century Byzantine Empire, when images of Christ were banned and destroyed, to the black Jesus portrayals pioneered in the 1930s, the video documents how various cultures have perceived Him.
The Face films more than 500 works of art, and the result is a composite portrait of a Jesus whose image depends largely upon the one who beholds him.
Dr. William Baker, president of WNET, is executive director of the film. Baker has been in the television industry 40 years, been president of Westinghouse Television and is the man credited with discovering Oprah Winfrey.
“The highlight of my career,” Baker told AFA Journal, “was the March 31 premiere [of The Face] at Radio City Music Hall.” He says it is the most significant project he has ever been a part of.
The concept for the film goes back to 1997 when WNET visited The Body of Christ, an exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston. WNET recorded the exhibit on film, and when they wanted to do something significant in observance of the millennium, the Houston exhibit came to mind. Baker stresses that the film is basically a history of art, and not a Christian production. But he says producers and directors were determined to make it something that would be a religious experience for believers.
The film takes viewers up close to the works of Michelangelo and deep into the Roman catacombs to see the earliest images of Jesus, captured by the light of lanterns and candles. It offers sweeping vistas of Europe’s magnificent cathedrals.
“On the film, we see things that visitors to the sites don’t get to see with the naked eye,” Baker says. For one thing, film crews were sometimes admitted to areas in cathedrals that are closed to general traffic. Creative filming techniques enhance the appeal and impact of the film. Narration — by Mel Gibson, Ricardo Montalban, Patricia Neal and others — is another outstanding element of the film. Because of its subject matter, it naturally shares a lot of the history of the Christian faith.
“We will have about 320 stations broadcasting the film Easter Sunday or that week,” says Baker. He believes that is the largest number ever in the PBS network to carry a new film at the same time.
(This update courtesy of Agape Press.)
