My Last Supper Came From the Street Vendor

Tuesday afternoon brought hoots of laughter and gasps of shock to my office and my cell phone as friends and colleagues began to discuss the Folsom Street Fair poster that has drawn much criticism for parodying Leonardo DaVinci’s The Last Supper. Conservative groups are up in arms over a poster that parodies a painting and all I can do is wonder where the time honored concept of satire and parody has gone when the power of symbolism has been corrupted so heartily.
For hundreds of years literary giants and other denizens of the art world have used satire and parody to convey political messages. The time honored tradition of political cartoons has been a staple of the American newspaper industry since before the signing of the Declaration of Independence. In fact, the American people once revered such wit but it seems that – at least for some conservative and religious groups – the value of that particular form of art has depreciated beyond repair.
This is not the first time that The Last Supper has been manipulated, parodied or taken satirically and I can assure you that it will not be the last. Other bloggers have already compiled long lists of other parodies and, as they point out, I can’t recall the same level of vocal protest against the Simpson’s when Homer sat in Moe’s Tavern smack in the middle of an imitation of The Last Supper.
The statements issued on Tuesday demonstrate, if anything, the excessive closed-mindedness of some communities. While I readily accept that DaVinci’s painting portrays a symbol for the Christian community I am prepared to argue, as I would have during the controversy over the cartoons of Muhammad, that par t of the power of symbols is that they outlive their parodies and in many ways it is a sign of respect to the symbol that it is target by parody. A month from now the poster for Folsom Street Fair will be forgotten by most but DaVinci’s famous canvas will still grace art history texts and print shops around the world.
Perhaps it would be a better use of time for our self-loathing brethren to take the time to reflect on the true nature of symbolism that to jump up on a soapbox to decry a poster for an event, that deep down at heart, they really wish they could attend this weekend. I know I’ll be there and I promise that my last supper in San Francisco will be a hot dog from a leather-clad street vendor.