Normal Bob Smith
Normal Bob Smith (*June 24 1969, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin) is a freelance graphic artist, writer, and satirist of Christianity.
Personal life
Normal Bob Smith was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and graduated from Bear Creek High School in Lakewood, Colorado in 1988. He has described his early relationship with Christianity as a cause of many personal problems, including a lack of self-confidence. Because he believes Christianity negatively influenced him for most of his life, Normal Bob Smith now uses his art and several websites to educate people about why he thinks Christianity is harmful.
Work
His art major has been applied in several in-house creative positions, and he has been a self-employed New York City artist since 2001.
Normal Bob Smith's artwork includes several websites that satirize Christianity. The most well-known is Jesus Dress up,[1] [2], a game in which users can dress a crucified Jesus in clothing like a traditional dress-up doll. Because of the controversy surrounding this site, Normal Bob Smith created a companion refrigerator-magnet set, as well as other game editions, including Revenge Dress Up, featuring his likeness, and Muhammad Dress Up.
The official website for Normal Bob Smith [3] showcases some more art: Creatures of Neptune depicts unusual beings, and The Sheeples are caricatures of actual people who have sent hate mail. These caricatures are accompanied by verbatim quotes from the subjects' letters. Another feature is Satan's Salvation, a comic strip chronicling a humorous ongoing struggle between Jesus and Satan who interact with the artist as he's drawing them.
Normal Bob Smith was chosen to speak at the 29th American Atheists convention in 2003 [4] and was a subject of Neil Abramson's documentary film Bob Smith USA. [5]. He has also been an invited guest speaker for ASU's Secular Freethought Society [6]
Reactions
Normal Bob Smith's Christian satire has encouraged debate on theological issues and often has provoked outrage from the religious community. His products and sites have been featured on Fox News, MSNBC, and other news outlets; he has been most widely covered for the creation of Jesus Dress Up and for attending Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ dressed as a tuxedo-clad Satan.
The Jesus Dress Up refrigerator-magnet set was carried by Urban Outfitters, a store chain operating more than 140 shops, then pulled from most stores after much protestation from the Christian community. Clayton D. Harriger, a pastor of the United Methodist Church, even voiced a sermon on the topic of Jesus Dress Up [7].
Among the groups that have staged organized protests against Normal Bob Smith are the American Family Association, the American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property, and the now-defunct Laptop Lobbyists, a conservative organisation that managed to briefly shut down his website.
References
External Links
- Artist's homepage
- Yahoo-group
- Interview with Normal Bob Smith
- Comment on the shut down compelled by Laptoplobbyists
- Article on LaptopLobbyist shutdown of Normal Bob & Jesus Dress Up
Critical Weblinks