Santa Shrine

25"X 20"X 20"
cast resin, paint, etc.
7/05 (started in 1994)
$7,000 (#1 in an edition of 10, price includes pedestal and Plexiglas cover)

Greeting cards featuring this sculpture are now available for just $1 each!

Text: This statue depicts a minor deity the Americans call Santa. Similar devotional objects are found in homes and public places near the time of the winter solstice. Adults do not worship Santa; but they teach their children to worship him through outlandish stories and dramatic impersonations. The stories and songs describe Santa's ability to monitor the actions of all children at all times to determine if they are good or evil. A few nights after the solstice Santa purportedly gets into in a conveyance pulled by a team of flying horned animals and flies to every dwelling in the world. Small offerings are left for him. He is said to leave gifts for all of the good children and worthless objects for the evil children. The fact that adults do not worship Santa, but they place so much emphasis on these rituals suggests that Santa may serve as a rudimentary means of religious indoctrination. The reward of material goods for their belief may encourage children in a way of thinking which prepares them to understand the stories that surround the adult gods.

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