So I was looking around the internet one night and came across this site called BrownJesus. The name didn’t shock me, and the design looked cool, but that’s all I could get from what was in front of me…I wanted to know more. Some people want to label things "Christian or non-Christian" as soon as they come across them, like "Christian band" or "non-christian company." That was not my intention. But I wanted to know more. I saw and interesting creation in front of me and (Christian or not), I wanted to talk more about it…So, I got in touch with Steve Barretto, the creator of Brown Jesus and Barretto-Co design firm in San Francisco, and asked him if he would answer some questions. He was reluctant at first, which is usually a "good" sign, but once he visited our site and saw our Scotland Skateboard videos, he was in.
Q: Steve, explain a little about what you do and your background in art/design/advertising.
I studied design in college at San Jose State University in CA. After several brief stints at creative firms around the bay area, I was hired at Apple as an art director where the bulk of my education in the business of design, branding, and communications began. After a few years I went out on my own and have had the good fortune of working for myself for the past 15 years.
Q: You mentioned that you were fooling around with some shapes one night and came up with unique icon of Jesus. Do you remember the shapes you were working with and WHY you were initially playing with them?
I was working on a business identity, I can’t recall the client. When I sketch, I work without restraint—anything goes, the rationalization comes afterward and because I spend many hours thinking about a project before I put pen to paper, I feel like the marks come from an informed place. When the combination of lines came together in what eventually became BrownJesus, it was purely without intent. Once I recognized that this looked like a face, and the face looked like Jesus, it was a no-brainer—I had to come up with a character name. Raised Catholic and always questioning the blanched depictions of Christ as an adult, the most direct, hardhitting name I could come up with was BrownJesus, the name came as quickly and unexpectedly as the graphic.
Q: I noticed your site includes some FAQ’s that people have emailed you. One typical question you must get a lot is "Are you a Christian?" or "Do you have a relationship with Christ?" What do you say to those who ask those questions and do you feel those questions are even valid?
This is a funny question and has only come up a few times. I skirt those questions, for two reasons. I no longer believe that there can only be one religion, there are many prophets with good intentions for humanity. Secondly, the campaign isn’t about Christianity necessarily, it is about what I believe is true. At the time of BrownJesus’ arrival, racial profiling was prevalent against people from the middle east. We had a caucasian president proclaiming justice in Christ’s name, I felt like people needed to get back to the reality that Christ was from the middle east, and would he fit the profile?
Q: What have been some of the successes of the brown Jesus campaign? I know you make t-shirts and posters which are linked to art shows and such.
BrownJesus was selected as a work of recognition in the AIGA permanent archive. It was also included in the DeYoung museum store when Chicano Visions (the traveling collection of artwork owned by Cheech Marin) came to the DeYoung Museum in Golden Gate Park. I’m continuing to add components and awareness to the campaign in my spare time.
Q: What is you perception of Jesus and how did you arrive at that perception?
My perception as a child is what I was force fed. My perception as an adult is that he was a great man, prophet, and champion of humanity.
Q: Where can someone go to see the brown Jesus products and purchase them?
Written by Carter Theis
Photos courtisy of Brown Jesus