On Sunday March 19th, 1989 I gathered some friends together, and we went into the New Mexico desert to crucify my brother.
First, let's go back to the beginning. It was my senior year of college at UNM and I was taking an independent study class in photography with Betty Hahn. When I met with her at the beginning of the semester I pitched her this idea, which was to recreate some of the key moments in the life of Christ and photograph them. We talked about it, and we decided to focus it down to four main ideas: The Annunciation, the Crucifixion , the Entombment and lastly, the Resurrection.
At this time, I was also taking an upper level art history class on the Northern Renaissance, and I was really enjoying all the fantastic paintings that we were studying. Some of these paintings were altar pieces done by artists such as Rogier van der Weyden, Hans Holbien and Mathias Grunewald. These great paintings had an influence on me. I began to think about incorporating some elements of the Northern Renaissance into my project. What was born was the concept of an altar piece done in the Northern Renaissance style, but as if someone was there to document it with a camera.
The Isenheim Altarpiece by Mathias Grunewald
I became immersed in the subject matter. I looked at the Gospels and not so traditional Gospels, such as the Gnostic Gospels, for inspiration. I also began to look at Roman history, in particular how they performed crucifixions. I found one book that showed in detail how the crosses were made and also how long it would take before a person would succumb to death, do to crucifixion.
So, what did I do next? I went out and bought 2 wood beams, one for the horizontal section, or as it's known the patibulum, and one 8 ft vertical beam, also known as the stipes. I also made the sedile a small seat, or sometimes a foot rest that the victim would rest on, as to prolong the agony and pain of the crucifixion . I also carved the titulus, the wooden sign that rest at the top of the cross that read INRI “ THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS."
The shoot day was Sunday, March 19th ,1989 - Ironically, it was Palm Sunday. We all converged on the sand dunes located near the base of the Manzano mountains, the models all dressed like something out of Cecil B. DeMille movie. I was excited and ready to get this shoot going. We got the heavy cross out of my truck and put it together and placed in the ground. Next, we had to get my brother up on the cross; We had a ladder to aide us in this task. Next we tied my brother's arms down to the cross, and I began to splatter stage blood all over him. As I placed the crown of thorns on my brother's head, he let out a yelp. Oops!! Next, I got the models into position, and I began to shoot with my 35 mm camera. The camera was a Fujica stx-1, the film was tmax 400 b&w. I was really getting into the shoot when my brother started to complain that his arms were growing numb. I suddenly realized that he had been hanging up there for 2 hours! We got him down and called it a day. In the end, the images came out great. I received an A+ on the project and to my amazement, my brother still talks to me.
"The Crucifixion" center of altar piece COPYRIGHT TIM MARCH
"The Life of Christ Altar Piece" COPYRIGHT TIM MARCH
"Crucifixion" (Close Up) COPYRIGHT TIM MARCH