The Untouchables Picture Analysis

Cuban artist Erik Ravelo took a series of photographs of children hanging like Jesus Christ from cross that were actually the back of the bodies of priests, soldiers, surgeons, terrorists, and even Ronald McDonald. The photos were meant to be a reference to all the mischiefs of our contemporary world that are harming children. In fact, the living crosses are a reference to pedophilia in the Vatican, child sex tourism in Thailand, the conflict in Syria, the trafficking of children’s organs in Third World countries and the obesity of the Western world induced by fast-food companies. Nevertheless, the images soon took on a controversy, as they were accused to re-perpetrate the crimes that they were trying to shed a light on – in particular, child

In fact, he is most famous for the United Colors of Benetton’s “UnHate” campaign. In the campaign, Ravelo photo shopped political and religious leaders making out. This explains why it is not really a surprise that “The Untouchables” also comes with its problems and controversies. Understanding that the photos came from the perspective of an artist, we should take into consideration that the images cannot be simply considered means of communicating a problem and, thus, shed light on an issue. As a matter of fact, Ravelo made money off of the pictures, and this also needs to be taken into account. While the “UnHate” campaign was explicitly a marketing strategy, “The Untouchables” might be Ravelo’s personal marketing strategy in order to sell his artwork. Clearly, his intended buyers/audience are all those who use Facebook and, subsequently, adults who found tha photographs either controversial or a step toward public awareness. As a matter of fact, it is public awareness that Ravelo seems to be proponing, by using the images to make people knowledgeable on all of those actions that take place around the world constantly and that take away children’s

The composition and the framing of the pictures are all exactly the same – what changes is the idea that they represent. The first image, for example, portrays an adult dressed in the robe of a Catholic cardinal, while an almost totally naked child hangs on his back. In the second image, a man dressed in what appear to be very colorful tourist’s clothes, whit a camera hanging from his wrists, stands as a cross to a girl with long straight hair and a purple skirt. The third image shows a young girl fully covered in black clothes as she hangs on the back of a soldier. In this third image, a weapon is also placed on the wall on the left of the soldier’s body. An almost naked, very skinny child is then photographed in the fourth picture as hanging on the back of a surgeon. The doctor is holding some tools in his hands and a portable refrigerator is depicted to his left. In the fifth picture, a blonde girl dressed in a school uniform hangs on the back of a man holding two guns and wearing a red hoodie. On his left side, another big weapon is placed. In the sixth photograph, McDonald’s body serves as a cross for a chubby boy. The image, then, presents a bald, half-naked boy crucified on the back of a man wearing an orange nuclear