The (in)famous "Touchdown Jesus" statue in Monroe gained international fame when the 62-foot-high fiberglass and foam structure caught fire during a storm last summer and burned to the ground.
It seemed everyone had an opinion on the statue, which was easily visible to motorists traveling along I-75 past the Solid Rock Church in Monroe.
The statute, which showed Jesus Christ from the chest up with his arms outstretched, was both affectionately and derisively known as "Touchdown Jesus." It also has a song devoted to it on YouTube called "Big Butter Jesus," which paid homage to its creamy looking sculpted exterior.
The statute, which was actually named "King of Kings," burned to ground last June when it was struck by lightning during a thunderstorm. Quickly the sculpture burned down to its steel frame, damaging part of the church.
The act of nature ignited an online firestorm as well, with hundreds of local opinions on the appropriateness of the structure, the fire itself and whether it should be rebuilt.
Church leaders had always vowed to rebuild the structure and have chosen a Cincinnati area team to design and sculpt a new one.
The Glasshand, which takes projects like these from concept to custom painted finish, will be in charge of bringing Jesus back to life. The company, owned by husband and wife Rokeya and Steve Brauch, will work with local independent sculptor
Tom Tsuchiya.
The Glasshand's work is familiar around Greater Cincinnati. The company crafted the oversized fiberglass squirrels in Glendale, the big pigs downtown, and the iconic Frisch's Big Boy. Tsuchiya's sculptures include the Reds' legends at Great American Ballpark and the D'Artagnan bronze statue at Xavier University.
"It was sort of tailor-made for us, there was no way we weren't going to do this," Brauch said. "This is setting the bar for what this company can do."
The sculpture will be about the same size as the old one, but it will be full body, so its dimensions will be smaller. There is a Facebook page dedicated to the sculptures progress, including its design. The new sculpture is called Lux Mundi, which is Latin for "Light of the World."
Detail work, like the hands and the head, will be done in studio. The large remainder of the statue will be assembled on site, Brauch said. It should be finished this summer. This time, the statue will NOT be flammable. It will mainly be made of steel and have an acrylic finish.
"We got rid of all the flammable materials," Brauch said.
Writer: Feoshia Henderson
Source: Steve Brauch, co-owner The Glasshand
You can follow Feoshia on twitter @feoshiawrites
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