Offers Pour In For Choc Jesus

Offers to buy or exhibit a nude chocolate art sculpture of Jesus Christ have poured in since the piece caused a stir and lost its art gallery space in New York, said the artist who made it. But artist Cosimo Cavallaro said Saturday he also has received some threats, so he is storing the sculpture for now in a refrigerated truck in an undisclosed location. On Friday, a Manhattan art gallery called off a planned exhibit of the 6-foot (1.8-meter) sculpture — called "My Sweet Lord" — amid a deluge of complaints from Catholics, including Cardinal Edward Egan.They were offended by the anatomically correct confection, which does not include the loincloth typical in religious portrayals of Christ. Many also were outraged that the art gallery planned to display the sculpture during Holy Week. The exhibit was to have run from Monday through Easter Sunday inside midtown Manhattan's Roger Smith Hotel. The controversy spurred "thousands" of e-mail messages from people offering help, donations and exhibition space, Cavallaro said. (For full source and article click the Headline). Irish Art