7 Incensepunk Art Pieces I Need on My Wall

It's more fun to track them here where everyone can see than keeping them sequestered away in a Google doc.

1. Cosmic Theotokos Icon by Cosmonaut Alexei Leonov

I haven’t been able to find prints of this one available online anywhere but it’s such a work of art. Written in a modern Russian iconographic style, this is one of the only icons created by someone who has seen Earth from orbit. (If you know of any others you are legally obligated to tell me about them in the comments.

Is there anything more incensepunk than an icon of Mary in front of the Earth as it appears from space, painted by someone who has been there? Maybe one of the other times space and sacramentals interacted…

2. A Canticle for Leibowitz cover art by Peter Andrew Jones

Is it any surprise that the book that inspired me to start a microgenre would also be the book I want a print of the cover hanging on my wall? I’d hope not.

Well I did the research and it seems like this one might be a possibility. If I’m lucky and nobody has bought out the exclusive limited edition of only 50 copies of the print yet that… Look, I’ll share the link, I’m just trusting that you won’t buy the last one (for $150…) before I get to it.

3. 99 Cent Jesus by Anthony James

OK I know I’m stretching the definition a bit here but hear me out. Neon tubing has always been closely associated with the cyberpunk aesthetic, and this one goes HARD.

But as an installation art piece, it’s the most unattainable item on this list. Maybe some day whoever ended up with it will put it up for auction and I will also happen to have unholy amounts of money to drop on it at the same time…

And before you ask, yes I did also look into ordering my own custom neon image based on an icon of Christ. I’m not gonna say the $2k estimate was overpriced, but I will say it’s outside my budget for something breakable that hangs on the wall when I have young children in the house.

4. Our Lady Who Brings Down Walls by an unknown Bethlehemite

I suppose separated from the grim juxtaposition of being painted on an industrial wall created to keep people from moving freely around their homeland it would not have the same impact, but this piece of graffiti conveys such emotion despite being slightly amateurish and adhering to an iconographic style, I would still love to have it on the basement wall next to my work station.

Honorable mention from elsewhere along the same wall:

5. The Skull of Thomas Aquinas Roadtrip photo by Daniel Ibanez

Yes, I’ve used this one before, but it’s such a banger of a photo. This photo was snapped as the relic was sent on to an Abbey for veneration following a procession. The visibility of the skull combined with the way the light seems to emanate from there makes it such a compelling image. Plus of course the evident absurdity of the situation.

Of course, that’s all assuming that it is the real skull of St. Thomas Aquinas…

6. Used ballistic armor icon by the ArtArmor Project

There’s something beautiful about taking a piece of armor that has literally saved someone’s life (in closer images you can see the bullet damage) and painting icons of the One who saves all life on it.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad not to be the one wearing it when it was used! But what a powerful statement of both art and faith. Some of these icons are available for purchase, but prices aren’t listed so I’ll have to wait for a reply.

7. Vintage Crucifix Light Bulbs

I actually learned about these from a friend who has a couple in real life, making them probably the most feasible item on the list. They don’t produce a lot of light, but there’s a variety of Jesus, crucifix, and monstrance designs that were created as far back as the 1930s and were available as souvenirs in the Vatican and other pilgrimage sites.

Now, of course, they’re much less common, but can still be found in working order for less than $50. The only question is, what kind of display should they go in?