Kudzu Jesus Spotted in Boylan
It looks like Raleigh has its own permanent and three-dimensional example of pareidolia— the phenomena of seeing something significant (usually a face or religious icon) in an inanimate object. This one is visible from the Boylan Avenue Bridge.
The Kudzu Jesus blessing a passing freighter
While discussing the topic of local railroading history with Raleigh Boy and Craig on the Boylan Avenue Bridge, a patron from the Brewpub asked if we had noticed the figure with outstretched arms giving a blessing to passing trains. I was immediately interested, as the topic of pareidolia was the subject of a research paper and presentation I made for a class at State.
Chances are you’re familiar with perhaps one of the first examples, the “Virgin Mary Grilled Cheese” which was auctioned off on eBay for $28,000. This and several other examples provided for some interesting reading, but I can’t say that I formed an opinion on either the people who found them or those who expressed a fervent interest in the artifact. I was and continue to be fascinated by the phenomena, however.
The example cited above is merely a coincidental growth formation on power lines, but can still be an interesting topic of conversation.
You can see more on the Pareidolia flickr group.
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08/06/2009
There’s another Kudzu Jesus that shows up every year in Mordecai, where Marshall Street meets the end of N. Blount at the railroad tracks. I’ll bet there are more of these all over.
08/07/2009
Haha! Awesome!
08/07/2009
This is going to be huge. Bigger than Jesus. Trust Him.
08/07/2009
Looks more like a dementor to me.
08/07/2009
You know what’s genius about the name of this website. At least once a day when I want to Google something, I type in “Goo” and hit return when my borwser starts to autocomplete the url from previously visited sites. And bam, I land on GoodnightRaleigh. Not saying I wouldn’t check out the site daily anyways, I just always get here by accident. Perhaps the Kudzu Jesus is telling me something.
08/13/2009
Perhaps it is actually the patron saint of trains–what was his name? I forget…
08/14/2009
Surprisingly — no patron of trains that I am aware of. Of travelers, yes — St Anthony, St Christopher.
But, Brian, (of Zingo) http://goodnightraleigh.com/2009/08/zingo-the-newish-option-of-avoiding-a-dui/
There is a patron of bicyclists, if you’d be interested in that kind of info, that is.
Our Lady of Ghisallo
http://bicycleuniverse.info/stuff/patron-saint.html
08/20/2009
I haven’t seen it in person but it looks more like a tribute to abu ghraib!
08/22/2009
Luke 19 records Jesus’ triumphal entry and when asked to quiet his disciples, Jesus responds that if they keep quiet, the “stones will cry out”. To me (or the first thing that came to mind), I see this as the stones (the earth or kudzu) crying out (or worshipping) to Jesus. Raleigh, just make sure you’re worshipping Jesus!!
08/30/2009
Obviously, this is Christ De-Vine!
05/16/2012
Wondering if the kudzu Jesus will be around at the end of June, 2012? I will be in town and want to put this phenomenon on my list!
05/17/2012
Diana — Given that today is the celebration of the Ascension, I believe Kudzu Jesus has probably already ‘left the building.’