The logo for "What's love got to do with it?" has generated discussion, pro and con.

As background, Jessica Valdez writes a column about relating and relationships, discussing sex, dating, marriage, infidelity, living together, teenage marriage, etc.

One point of view is that the logo (the image on the side of the page) wrongly uses the image of the Sacred Heart to illustrate a column that may not always represent strict Catholic teachings. On the other side is the idea that the logo appropriates the imagery – appropriately -- to represent women, motherhood, sacrifice, love and femininity, in the context of our border culture.

For perspective, we invited regional designers and thinkers to offer their opinions on the logo and the use of religious iconography in graphic design, explaining that the column is meant to give advice to people in the El Paso region, which overwhelmingly is Hispanic and Catholic.

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Love has everything to do with everything: this image captures that truth. Arms open, enflamed heart pierced, she is benevolent but receptive, simultaneously mortal and goddess-like. It’s an arresting and memorable image, an icon of conflated cultures, hopeful and appropriate to this place and time.

Kate Bonansinga, Director
Stanlee and Gerald Rubin Center for the Visual Arts

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The question is never whether or not you have the right to communicate information in a way that is partial and subjective. The question is whether you are taking into consideration your community and constituents and their biases and subjectivity. The answers are not always the ones we prefer in making public decisions.

Michael Tomor, Director
El Paso Museum of Art

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On the whole, I agree with your readers who have rejected your logo. While the Virgin Mary design you have now does, indeed, reflect an image of "women, motherhood, being a vessel for reproduction, sacrifice and femininity," it seems to me women are a lot more than that in the 21st Century. Or they should be. Isn't this an awfully limiting representation when you want to discuss contemporary matters of the heart? And what about men? Are they not expected to write into, or read, the column? Frankly, I'd say Madonna, not The Madonna, would be a better role model for your paper.

From a design standpoint, I think the logo is visually pleasing. It reminds me of a tattoo. But it's also a bit mixed up. For example, Jesus is the one usually portrayed with the bleeding heart, not Mary. From what I've read, he didn't have much of a sex life. For a real sensual and religious model, why not try Teresa of Avalon? She was a Spanish nun who had visions of an angel who pierced her heart with an arrow of fire. Repeatedly. And rhythmically. Quite orgasmic. Bernini did a sculpture that may be inspirational to your designers.

Stephanie L. Taylor, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Art Department
New Mexico State University

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What’s Religion Got to Do with It?

Sure, I get the fact that “this column is supposed to give relationship advice to people living in the El Paso region, 80 percent of whom are Hispanic and Catholic,” but is this a ‘religion and sex column’? Didn’t think so. A lot of people in El Paso are Catholic, and a lot aren’t. So what.

I play a game when I see a logo that does not fulfill its duties of representing the thing for which it’s supposed to be a symbol: I come up with situation where it would be a perfect mark. Here I see it outside a church (named Our Lady of something) advertising a youth group’s meeting on the evils of pre-marital sex, or again, outside this same church announcing dates for a pre-Caana class (for the 20 percent: the education sessions Catholic couples need to attend before they can be married in the Church). ‘Relationship advice column’ does not come up as an answer in my game.

Aesthetically, the logo fares better. Its restrained color palette keeps it simple, bold and graphic. However, the choice of yellow makes the bottom line of text less legible than it could be considering it’s set upon a white background—the blue used for Mary would have been a better choice. The distressed, or roughed up, way the sacred heart appears to have been dragged by a car across town could be a good metaphor to show that the columnist too has been around the block in terms of relationships.

Anne M. Giangiulio is an Assistant Professor of Art in Graphic and Web Design at UTEP. We’re pretty sure (e-mail if we’re wrong) she’s the only person in town with an MFA in Graphic and Interactive Design.

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I, and others, have requested that Jessica Valdez not use the image of the Immaculate Heart of Mary for her logo. She has responded that the image is of Mary Magdalene. She is wrong.

Before marshalling out the evidence on why she is wrong, I pose this scenario which may serve to bring a clearer perspective to our objection to her logo. If Jessica Valdez were to launch a cooking tips column and used a hexagram as her logo, would she and her editors receive protests from traditional Jews? Absolutely. The Star of David should not be used in connection with a column dealing with food that is not Kosher or prepared in accordance with the Kashrut dietary laws.

The Wikipedia article on the Immaculate Heart of Mary states:
“…The attention of Christians was early attracted by the love and virtues of the Heart of Mary. The Gospels recount the prophesy delivered to her at Jesus' presentation at the temple: that her heart would be pierced with a sword. This image (the pierced heart) is the most popular representation of the Immaculate Heart.” [link]

Jessica, in her first column, stated: “El Paso people, in my experience, put up with each other way too much, for way too long. This may be due to the early marriages, the Catholic religion=no divorce…”

In this country, Jessica is entitled to her opinion and to give her opinion. But don’t use a revered Catholic image of the Immaculate Heart of Mary to give relationship advice which may run counter to Catholic Church teachings on relationships.

Jessica’s logo is very similar to the image of the Immaculate Heart of Mary which appears here

Enrique Medrano

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My eye is always drawn to religious imagery used in unconventional themes. Who didn’t love the cover of Jane’s Addiction’s Ritual de lo Habitual? But I also remember feeling uncomfortable just looking at Andres Serrano’s photography in the late ‘80s.

For me, religious images evoke an emotion of comfort so I can see where some would be offended by the image in question. But I find the logo unimaginative. Given that we are steeped in that imagery here along the border, it seems we see that sort of logo treatment all the time. Religious icons or loteria cards; it’s just too easy.

Being that "What's Love Got to do With it?" is an advice column for the lovelorn there probably shouldn’t be much discussion on its logo. If the emphasis has been placed more on the logo than the content, the designer has missed the mark.

As graphic artists, we should challenge ourselves to push the envelope, but more importantly, do so in a way that will get the message across as clearly and concisely as possible without taking the reader’s attention away from the content. On top of this, it has to look fabulous! But it’s not that hard. After all, we’re not splitting the atom here.

I see nothing wrong with using religious iconography in graphic design as long as it’s creative and not predictable. Mary Magdalene as the logo for the Love Doctor; is nothing sacred anymore?

Martin Bencomo
Martin Bencomo Design and Illustration
Children's Book Author and Illustrator