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Pick Jesus, Belen, MS 1994
A large module of cotton (actually containing a number of traditional 500 lb. bales) sits along Hwy. 6 near Belen, MS, waiting to be taken to a nearby cotton gin for processing. Roadside pronouncements such as "Get Right With God," and "Jesus Saves" have long been a common site along Southern highways. Though seemingly naive exclamations of faith, they are actually appropriate considering the sometimes stark simplicity of fundamentalist religion with it's emphasis on simple white churches and similarly unadorned religious teachings. The double meaning of painting "Pick Jesus" on large tomb-like bale of fresh white cotton gives the message an added resonance.