Piss Christ
Immersion (Piss Christ) is a 1987 photograph by the American artist and photographer
The work generated much controversy based on assertions that it was blasphemous. Serrano said of the controversy: "I had no idea Piss Christ would get the attention it did, since I meant neither blasphemy nor offense by it. I've been a Catholic all my life, so I am a follower of Christ."[2]
Description
The photograph is of a small plastic crucifix submerged in what appears to be an orange liquid. The artist described the substance as his own urine in a glass.
Serrano has not ascribed overtly political content to Piss Christ and related artworks, stressing their ambiguity. He has also said that while this work is not intended to denounce religion, it alludes to the recent trend of commercializing or cheapening Christian icons in contemporary culture.[9] Subsequently, he has explicitly rejected the assertion that he was motivated by blasphemy, saying instead that it was intended as a serious work of Christian art. He said, "What it symbolizes is the way Christ died: the blood came out of him but so did the piss and the shit. Maybe if Piss Christ upsets you, it's because it gives some sense of what the crucifixion actually was like...I was born and raised a Catholic and I've been a Christian all my life."[10]
The art critic Lucy R. Lippard has presented a constructive case for the formal value of Serrano's Piss Christ, which she characterizes as mysterious and beautiful.[8] She writes that the work is "a darkly beautiful photographic image… the small wood and plastic crucifix becomes virtually monumental as it floats, photographically enlarged, in a deep rosy glow that is both ominous and glorious."[11] Lippard suggests that the formal values of the image can be regarded separately from other meanings.[12]
Reception
In 1987, Serrano's Piss Christ was exhibited at the Stux Gallery in New York and was favorably received.[13] The piece later caused a scandal when it was exhibited in 1989, with detractors, including United States Senators Al D'Amato and Jesse Helms, outraged that Serrano received $15,000 for the work, and $5,000 in 1986[14] from the taxpayer-funded National Endowment for the Arts. Serrano received death threats and hate mail, and he lost grants due to the controversy.[15] Others alleged that the government funding of Piss Christ violated the separation of church and state.[16][17] The NEA's budget was cut.[18]
Sister
During a retrospective of Serrano's work at the
Piss Christ was included in "Down by Law", a "show within a show" on identity politics and disobedience that formed part of the 2006 Whitney Biennial. The British TV documentary Damned in the U.S.A., first shown by Channel 4 in its Without Walls arts series in 1991, explored the controversy surrounding Piss Christ, and interviewed Serrano about the work.
On April 17, 2011, a print of Piss Christ was vandalized "beyond repair" by Christian protesters while on display during the Je crois aux miracles (I believe in miracles) exhibition at the Collection Lambert, a contemporary art museum in Avignon, France.[22][23] Serrano's photo The Church was similarly vandalized in the attack.
Beginning September 27, 2012, Piss Christ was on display at the Edward Tyler Nahem gallery in New York, at the Serrano show Body and Spirit.[24] Religious groups and some lawmakers called for President Barack Obama to denounce the artwork, comparing it to the anti-Islamic film Innocence of Muslims that the White House had condemned earlier that month.[25]
On October 14, 2022, Piss Christ was sold at a Sotheby's auction in London, UK for £130,000 (USD $145,162).
On June 23, 2023, Andres Serrano was included among a group of artists invited to meet with Pope Francis in the Sistine Chapel as part of an effort to "broaden out the engagement of the church with artists" and to proclaim the church's commitment to supporting art that serves "to waken us up, call us to a new alertness and a new consciousness" about issues of social justice.[26] During this meeting, the pope blessed Serrano and gave him a thumbs up gesture of approval. Serrano remarked, "I was very happy that the church understands that I am a Christian artist and I am not a blasphemous artist. I’m just an artist."
See also
- Censorship by religion
- Amen or The Pederasty
- God is Great (no. 2)
- Fountain (Duchamp)
- Grotesque body
- Transgressive art
- Scandals in art
- List of depictions of urine in art
- List of photographs considered the most important
References
- ^ Johnson, Jennifer (April 9, 1998). "NEA's Cloudy Future". Albion Monitor. Archived from the original on October 10, 2012. Retrieved October 25, 2013.
- ^ Nunes, Andrew (February 12, 2017). "The Creator of 'Piss Christ' Photographs Trump, Torture, and a Killer Clown". Vice.com.
- ISBN 0-275-97095-7.
serrano piss christ yellow liquid.
- ISBN 0-7914-3277-7.
- ISBN 1-57718-117-4.
- ^ "Andres Serrano's Controversial Photograph 'Piss Christ' Destroyed in France". HuffPost. April 18, 2011. Archived from the original on April 21, 2011.
- ^ Chrisafis, Angelique (April 18, 2011). "Andres Serrano's Piss Christ destroyed by Christian protesters". The Guardian. Retrieved July 23, 2018.
- ^ ISBN 0-8223-2095-9. Archived from the original on January 2, 2013.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link - )
- ^ Jones, Jonathan (April 3, 2016). "Andres Serrano on Donald Trump: I never speak ill of people who've posed for me". The Guardian.
- ^ Lippard, Lucy R. (April 1990). "The Spirit and the Letter". Art in America. 80: 238–245.
- ISBN 0-521-80135-4.
- ISBN 978-1-134-41668-4.
- ^ "NEA Annual Report 1986" (PDF). nea.gov. p. 170.
- ^ Fusco, Coco (Fall 1991). "Shooting the Klan: An Interview with Andres Serrano". Community Arts Network. High Performance Magazine. Archived from the original on September 13, 2009.
- ^ a b c Casey, Damien (June 2000). "Sacrifice, Piss Christ, and liberal excess". Law Text Culture. Archived from the original (Reprint) on June 9, 2010. Retrieved October 25, 2013.
- ^ Catapano, Pete (April 1, 2004). "Holy Art (!)". PopPolitics.com.
- . Retrieved July 23, 2018.
- ^ Heartney, Eleanor (July 1998). "A consecrated critic—profile of popular television art critic Sister Wendy Beckett". Art in America. Archived from the original on June 28, 2009. Retrieved September 5, 2007.
- ^ a b c Sister Wendy on Piss Christ (Part 6), retrieved May 18, 2022
- ^ a b Roth, Martin (1999). "Chapter 10: When Blasphemy Came to Town". Living Water to Light the Journey. MartinRothOnline.com.
- ^ Sage, Alexandria (April 18, 2011). "Vandalism and threats greet 'Piss Christ' in France". Reuters. Archived from the original on April 21, 2011. Retrieved April 18, 2011.
- ^ "Une photographie d'art controversée détruite à Avignon". Le Monde.
- ^ Massara, Kathleen (September 25, 2012). "Piss Christ: Andres Serrano's Iconic Work On View At Edward Tyler Nahem Gallery". HuffPost. Retrieved September 28, 2012.
- ^ Barnes, Todd (September 21, 2012). "WH Silent Over Demands to Denounce Piss Christ Artwork". Archived from the original on September 26, 2012. Retrieved September 28, 2012.
- ^ Povoledo, Elisabetta (June 23, 2023). "Pope Hosts Artists in Sistine Chapel, Even Some Who Attracted Controversy". The New York Times. Retrieved June 25, 2023.