| Revision as of 04:08, 31 August 2010 editBus stop (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users, Pending changes reviewers, Rollbackers44,012 edits The photograph was just one of a series of photographs that Serrano had made that involved classical statuettes submerged in various fluids—milk, blood, and urine. + source← Previous edit | Revision as of 13:16, 31 August 2010 edit undoHoly Haleakala (talk | contribs)5 edits →Reception: replace "liberals" with "some supporters of the project."Next edit → | ||
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| Others alleged that the government funding of ''Piss Christ'' violated ].<ref name="LawText" /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.poppolitics.com/articles/2001/04/04/Holy_Art PopPolitics.com |title=Holy Art (!) |last=Catapano |first=Pete |date=2004-04-01|publisher=PopPolitics Media |work=PopPolitics.com}}</ref> | Others alleged that the government funding of ''Piss Christ'' violated ].<ref name="LawText" /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.poppolitics.com/articles/2001/04/04/Holy_Art PopPolitics.com |title=Holy Art (!) |last=Catapano |first=Pete |date=2004-04-01|publisher=PopPolitics Media |work=PopPolitics.com}}</ref> | ||
| An editorial in ] claimed that some supporters of the project were hypocrites because while they didn't think the $15,000 price for ''Piss Christ'' was excessive, they did think it was excessive when the U.S. military spent $1,000 on a toilet seat.<ref>, Reason magazine, October 2000</ref> | |||
| Opinion columnist ] accused some supporters of the project of being hypocrites because they favor government funding of things that portray Christianity in a negative way, while opposing government funding of anything that portrays Christianity in a positive way.<ref>, Michael Medved, townhall.com</ref> | |||
| Sister ], an art critic and Catholic ], stated in a television interview with ] that she regarded the work as not blasphemous but a statement on "what we have done to Christ": that is, the way contemporary ] has come to regard ] and the values he represents.<ref> {{ cite journal | title=A consecrated critic — profile of popular television art critic Sister Wendy Beckett | work=Art in America | url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1248/is_n7_v86/ai_21113230/pg_2 | journal=] | accessdate=2007-09-05 |first=Eleanor |last=Heartney | month=July | year=1998}} </ref> | Sister ], an art critic and Catholic ], stated in a television interview with ] that she regarded the work as not blasphemous but a statement on "what we have done to Christ": that is, the way contemporary ] has come to regard ] and the values he represents.<ref> {{ cite journal | title=A consecrated critic — profile of popular television art critic Sister Wendy Beckett | work=Art in America | url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1248/is_n7_v86/ai_21113230/pg_2 | journal=] | accessdate=2007-09-05 |first=Eleanor |last=Heartney | month=July | year=1998}} </ref> | ||
Revision as of 13:16, 31 August 2010
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Piss Christ is a 1987 photograph by photographer Andres Serrano. It depicts a small plastic crucifix submerged in a glass of yellow liquid. The artist has described the substance as being his own urine. And he has titled the work in affirmation of that too. The piece was a winner of the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art's "Awards in the Visual Arts" competition, which is sponsored in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, a United States Government agency that offers support and funding for artistic projects.
Description
The photograph is of a small plastic crucifix submerged in a glass of what appears to be a yellow liquid substance. It would not be immediately obvious to a viewer that the substance might be urine. But the artist has described the substance as being that of his own urine. And he has titled the work expressing that too. The photograph was just one of a series of photographs that Serrano had made that involved classical statuettes submerged in various fluids—milk, blood, and urine.
Reception
The piece 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, part of it from the taxpayer-funded National Endowment for the Arts. Serrano received death threats and hate mail, and lost grants due to the controversy. The work was vandalized at the National Gallery of Victoria, Australia, and gallery officials reported receiving death threats in response to Piss Christ. Supporters argued the controversy over Piss Christ is an issue of artistic freedom and freedom of speech.
Others alleged that the government funding of Piss Christ violated separation of church and state.
An editorial in Reason magazine claimed that some supporters of the project were hypocrites because while they didn't think the $15,000 price for Piss Christ was excessive, they did think it was excessive when the U.S. military spent $1,000 on a toilet seat.
Opinion columnist Michael Medved accused some supporters of the project of being hypocrites because they favor government funding of things that portray Christianity in a negative way, while opposing government funding of anything that portrays Christianity in a positive way.
Sister Wendy Beckett, an art critic and Catholic nun, stated in a television interview with Bill Moyers that she regarded the work as not blasphemous but a statement on "what we have done to Christ": that is, the way contemporary society has come to regard Christ and the values he represents.
During a retrospective of Serrano's work at the National Gallery of Victoria in 1997, the then Catholic Archbishop of Melbourne, George Pell, sought an injunction from the Supreme Court of Victoria to restrain the National Gallery of Victoria from publicly displaying Piss Christ, which was not granted. Some days later, one patron attempted to remove the work from the gallery wall, and two teenagers later attacked it with a hammer. The director of the NGV cancelled the show, allegedly out of concern for a Rembrandt exhibition that was also on display at the time.
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 BBC documentary Damned in the USA explored the controversy surrounding Piss Christ.
See also
References
- Johnson, Jennifer (1998-04-09). "NEA's Cloudy Future". Albion Monitor. Retrieved 2006-02-15.
- It is a photograph of a small plastic crucifix submerged in a bottle of yellow liquid that the artist described as his own urine. By titling the work as he did, it may be assumed that part of the artist's intention was to affront the sensibilities of believing Christians who have faith that Jesus is divine.
- In that same winter 1989-1990 Andres Serrano's Piss Christ, a photograph of a plastic crucifix submerged in a yellow liquid, allegedly the artist's own urine, enraged segments of the American public, including some politicians.
- While it was a single photograph, Piss Christ, (1987) that brought Serrano notoriety when it was torn up by a US Senator in May, 1989, the image—a standard, mass-produced plastic crucifix floating in yellow fluid—was but one of a series which included classical statuettes submerged in various fluids. Using milk, blood, and urine, the artist found new ways to look at and through familiar symbols.
- Fusco, Coco (1991). "Shooting the Klan: An Interview with Andres Serrano". Community Arts Network. High Performance Magazine.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help) - Roth, Martin (1999). "Chapter 10: When Blasphemy Came to Town". Living Water to Light the Journey. MartinRothOnline.com.
- ^ Casey, Damien (2000). "Sacrifice, Piss Christ, and liberal excess" (Reprint). Law Text Culture. Retrieved 2009-09-02.
{{cite journal}}: External link in|journal=|month=ignored (help) - Catapano, Pete (2004-04-01). PopPolitics.com "Holy Art (!)". PopPolitics.com. PopPolitics Media.
{{cite web}}: Check|url=value (help) - Angry at Daddy, Reason magazine, October 2000
- Why liberals are right to hate the Ten Commandments, Michael Medved, townhall.com
- Heartney, Eleanor (1998). "A consecrated critic — profile of popular television art critic Sister Wendy Beckett". Art in America. Retrieved 2007-09-05.
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