Piss Christ
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Piss Christ is a controversial photograph by American photographer Andres Serrano. It depicts a small plastic crucifix supporting the body of Jesus Christ submerged in a glass of the artist's urine. Some have suggested that the glass may also contain the artist's blood. Others speculate that the photograph is actually of a crucifix submerged in beer, or apple juice, and the artist has hinted that this is the case. The piece was a winner of the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art's "Awards in the Visual Arts" competition,[1] 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.
The piece caused a scandal when it was exhibited in 1989, with detractors accusing Serrano of blasphemy and others raising this as a major issue of artistic freedom. On the floor of the United States Senate, Senators Al D'Amato and Jesse Helms expressed outrage that the piece was supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, since it is a federal taxpayer-financed institution.
The art critic, Consecrated virgin and former Catholic nun Sister Wendy Beckett voiced her approval of Piss Christ. She explained in a television interview with Bill Moyers that she regarded the work as 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.
Serrano produced other similar works to much less controversy; Madonna and Child II (1989), for example, in which the subject is similarly submerged in urine, is not nearly as well known as "Piss Christ".
Piss Christ is often used as a test-case for the idea of freedom of speech, and was described in the journal Arts & Opinion as "a clash between the interests of artists in freedom of expression on the one hand, and the hurt such works may cause to a section of the community on the other." [2] It is referred to in many popular publications including Bill Maher's book When You Ride Alone You Ride with Bin Laden.
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[edit] In popular culture
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.
[edit] Music
The Fear Factory song "Piss Christ" on the 1995 album Demanufacture was inspired by Serrano's work.
There is also an anarcho/crust punk band from Melbourne, Australia named Pisschrist, known for their anti-religious lyrics.
The Manic Street Preachers had originally intended on using Piss Christ for the cover of their debut album, Generation Terrorists, however their record label wanted to avoid any religious controversy.
[edit] Compare to
- The controversial exhibition Ecce Homo
- Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy
- The cover art of Celtic Frost's To Mega Therion, which shows Satan using the crucified Christ (minus the cross) as a slingshot
- Strelnikoff Mary of Help of Brezje controversy
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ NEA's Cloudy Future. Albion Monitor (April 9, 1998). Retrieved on February 15, 2006.
- ^ Sacrifice, Piss Christ and Liberal Excess. Arts & Opinion. Retrieved on February 5, 2006.
[edit] External links
- Annotated transcription of U.S. Senate discussion about "Piss Christ"
- Read Andrew Hudgins's poem "Piss Christ," based on the photograph.
- Damien Casey, "Sacrifice, Piss Christ and Liberal Excess", Part I, Arts and Opinion, Vol. 3, No. 3, 2004. A defense of Piss Christ. Caution: some of Serrano's images shown on this page, including from the History of Sex series, may be unsuitable for some viewers.
- Michael Casey, Anthony Fisher, OP, and Haydan Ramsay, "Sacrifice, Piss Christ and Liberal Excess", Part II, The Rebuttal, Arts and Opinion, Vol. 3, No. 4, 2004. A response to Damien Casey.
