Serrano has always been seen as a controversial artist in the media, which I think has both positive and negative connotations towards his work. Obviously he gets a lot of publicity and notoriety from the media buzz, but I it can also take his work out of context. I don’t think Serrano is purely trying to shock people and his work has always been made for consumption in a gallery in an artistic context. Anyway I was lucky enough to see Serrano’s most famous photograph ‘Piss Christ’ (shown above) at the Pompadeu centre on my recent Paris trip so he is the first of my featured artists from the trip.
Piss Christ shows a model crucifix suspended in a pool of Serrano’s own urine. Unsurprisingly when it was first exhibited many religious figures deemed it blasphemous but I think the piece has more to do with artistic expression and freedom of speech than deliberately trying to offend people. Serrano himself is a devout christian and has described the piece as an expression of his own beliefs. If you can track it down (I couldn’t) there is a really good BBC documentary we watched at college called Damned in the USA which covers the controversy around Piss Christ and other artists such as Robert Mapplethorpe.
Serrano’s other works follow a similar religious theme, with portraits of members of extreme religious groups (such as ‘The Clansman’ shown below) and staged portraits of bishops attacking naked and bound women. In conclusion if your after a bit of controversy, check out the rest of Serrano’s work.
Tags: andres serrano, chrisitanity, christ, controversial, jesus, kkk, Photography, religion
August 3, 2008 at 2:51 pm |
(Gal 6:14 KJV) But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.
October 18, 2008 at 12:49 pm |
Im currently also looking for that documentary! Can I ask, because I’m a bit confused about piss christ, what do you think the original meaning of the image was? do you think it was actually about more than just Serranos right to freedom of speech? Because now all we interpret it as is his right to freedom of speech and obviously its link with the culture wars in the US. I read that a nun said it wasnt blasphemous because it was really stating how contemporary society regards christ… was this his original point for the piece or something similar?
October 21, 2008 at 12:06 pm |
I think the original meaning of Piss Christ was probably to do with Serrano’s personal relationship with his faith. He’s always been adamant that his work is very spiritual and not made to offend people. But i would agree that his original intent for the image wasn’t as much about freedom of speech, although in the context of modern society its an equally valid reading of his work.