Piss Christ
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Piss Christ is a controversial photograph by American photographer Andres Serrano. It depicts a small plastic crucifix submerged in a glass of the artist's urine. 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.
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[edit] Controversy
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. Supporters argue the Piss Christ is an issue of artistic freedom and freedom of speech. The journal Arts & Opinion describes the controversy 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]
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.[3]
Some have alleged that the government funding of Piss Christ violated separation of church and state.[4][5]
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.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ "NEA's Cloudy Future". Albion Monitor. April 9, 1998. http://monitor.net/monitor//9804a/nea.html. Retrieved on February 15 2006.
- ^ "Sacrifice, Piss Christ and Liberal Excess - opinion & response.". Arts & Opinion. http://www.artsandopinion.com/2004_v3_n3/pisschrist.htm. Retrieved on February 5 2006.
- ^ Eleanor Heartney (July 1998). "A consecrated critic - profile of popular television art critic Sister Wendy Beckett". Art in America. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1248/is_n7_v86/ai_21113230/pg_2. Retrieved on September 5 2007.
- ^ Piss Christ and the Serrano Controversy - A theological defence
- ^ PopPolitics.com - Holy Art
[edit] External links
- Annotated transcription of U.S. Senate discussion about "Piss Christ"
- Andrew Hudgins's poem "Piss Christ," based on the photograph.
- Article on Hate Crime
- See Serrano's photograph in context of other works considered blasphemous, in S. Brent Plate, Blasphemy: Art that Offends ISBN 9781904772538
