RELIGIOUS ART | NEWS OF WEEK - 2nd Sunday of Lent

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By Gregory A. Disney-Britton

Andres Serrano stands in front of "Piss Christ" after it was attacked in 2011 by extremists. AFP

"They are barking up the wrong tree when they are saying I am not a Christian," says Andres Serrano, but many Christians have indeed been quick to judge him. "Piss Christ," a 1987 photograph of a crucifix submerged in urine speaks to the suffering of Christ. The controversial image, however, also represents what Christians do when we ignore Christ's expectations. In Matthew 6: 16-18, Jesus shares His expectation that we fast. It's the 2nd Sunday of Lent. Are Christians fasting or pissing on Christ?

Day #5 - Art for Lent: Andres Serrano's "Piss Christ" #Lent2016

ART + RELIGION
By Aaron Rosen

"Piss Christ" (1987) by Andres Serrano | USA. Cibachrom print, 60 x 40 in.

[Chris] Serrano photographed replicas of other sculptures submerged in urine, including a Madonna and Child, Michelangelo's Moses, Discobolus, and the Winged Nike of Samothrace. Piss Christ, however, has been the overwhelming focus of verbal and physical attacks, suffering vandalism in 1997 in Australia and in 2011 in France. "The thing that offends me is that they characterize me as being an anti-Christian bigot," says Serrano, "They are barking up the wrong tree when they are saying I am not a Christian." [page 15]

Christians Pissed About Piss Christ, Again

ARTNET NEWS
By Alexander Forbes

Andres Serrano, Piss Christ (1987). Photo: Courtesy the artist, via Wikimedia Commons.

FRANCE---Protesters swarmed the Fesch Museum in Ajaccio, Corsica on Tuesday and Wednesday, demanding that it remove Andres Serrano’s ever-incendiary work Piss Christ (1987). As Le Figaro reported, approximately 50 people stood outside the museum holding a large sign which read “PISS CHRIST FORA,” or “Piss Christ out.” The protesters contend that the work is an affront to Catholicism and an “insult to every Corsican,” the paper reports. The photograph depicts a small plastic crucifix suspended in a container of the artist’s urine. Ajaccio mayor Laurent Marcangeli claims that the work will not be removed from the exhibition, which opened June 27 and continues through September 29. [link]

INSPIRE ME! Artist of Month: Andres Serrano, Photographer & Christian

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS NEWS
By TAHLIB

"I'm a Christian artist making a religious work of art 

based on my relationship with Christ and The Church." 

~ ANDRES SERRANO

The Interpretation of Dreams (The Other Christ), 2005

In the 1990s, I was a huge fan of the provocative and funny Pat Buchanan, a PBS pundit, but then Buchanan became a politician and made the arts Public Enemy #1 with his attacks on the work of Robert Mapplethorpe, Chris Ofili and most infamous of all: “Piss Christ” by Andres Serrano. The intensity of these political attacks shaped the current divide in America between the Arts & Religion, and it is one that we at A&O work daily to bridge. The following is an interview with Christian artist Andres Serrano, the A&O INSPIRE ME! Artist of the Month for June 2014. The interview was  published today in The Huffington Post, and written by Udoka Okafor.

Monday's "Madonna & Child" by Photographer Andres Serrano

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS 
By TAHLIB

"Woman with Infant" by Andres Serrano

What better way to kick-off Black History Month than with a black woman breast-feeding a white child? Best known for his work "Piss Christ," Andres Serrano's color saturated prints transcend the label of "shock art" to challenge outdated notions of beauty and taboo by creating  images of subjects such as corpses in morgues, Ku Klux Klansmen, and the homeless. His status as a religious provocateur makes his "Woman with Infant" (above) just right as the Madonna & Child for this first Monday in Black History Month. There are only three editions, and for $30,000 it can be in your collection too via ArtSpace.

RELIGIOUS ART | NEWS OF WEEK

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By Ernest Disney-Britton

Lord Buddha said, "We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts we make the world" (Dhammapada). A prophet of Islam, Jesus of Nazareth taught that what is in a person’s heart inevitably comes out of his mouth (Luke 6:45). This week the hearts of men, and women too, flowed like water from a well revealing hearts of fear and hate. When you saw the anti-Islamic film, did you respond with anger or pity for the creator? When you saw the anti-Islamic ads in NYC subways, did you feel hatred or a desire to protect the defenseless? When you heard that the Catholic League organized a protest of 30 people against a gallery showing of "Piss Christ", did you wish you had joined them or did it remind you of what American politics is doing to the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth? With religious-themed art, both good art or bad art, we see a reflection of ourselves and not that of the artist. That is why "Piss Christ" (c. 1987) by Andres Serrano is the NEWS OF WEEK.

"Piss Christ" Photograph Comes To New York, Angering Pols

GOTHAMIST

"Piss Christ" by Andres Serrano

NEW YORK---Controversial representation of religious figures and objects has been inciting all the rage these days, and New York-born artist Andres Serrano's work "Piss Christ," which will be on view as part of an exhibition of the artist's work in Midtown..[today], is no exception. The piece—a photograph of a crucifix soaked in the artist's urine—was condemned by Staten Island Representative Michael Grimm yesterday, who compared it to Innocence of Muslims, the anti-Islam film that has set off a rash of rioting and violence in the Arab world over the past few weeks. "A representative from the Edward Tyler Nahem gallery, which will show the piece from September 27 to October 26, told the Post there would be increased security during the exhibition's run. [link]

"Piss Christ", Revisted in 2012

PATHEOS
By Daniel Siedell

"Piss Christ" by Andres Serrano

The culture wars are back. And they seem to have a corporate sponsor that sells fried chicken sandwiches. With the Presidential election looming the political pundits are active, as are the Reformed and evangelical bloggers, girding themselves for battle, urging their minions not to retreat and fight for traditional middle American values in the face of those liberals on the coasts. The icon of the culture wars in the 1990s was Andres Serrano’s Piss Christ. But the power of Piss Christ is in the space it creates where grace operates, even beyond the intentions of the artist and those who would use the work as a weapon in the culture war. The chief victim in the culture wars is grace. And if we listen, we just might be able to see it at work in the world. [link]

Art Critic 'Bites' back at anti-Christian bias, and gets paid for it!

WND | World Net Daily
By Marisa Martin

"Piss Christ" (1987) by Andres Serrano

Brian Sherwin is a prodigiously busy man. A Christian, free-thinking art critic and commentator. "I’m one of the few art critics you’ll meet who happens to be openly Christian. I make my living from writing about art. Very few people can say that. My faith has not held me back but inspires me – and it is why I know there is still a lot of work to be done within the world of art.  [link]

Today's Holy-day Art (LENT, Day #11) By Andres Serrano | NYC

"Piss Christ" (1987) by Andres Serrano
LISTEN: Commentary by Sister Wendy Beckett

Sister Wendy's Advice on Art Beyond My Comfort Zone

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By TAHLIB



Whenever I hear about a work of art being labeled "Blasphemous," I always think back to the advice shared by Roman Catholic Nun Sister Wendy. In 1997, she and Bill Moyers discussed the controversial work, "Piss Christ" and she offered as clear an educational/spiritual point-of-view as I've yet heard shared for the non-academic audience (above). This week, as American Catholics in Brooklyn once again angrily engage with American Artists over an art video by a fellow Catholic & artist from New Jersey; and as Muslims around the world grapple with the protest art photography shared by an Egyptian college student (a series of Nudes), it is time to again remind ourselves of Sister Wendy's wise words, "[Art] is what you make of it, and I could make something of it that makes me feel a deep desire to reverence the death of Christ more...." As a Believer, I am grateful to Sister Wendy for reminding me of my God-given ability to find the Divine in Art whenever I am challenged beyond my comfort zone.

Interview: Mideo Cruz, Philippines Most Hated Artist

MANILA STANDARD TODAY
By Jenny Ortuoste

PHILIPPINES - Since when has an artwork created so much scandal and controversy since Mideo Cruz’s Politeismo, now on exhibit at the Cultural Center of the Philippines? Mideo’s art brings deities and saints to the level of humans. And why not, one might say? That is the risk run when the object of worship is depicted as human. In this instance, the sacred + religious = sacrilegious, as its detractors claim. On the other hand, US-based Filipino art collector Victor Velasco points out works of art such as “Politesimo” is created to a great extent in other countries. He mentions the issues “…Andres Serrano, Piss Christ, American Family Association, National Endowment for the Arts, Senators Helms and D’Amato; also Corcoran Gallery of Art, Robert Mapplethorpe; also Dread Scott Tyler and “What is the Proper Way to Display An American Flag?” Velasco put me in touch with the controversial artist himself. Here’s our question-and-answer exchange, over Facebook, on the issue: (Read Interview).

Anonymous Artist Creates Online Defense of "Piss Christ"

REPORTAGE

AUSTRALIA - An anonymous artist has protested the destruction of Andres Serrano’s infamous photograph Immersion "Piss Christ" (1987) by distributing their own interpretation called The Resurrection of Piss Christ online. Launched on Easter Sunday, the artist has offered the image for download at resurrectionofpisschrist.com and encourages the public to republish, reuse and re-purpose the image as they wish. Unlike Serrano, who used his piece to make a profit and gain notoriety, the artist wishes for the work to rise above petty incentives and to spread as a protest against those who threaten free speech. [link]

"Piss Christ" and Other Holy Week Controversies

WITHOUT CONTROVERSY how would we know it was Holy Week? This year offered a feast of religious art controversies. A group of Christians in France attacked Andres Serrano's controversial work, "Piss Christ." Michigan Pastor Rob Bell's artist-inspired book, "Love Wins" continued to infuriate Christian Fundamentalists; and there was even a new mural in Utah of the Mormon Temple in flames stirring up debate. It all makes the 2007 advice on PBS Bill Moyers by Nun & Art Historian Sister Wendy Beckett even more prescient when she advised, (I'm paraphrasing) Art is what you make of it. What you bring to it is how you will experience it. Thank you Sister Wendy for providing some perspective for Holy Week art controversy.

Andres Serrano: "I Have No Sympathy For Blasphemy."

NEXT LIBERATION
By Vincent Noce

Andres Serrano reacts after the destruction of two of his works in Avignon.

FRANCE---Two works by the American artist Andres Serrano, amongst them his notorious Piss Christ, were destroyed last Sunday in the city of Avignon (south of France) by a group of extremist Catholics. "These people have an agenda," [say Serrano]. "They focus on something to vent. I have also said it is a misinterpretation. I am a Christian, and a christian artist. My home is full of XVth and XVIth religious art. I have no sympathy for blasphemy, I don’t like blasphemists." [link]

Andres Serrano's "Piss Christ" Destroyed by French Protesters

THE GUARDIAN
By Angelique Chrisafis

Andres Serrano's Piss Christ has been destroyed by Christian protesters
who broke into a gallery in Avignon, France, and slashed the photograph

FRANCE - The controversial work "Piss Christ" by the New York photographer Andres Serrano has been destroyed at a gallery in France after weeks of protests. The photograph, which shows a small crucifix submerged in a glass of the artist's urine, outraged the US religious right in 1987, when it was first shown, with Serrano denounced in the Senate by the Republican Jesse Helms. It was later vandalised in Australia, and neo-Nazis ransacked a show by the artist in Sweden in 2007. The work has previously been shown without incident in France, but for the past two weeks Catholic groups have campaigned against it, culminating in hundreds of people marching through Avignon on Saturday in protest. [link]

"Piss Christ" Creator, Serrano at Phoenix Art Museum Tonight

PHOENIX NEW TIMES
April 12, 2011

"Piss Christ"

ARIZONA - Andres Serrano, best known for his infamous 1989 work Piss Christ (consisting of a photograph depicting a plastic crucifix floating in a two-gallon jar of his own urine) is visiting PAM for a special lecture and discussion with world-renowned artist (and Valley native) Eric Fischl in the museum's Whiteman Hall on April 13. The artist's strict Catholic upbringing in New York City by his Honduran mother and Cuban father imbued his early work with religious overtones, particularly Piss Christ. Although the artist admits to a fascination with the profane and repulsive nature of bodily fluids (as well as taboo imagery in general), the work is more than just the blasphemous act of placing a religious icon in an utterly foul substance. It contains allusions toward Serrano's feelings about the commercialization of Christian iconography and his conflicted feelings about his own beliefs. Another work from that era is Heaven and Hell, a photograph depicting a smirking priest ignoring a bound and blood-soaked nude woman. In a 1991 interview with High Performance Magazine, the artist explained his belief that his work, while religious, isn't sacrilegious. "I am drawn to Christ but I have real problems with the Catholic Church. I don't go out of my way to be critical of the Church in my work, because I think that I make icons worthy of the Church." [link]

Quoting Sister Wendy

In June 2007, Sister Wendy Beckett, an art critic and Catholic nun, stated in a television interview with Bill Moyers that she regarded Andres Serrano's "Piss Christ" not as 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. (Watch: interview)

SABBATH ART | WEEK IN REVIEW

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS 
By TAHLIB

Piss Christ
Andres Serrano (b. Aug. 15, 1950, NYC)
C. 1987, Photograph
On View: A Private Collection

Tomorrow is Andres Serrano's 60th Birthday!