In a stereotypical show of taking shit too seriously, Catholic fundamentalists broke in to the Yvon Lambert gallery in Avignon last Sunday and destroyed a key piece in his private collection, Andres Serrano‘s “Pisschrist”. Serrano conceived of this work in 1987, when he immersed a crucifix into his own piss, and took a hauntingly beautiful photograph of it. Not surprisingly, it was a huge scandal for the religious community in the US and abroad. Republicans jumped on it – it’s OK to piss on underage male hookers, but not a statue of Jesus. And the fundies finally won a victory over nothing when they smashed it with their righteous hammers last weekend. According to The Guardian, this wasn’t the first time Serrano’s art has been targeted for vandalism – “Pisschrist” was also attacked in Australia, and in 2007 his show in Sweden was attacked by Neo-Nazis, who found his art to be offensive to Racist Jesus. And people wonder why some of us find religion repulsive. Serrano, also notorious for his photographic collections “Shit,” “The Klan” and “The Morgue,” called his work “a criticism of the ‘billion-dollar Christ-for-profit industry’ and a ‘condemnation of those who abuse the teachings of Christ for their own ignoble ends,'” (Guardian.co.uk). Well, apparently the violent hammering of works of art does not fall into the category of abusing the teachings of Christ; for some people, Jesus was all about wrecking shit. In a show of true artistry, the Yvon Lambert gallery will re-open with the destroyed artworks on display. Hopefully the new and improved “Pisschrist” will have an even more blasphemous impact than it did before.
For a full look at “Pisschrist” as well as some of Serrano’s other photos, check after the jump…
Images courtesy of Artnet.com
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