Vandalism and threats greet "Piss Christ" in France

[sandinista! 1,816]

this happened a couple days ago, but whatever. it's easter week.

(Reuters) - A controversial photograph of a crucifix submerged in the urine of New York artist Andres Serrano has been vandalized during an exhibit in Avignon and the museum's employees have received death threats.

"Piss Christ" -- a photograph that sparked an uproar when first exhibited in the United States in 1989 -- was damaged Sunday "with the help of a hammer and an object like a screwdriver or pickaxe," said the Collection Lambert, a contemporary art museum in France's southwestern city known for its theater festival.

Moreover, the three vandals physically threatened three museum guards before fleeing, the museum said in a statement.

A second photograph, "The Church," which depicts the torso of a nun with her hands in her lap, was similarly vandalized.

The museum, which shut its doors immediately after the incident, said it would reopen on Tuesday and display the damaged works "so the public can appreciate for themselves the violence of the acts."

"Several people have called saying, 'If you open, you're dead,'" one museum worker told Reuters. "We're nervous and we have asked for protection from the police."

On Saturday, the museum was forced to close after a demonstration against the artist's work drew some 800 protesters . The bishop of Avignon had earlier demanded that the museum remove the controversial photograph.

Most recently, several of Serrano's works were vandalized

in 2007 during an exhibit at a Swedish art gallery.

(Reporting by Elizabeth Pineau, Writing by Alexandria Sage, editing by Paul Casciato)

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/18/us-france-art-idUSTRE73H4JR20110418

[sandinista! 1,816]

more from the guardian:

In a statement, he said the movement against Piss Christ had started at the time of President Nicolas Sarkozy's ruling UMP party's controversial debate on religion and secularism in France. At a record low in the polls before next year's presidential election, Sarkozy has been accused of using anti-Muslim and extreme-right rhetoric to appeal to voters and counter the rise of the Front National.

Asked by the daily Libération why the Piss Christ protest had happened now, Mézil pointed to Sarkozy's speech in March lauding "the Christian heritage of France" at Puy-en-Velay, where the first Crusades were preached.

He said: "Clearly we saw in Saturday's demonstration that a Catholic fringe wanted to take the president at his word, with extremely violent appeals." He said there was a climate of tension, with protesters insulting museum staff of north African origin. One guard said he heard: "I'm going to pour donkey piss on the Qur'an." An email to the museum talked about "plunging the diary of Anne Frank in urine".

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/apr/18/andres-serrano-piss-christ-destroyed-christian-protesters

[luckytxn 2,264]

Guess the museum think it is art and appreciates it.

[Dakine10 5,452]

That sounds a little like the lady who destroyed the gay Jesus statue here in Colorado. She went crazy with a crowbar, but at least she waited until the museum patrons left before she got down to business.

http://www.denverpost.com/ci_16270946

[Danno 1,228]

IN the same way that the Photo of Piss Christ is considered "art"...

destroying it is "Performance art".

It should come as no surprise the Museum and other contemporaries can't yet appreciate this form of "performance art" ... but history is full of artists who were ahead of their time.

Wonder if the Artists practicing their talents (of destroying Piss Christ) are eligible for public financing? If not, it's a pity.

[Peikko 1,575]

IN the same way that the Photo of Piss Christ is considered "art"...

destroying it is "Performance art".

It should come as no surprise the Museum and other contemporaries can't yet appreciate this form of "performance art" ... but history is full of artists who were ahead of their time.

Wonder if the Artists practicing their talents (of destroying Piss Christ) are eligible for public financing? If not, it's a pity.

You still seem to be labouring under the delusion that art must be decorative. You are wrong. Art is meant to illicit an emotional response, vandalizing art is not a valid response; it's a criminal act.

Edited April 22, 2011 by The Truth™

[spookyturtle 9,465]

You still seem to be labouring under the delusion that art must be decorative. You are wrong. Art is meant to illicit an emotional response, vandalizing art is not a valid response; it's a criminal act.

So is entering the US without proper documentation.

[Danno 1,228]

You still seem to be labouring under the delusion that art must be decorative. You are wrong. Art is meant to illicit an emotional response, vandalizing art is not a valid response; it's a criminal act.

Come on now, don't be stuck in the past.

Just as "Piss Christ" would have also been "criminal" not that long ago ... so we must be careful when we use that fluid ruler to judge what is... and what is not ART.

Clearly this performance art does meet your standard of "eliciting emotional response".

[Peikko 1,575]

Come on now, don't be stuck in the past.

Just as "Piss Christ" would have also been "criminal" not that long ago ... so we must be careful when we use that fluid ruler to judge what is... and what is not ART.

Clearly this performance art does meet your standard of "eliciting emotional response".

Willful destruction of someone's property versus creation of something out of one's own resources. Hmm, I wonder which one sounds criminal? You don't have to like art Danno, no one is forcing you to, but to pretend that destroying something you don't like if it belongs to some else is art is bollocks.

So is entering the US without proper documentation.

Not necessarily. It can be but it isn't always. I know, the undocumented immigrant haterz don't like that, but it's true none the less. Merely being in the US without proper papers is not a criminal act.

Edited April 22, 2011 by The Truth™

[spookyturtle 9,465]

Willful destruction of someone's property versus creation of something out of one's own resources. Hmm, I wonder which one sounds criminal? You don't have to like art Danno, no one is forcing you to, but to pretend that destroying something you don't like if it belongs to some else is art is bollocks.

Not necessarily. It can be but it isn't always. I know, the undocumented immigrant haterz don't like that, but it's true none the less. Merely being in the US without proper papers is not a criminal act.

Unauthorized crossing of the border is.

[Danno 1,228]

Willful destruction of someone's property versus creation of something out of one's own resources. Hmm, I wonder which one sounds criminal? You don't have to like art Danno, no one is forcing you to, but to pretend that destroying something you don't like if it belongs to some else is art is bollocks.

I think you have the wrong person, I love art.... especially certain types of "performance art".

IF you think art is limited to "creating something from ones own resources"... you really are in the past.

We have shock art, graffiti art, even government sponsored art, don't you recall Annie sprinkle, the chick that got government money to practice her urine laden gift.

Clearly she was not "creating" much... nor was she using her own money to do it.

Wake up and smell the coffee.

Annie M. Sprinkle (non-accredited) PhD (born Ellen F. Steinberg; July 23, 1954) is an American former prostitute, stripper, pornographic actress, cable television host, porn magazine editor, writer and sex film producer. She received a BFA in photography from the School of Visual Arts in 1986 and earned a doctorate in Human Sexuality from the Institute for Advanced Study of Human Sexuality in San Francisco in 1992. Currently, Dr. Sprinkle works as a performance artist and sex educator. Sprinkle, who is bisexual,[1] married her long-time partner, Beth Stephens, in Canada on January 14, 2007.[2]

[mawilson 2,133]

IN the same way that the Photo of Piss Christ is considered "art"...

destroying it is "Performance art".

That made me laugh

[Peikko 1,575]

I think you have the wrong person, I love art.... especially certain types of "performance art".

IF you think art is limited to "creating something from ones own resources"... you really are in the past.

We have shock art, graffiti art, even government sponsored art, don't you recall Annie sprinkle, the chick that got government money to practice her urine laden gift.

Clearly she was not "creating" much... nor was she using her own money to do it.

Wake up and smell the coffee.

Annie M. Sprinkle (non-accredited) PhD (born Ellen F. Steinberg; July 23, 1954) is an American former prostitute, stripper, pornographic actress, cable television host, porn magazine editor, writer and sex film producer. She received a BFA in photography from the School of Visual Arts in 1986 and earned a doctorate in Human Sexuality from the Institute for Advanced Study of Human Sexuality in San Francisco in 1992. Currently, Dr. Sprinkle works as a performance artist and sex educator. Sprinkle, who is bisexual,[1] married her long-time partner, Beth Stephens, in Canada on January 14, 2007.[2]

Strip shows as art? Well, they certainly provoke a reaction.

You are just bugged that government money gets given to people you don't like. Poor you. My tax dollars get given over to things I don't approve of either. So what? That has nothing to do with what is and isn't art, nor has it anything to do with whether destroying something that is not yours is a criminal act. I guess if I came to your house and artistically destroyed it, you'd be fine with that, just so long as I didn't use govmint money to do it, right?

[Ironman140 45]

When they start cutting the heads off museum staff let me know .. Until then it's just a bunch of crack pots .. Who I don't agree with.. But to call a Crucifix submerged in urine Art ???? is just as sick..

Edited April 22, 2011 by Ironman140

[Jenn! 918]

Looks like Christianity also has its fringe element who think that calls for violence are an appropriate response to perceived sacrilege.