Creative task: Artistic controversies
Moduł: “The rainbow does (not) scare. On freedom, human rights and art limitations”
Do you know any examples of the artworks that were considered controversial? See examples of art pieces that have risen big scandals and were widely talked about by the people, media and politicians. Search for press information and listen to what the artists or curators said about their creations. What were their motivations? Did they want to raise controversies, or just wanted to be heard? Do you think it is justified for the artists to speak up in a way that might offend someone?
Andres Serrano, Immersion (Piss Christ), 1987.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piss_Christ#/media/File:Piss_Christ_by_Serrano_Andres_(1987).jpg
.jpg){kind=link}
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KhEIJyWJqzvVcDcbHkU1dZE4J_3VWJRp/view?usp=sharing
“The thing that offends me is that they characterize me as being an anti-Christian bigot. They are barking up the wrong tree when they are saying I am not a Christian.”
From: Aaron Rosen, Art and Religion in the 21st Century, Thames Hudson, 2017.
Ai Weiwei, Dropping a Han Dynasty Urn, 1995.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SSQsSq9CjpIIupN3Ma2_obUd9RDzqlFY/view?usp=sharing
“People always ask me: how could you drop it? I say it’s a kind of love. At least there is a kind of attention to that piece [because of the photograph].”
From: Tiffany Wai-Ying Beres, “Ai Weiwei, Dropping a Han Dynasty Urn”, Smarthistory, 2020, accessed July 10, 2023. https://smarthistory.org/ai-weiwei-dropping-a-han-dynasty-urn/.
Maurizio Cattelan, La Nona Ora, 1999.
https://lesoeuvres.pinaultcollection.com/en/artwork/la-nona-ora
https://drive.google.com/file/d/14RIuno9zY5uchnQf277kEkoSdfDTfHjs/view?usp=sharing
“People didn’t know what to feel when they saw it. It is super-realistic and human-size, and the pope is lying on the floor very much alone and abandoned. He is a human being; it is an egalitarian monument.”
From: Aaron Rosen, Art and Religion in the 21st Century, Thames Hudson, 2017.