Christian protesters destroy controversial Andres Serrano art "Piss Christ"

"Piss Christ," a long-controversial work created in 1987 by NYC-based artist Andres Serrano, was attacked with hammers and destroyed yesterday (Palm Sunday) following an "anti-blasphemy" campaign by French Catholic fundamentalists in the southern city of Avignon.

The violent slashing of the picture, and another Serrano photograph of a meditating nun, has plunged secular France into soul-searching about Christian fundamentalism and Nicolas Sarkozy's use of religious populism in his bid for re-election next year.

More in the Guardian (via LGF).

Image: Wikipedia

• [dagfooyo]

  When I first heard about this piece years ago I thought it was cheap shock art until I saw it. All content or message aside, it’s an incredibly beautiful photo.

  I think this event is a complete win for Serrano. His work is thrown back into the public spotlight and like others have said – he can just print another one, and probably sell the new one for even more than the first.

  That said, I can’t wait until we live in a world where religious fundamentalism has ebbed and rational thought has taken over. Someday. That’s about as close to a utopia as I can imagine.

• [Anonymous]

  I guess serrano will have to print another (?)

• [saehn]

  Wow, that changes nothing and only serves to make them look like hooligans. Guess Andres Serrano will have to make another one.

• [Antinous / Moderator]

  Couldn’t they just scourge and crucify each other for Easter?

• [Alvis]

  Stupid terrorists.

• [Gutierrez]

  Do they have surveillance footage of the attack on the piece? There are serious possibilities there to make a media installation with a contrast of that footage to many other things. This could serve as great inspiration to start a new series on misuse of religion.

• [JohnnyOC]

  Wow, surprised it took this long for something like that to happen.

  You leave that in a max security museum somewhere in the Midwest or South and it would of been destroyed in days.

• [Jack]

  The terrorists have won.

• [pecoto]

  ….and nothing of value was lost. Yes, religious extremism is bad, but really…bad taste is bad taste.

  • [noah]

    ….and nothing of value was lost.

    Well, I think it’s quite beautiful as a photo. The way he played the angle of the light hitting the crucifix against the limited depth of field is great.

    Plus, I think it sold for like $200,000 the last time it was auctioned.

  • [Anonymous]

    From the article: One took a hammer out of his sock and threatened the guards with it…He said there was a climate of tension, with protesters insulting museum staff of north African origin. Maybe you didn’t care about the material objects, but open threats and racism destroy things I value.

• [Lucifer]

  I laugh in hell

• [lecti]

  It served to prove a point: people become animals when infected with religion.

• [julianafanana]

  I’m tired of the respect that religious wingnuts think they’re entitled to.

• [hat678]

  Jesse Helms is finally happy. (down in hell)

• [Enoch_Root]

  “It served to prove a point: people become animals when infected with religion.”

  Ahh yes just like those damnable animals that become offended over artistic symbolism that they perceive to be insulting to an abstract system of beliefs and then take concrete steps to damage/destroy the offending artistic symbol.

  You know just like animals.

  I think we are solidly in the realm of human drama here.

  • [lecti]

    Nah, I don’t think the mob was thinking in that level. Still animals. Nice try.

• [guillaume_remy]

  In France, only 36% of the people believe in God but there is still a small minority of intolerant Christian fundamentalist. In 1988, the Cinema “Le Saint Michel” which was screening the “The last Temptation of Christ” has been destroyed by a incendiary bomb

• [yearofplentycard]

  Gotta say, if there’s one kind of art I wouldn’t want to smash, it would be the filled-with-24-year-old-urine kind.

• [Rob]

  Well, I for one am happy. I like the chaos. Besides self expression works both ways. I prefer to think of it as the picture being religiously intolerant, and the hammer bit as performance art.

  I’m going to print myself a copy and beat the crap put of it… Hooray!

• [2k]

  No-no. This is quite right.
  First, you destroy the godhead then comes the rapture.

• [Anonymous]

  Maybe he actually had a problem with Christianity and didn’t hate Martin Luther King Jr.?

  Anyway, it’s disgusting that people on BoingBoing of all places would be defending this.

• [lecti]

  “Christians make good targets because attacking them rarely if ever puts your life at risk, and the usual gang nods at how “daring” you are.”

  Or, maybe it’s reflecting on the frail minds amongst us, instead of blaming others.

• [Enoch_Root]

  I doubt the law would sanction this but free speech as it is known in the US is not the same in many parts of Europe. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hate_speech_laws_in_France