Is it Art?

Piss Christ takes the image of Christianity and how it is portrayed into a whole new
perspective that most people dont immediately recognize. To cause protests and anger by such
an image is from a lack of openness and thought from more than one perspective or emotion. In
relation to the definition from American Heritage Dictionary on the Lesson 1 Content page, art
is the human effort to imitate, supplement, alter, or counteract the work of nature Piss Christ
appears to be a disgraceful display of disrespect to the sacred image of the Christian savior by
soaking in waste. Instead, Andres Serrano took a piece of art-the perceived image created in
representation of Christ used throughout history-and both physically and figuratively altered the
images meaning, such as altering the work of nature. Christ is typically viewed with aesthetic
beauty when displayed in churches, monuments, and other art mediums. Andres contrasted this
perception in a realistic truth of the story of his crucifixion. As stated in the article, The thing
about the crucifix itself is that we treat it almost like a fashion accessory. When you see it, you're
not horrified by it at all, but what it represents is the crucifixion of a man And for Christ to
have been crucified and laid on the cross for three days where he not only bled to death, he shat
himself and he peed himself to death. So if Piss Christ upsets you, maybe it's a good thing to
think about what happened on the cross (Holpuch, 2012). Despite the public outrage, Serrano is
able to define his work in a different perspective which in fact holds a deep meaning for his own

Christian faith. An article from CNN discusses how this photo was condemned by our senators
and even sparked debates around the issue of public arts funding this extreme action by our
government highlights a lack of artistic knowledge and a lack of out-of-the-box thinking towards
the inspiration from the Bible story (10 Works of Art That Shocked the World, 2015). I believe
it is a display of a unique artistic expression that can be taken as offensive at first glance, but
once the meaning behind it is explained or further thought out with a change of point of view, the
work can be appreciated.

References
10 works of art that shocked the world. (2015, June 29). Retrieved July 22, 2016, from
http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/01/world/gallery/controversial-art/
Holpuch, A. (2012, September 28). Andres Serrano's controversial Piss Christ goes on view in
New York. Retrieved July 22, 2016, from
https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2012/sep/28/andres-serrano-piss-christ-newyork