Andres Serrano (1950 - )
Key works: Semen & Blood, 1990 - A History of Sex (Eline) (1996-1998) - Piss Christ, 1987
Biography
Andres Serrano (born August 15, 1950) is an American photographer who has become most notorious for his controversial piece "Piss Christ", a red-tinged photograph of a crucifix submerged in the artist's own urine. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andres_Serrano [Mar 2006]
Bodily fluids [...]
Many of Serrano's pictures involve bodily fluids in some way, depicting, for example blood (sometimes menstrual blood), semen (for example "Blood and Semen II" (1990)) or mother's milk. Within this series are a number of works in which objects are submerged in bodily fluids. Most famous of these is "Piss Christ" (1987), a photograph of a plastic crucifix in a glass of urine. This caused great controversy when first exhibited (see Piss Christ for more details). Serrano, alongside other artists such as Robert Mapplethorpe, became a figure who some attacked for producing offensive art while others defended in the name of artistic freedom (see the American "culture wars" of the 1990s). --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andres_Serrano [Aug 2004]A History of Sex (Eline) (1996-1998) - Andres Serrano
The social construction of sexual behavior - its taboos, regulation and social and political impact - has had a profound effect on the various cultures of the world since prehistoric times. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_sex [Jul 2005]
see also: sex - history of sex
Books
- Appearance - by Danilo Eccher, Achille Bonito Oliva, Mariko Mori, Yasumasa Morimura, Luigi Ontani, Tony Oursler, Andres Serrano [Amazon US] [Amazon UK]
Essays by Danilo Eccher and Achille Bonito Oliva.
Mariko Mori, Yasumasa Morimura, Tony Oursler, Luigi Ontani, Pierre et Gilles, Andres Serrano, each of the artists featured in this book explores the theatrical aspects of art, creating disfigured and unsure realities that escape the rules of traditional representation. From Mori's self depiction as a futuristic space goddess to Morimura's transformation into Marilyn Monroe to Pierre et Gilles' dreamlike portraits filled with dramatic shadow and shimmering light, these works are often prop- and costume-oriented, and blend elements of camp, high fashion, and future technology into elaborate visions of a fantastic, alternate universe. Devoting individual sections to each artist with twenty photos documenting their works, this book is more in-depth than a normal exhibition catalogue, and has a jazzy, pop appeal that will attract both fashion and art fans. --amazon.com
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