{"id":11606,"date":"2016-11-11T16:24:05","date_gmt":"2016-11-11T16:24:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thevoiceoflondon.co.uk\/?p=11606"},"modified":"2016-11-11T16:24:05","modified_gmt":"2016-11-11T16:24:05","slug":"trash-or-treasure-7-controversial-artworks-across-the-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/trash-or-treasure-7-controversial-artworks-across-the-years\/","title":{"rendered":"Trash or treasure? Seven controversial works of art from over the years"},"content":{"rendered":"

Art is, by nature, controversial.\u00a0The line between artist expression and \u2018my five-year-old could do that\u2019 is blurry, and opinions on the authenticity and artistic value of art is often divided. Where should it be drawn? We let you decide.<\/h3>\n

Reporter: Chloe Chapman | Sub-Editor: James Brookes<\/h3>\n
\"You

You might have caught Tracey Emin’s ‘My Bed’ when it was on show at The Tate last year, but have you seen these seven other controversial pieces? I (Huck Magazine)<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

We look at seven of the most controversial pieces of artwork from over the years.<\/p>\n

From starving dogs, to depictions of rape, it’s all been done before.<\/p>\n

Which will you find most offensive?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

1. Guillermo Vargas,\u00a0Eres Lo Que Lees (You Are What You Read)<\/em>, 2007<\/h3>\n
\"Guillermo

Guillermo Vargas’ stray dog at C\u00f3dice Gallery exhibition\u00a0|\u00a0(ART21 Magazine)<\/p><\/div>\n

Vargas\u2019s display at an exhibition in C\u00f3dice Gallery, Nicaragua, proved to be extremely controversial with the public.<\/p>\n

It involved a stray dog being tied to a wall on a leash and was left without food or water.<\/p>\n

He even had to the audacity to use dog biscuits to spell out \u201cEres Lo Que Lees\u201d, which is Spanish for \u201cYou Are What You Read\u201d.<\/p>\n

Despite an uproar, the gallery allowed the exhibition to continue, insisting the dog was unchained and given food and water outside of visiting hours.<\/p>\n

While this may be true, it still raises some pretty huge ethical questions when it comes to live animals in art.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

2.\u00a0Chris Ofili,\u00a0The Holy Virgin Mary,\u00a0<\/em>1996<\/span><\/h3>\n
\"Chris

Chris Ofili’s The Holy Virgin Mary |\u00a0(ARC Magazine)<\/p><\/div>\n

Ofili\u2019s painting portrays a black Virgin Mary surrounded by pornographic images and even elephant dung.<\/p>\n

Despite its creation in 1996, it was only in 1999 that this work of art was met with heavy criticism and disgust.<\/p>\n

Scheduled to be exhibited in New York\u2019s Brooklyn Museum, the Mayor at the time, Rudy Giuliani, branded it “sick” and tried to prevent its showcase by cutting the museum\u2019s funding.<\/p>\n

He was unsuccessful and the painting later went on to sell for a huge $4.6 million (\u00a33.6 million) at auction.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

3. \u00a0Andres Serrano,\u00a0Piss Christ,\u00a0<\/em>1987<\/span><\/h3>\n
\"Andres

Andres Serrano’s\u00a0Piss Christ by Let There Be Light | (WordPress)<\/p><\/div>\n

Piss Christ<\/em> is an interesting piece by Serrano that combines Jesus and urine which \u2014 unsurprisingly \u2014 drew a lot of backlash.<\/p>\n

Serrano took a picture of a crucifix submerged in his own urine.<\/p>\n

While this piece has been controversial since it was first released for public viewing, anger peaked in France, 2011, when Catholic fundamentalists used hammers as they physically attacked the photograph.<\/p>\n

However, Serrano defended his work when speaking to the Guardian<\/em> in 2012, saying: “At the time I made Piss Christ<\/em>, I wasn\u2019t trying to get anything across.<\/p>\n

“In hindsight, I\u2019d say Piss Christ<\/em> is a reflection of my work, not only as an artist, but as a Christian.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

4. Marcel Duchamp,\u00a0Fountain,\u00a0<\/em>1917<\/span><\/h3>\n
\"Marcel

Marcel Duchamp’s Fountain |\u00a0(Quora)<\/p><\/div>\n

Duchamp\u2019s Fountain<\/em> is arguably one of the most controversial works to date.<\/p>\n

The upturned porcelain urinal was submitted to the Society of Independent Artists but was quickly banished from their exhibition. Duchamp responded by resigning from the society and went on to comment over four decades later.<\/p>\n

He later explained: “I was drawing people\u2019s attention to the fact that art is a mirage. A mirage, exactly like an oasis appears in the desert.<\/p>\n

“It is very beautiful until, of course, you are dying of thirst. But you don\u2019t die in the field of art. The mirage is solid.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

5. Ren\u00e9 Magritte, The Rape<\/em>, 1935<\/h3>\n
\"Ren\u00e9

Ren\u00e9 Magritte’s The Rape |\u00a0(Pinterest)<\/p><\/div>\n

Much like the title, this painting by Magritte was particularly bold and shocking for its time.<\/p>\n

In the style of surrealism, the picture portrays a woman\u2019s face, but\u00a0the eyes are swapped out for breasts, the nose is a belly button and her mouth is replaced by her pubis.<\/p>\n

Magritte used this artwork to make a statement about the way she felt men viewed women at the time.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

6. Pablo Picasso, Guernica<\/em>, 1937<\/h3>\n
\"Pablo

Pablo Picasso’s Guernica\u00a0| (Mark WK)<\/p><\/div>\n

Picasso created a huge work of art documenting the Nazi bombing of a small Spanish town in 1937.<\/p>\n

Described as one of his most politically incited works, it was created for the World Fair of the same year, but he stipulated it was only to be returned to Spain once democracy prevailed.<\/p>\n

It remains a deeply emotional response to war and was returned to Spain only in 1981 after the appointment of Juan Carlos as Spain\u2019s democratic leader.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

7. Damien Hirst,\u00a0The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living<\/em>, 1991<\/h3>\n
\"Damien

Damien Hirst’s The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living |\u00a0(Damien Hirst)<\/p><\/div>\n

A relatively recent controversial piece, Hirst was commissioned by Charles Saatchi to preserve a 4.3 metre tiger shark using formaldehyde in a glass case.<\/p>\n

The shark, which was captured in Queensland, Australia, was replaced in 2006 after it\u00a0decayed badly.<\/p>\n

This move also sparked controversy, as some declared it should no longer be valued at the same price given it had lost its authenticity.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, the piece became an iconic work of British art in the 1990s, and remains so to date.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

@VoiceofLDNarts<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Art is, by nature, controversial.\u00a0The line between artist expression and \u2018my five-year-old could do that\u2019 is blurry, and opinions on the authenticity and artistic value of art is often divided. Where should it be drawn?…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":476,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[482,553,1325,1517,1683,2487,2790,3971,4706,4717,5228],"class_list":["post-11606","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-arts","tag-andres-serrano","tag-art","tag-chris-ofili","tag-controversial-art","tag-damien-hirst","tag-fountain","tag-guillermo-vargas","tag-marcel-duchamp","tag-pablo-picasso","tag-paintings","tag-rene-margritte"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11606","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/476"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11606"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11606\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11606"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11606"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11606"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}