Arte Para la Gente: The mind of Andres Serrano

Note: The following post is a near copy of a post originally published in September 2008.

Depending on whom you ask, Andres Serrano is either a courageous contemporary artist or an immoral perverted heathen. What is clear is that he is not afraid to ruffle some feathers through his artwork and photographs of risqué and taboo subjects.


A 2008 exhibition was absolute crap and we mean it in the most literal way possible:

Now, the genial renegade is back, fulfilling his desire to do, in his words, "something that would provoke even me"—namely, shooting 66 different piles of doo-doo dumped by as many animals, blown up to eight feet high and ready to hang on the walls of the Yvon Lambert Gallery (in New York City) beginning September 4…



"I always said I wouldn't work with children and sex, and I wouldn't work with shit, so when I came up with this idea [which dawned on him, to the best of his recollection, during the nude wrestling scene in Borat], I had to put myself in a special place. I had to prepare myself mentally—it was a scientific and aesthetic investigation."

Do you find Serrano’s work moving, nauseating, or perhaps some combination of the two? In the video below Serrano discusses how he likes to “go below the surface” in his art such as photographing members of the KKK:

If you are interested in viewing some of his work please check out this Not Safe For Work video.

Online Sources- YouTube, Slate, The Latin Americanist, Village Voice

Today’s Video: The art of Andres Serrano

Depending on whom you ask, Latino artist Andres Serrano is either a courageous contemporary artist or an immoral perverted heathen. What is clear is that he is not afraid to ruffle some feathers via his artwork and photographs of risqué subjects.

His latest exhibition is crap and we mean it in the most literal way possible:

Now, the genial renegade is back, fulfilling his desire to do, in his words, "something that would provoke even me"—namely, shooting 66 different piles of doo-doo dumped by as many animals, blown up to eight feet high and ready to hang on the walls of the Yvon Lambert Gallery (in New York City) beginning September 4…

"I always said I wouldn't work with children and sex, and I wouldn't work with shit, so when I came up with this idea [which dawned on him, to the best of his recollection, during the nude wrestling scene in Borat], I had to put myself in a special place. I had to prepare myself mentally—it was a scientific and aesthetic investigation."

Do you find Serrano’s work moving or nauseating? Judge for yourself with the video below showing several of his pieces.

Note: The following video contains several strong images. It is definitely not safe for work!

Sources- The Latin Americanist, YouTube, Village Voice, Slate

Daily Headlines: August 28, 2008

* Puerto Rico: Daddy Yankee’s publicist denied reports that the reggaetonero originally offered to endorse Barack Obama before giving his allegiance to John McCain.

* U.S.: Controversial Latino artist Andres Serrano is working on a new exhibit centering on crap (literally, not so much critically).

* Venezuela: Ex-London mayor Ken Livingstone visited Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez in order to “act as an advisor” on Caracas.

* Dominican Republic: A representative of the Dalai Lama cited “exhaustion” as to the reason why the spiritual leader cancelled his upcoming visits to Mexico and the Dominican Republic.

Image- AFP (“John McCain (L) is endorsed by Latin recording artist Daddy Yankee during a news conference in Phoenix, Arizona” last Monday).

Sources- AFP, Village Voice, The Latin Americanist, Wonkette, Guardian UK

Neo-Nazis vandalize Andres Serrano exhibit

A pack of Swedish neo-Nazis ran amuck at a gallery last Friday and destroyed several photographs taken by artist Andres Serrano. Serrano- a New York-born photographer of Honduran and Afro-Cuban background- was “shocked and horrified” after the masked hooligans crashed the gallery in Lund, Sweden and ruined some of his work:

"No guards were on duty in the gallery, said Viveca Ohlsson, the show’s curator...By the time the masked men had finished, half the show — seven 50-by-60-inch photographs, worth some $200,000 over all — had been destroyed. The men left behind leaflets reading, 'Against decadence and for a healthier culture.' The fliers listed no name or organization."

However, one of the members of the group videotaped the incident and posted it on YouTube. The ruffians claimed to “express the opinion of normal people,” before showing how they entered the gallery and used picks and crowbars to ruin some of Serrano's images.

Click here to watch the video mentioned above.

Serrano’s works have been the subject of much controversy. His most infamous moment was over “Piss Christ” (image)- a 1989 photograph of a crucifix immersed in his own urine.

(Hat tip: Metafilter).

Image- The City Review

Sources- Wikipedia, Queerty, Towleroad, communityarts.net, Metafilter