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A photograph by Andrés Serrano, where we see a crucifix dipped in Serrano's urine. These two things on its Wikipedia page are sending me: “Sister Wendy Beckett, an art historian and Catholic nun, stated in a television interview with Bill Moyers that she regarded the work as not blasphemous but a statement on "what we are doing to Christ."[19] Beckett said that she was tempted to say that Piss Christ might be "comforting art" which she defined as art that was easy to have an opinion and react to.[20] She said, " ... they're not challenged in the slightest. Ninety percent of them think it's blasphemous, and few like me think, well, it might not be. It might be a rather ham-fisted attempt, to preach about the need to reverence the Crucifix. Not a very gifted young man but he's trying his best." "Real art," she continued, "makes demands."” “On June 23, 2023, Andres Serrano was included among a group of artists invited to meet with Pope Francis in the Sistine Chapel as part of an effort to "broaden out the engagement of the church with artists"...During this meeting, the pope blessed Serrano and gave him a thumbs up gesture of approval.”
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my favorite use of National Endowment for the Arts funding
1d ago
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pope francis was truly the goat. also i was always fascinated by this piece because at some point, this crucifix is just a piece of wood mass produced in a factory, and compared to other ”anti-religious” artworks at the time, this seemed the least offensive. it goes to show you how people can idolize a symbol (that may or may not be a true representation of events) and call it blasphemous. if he didn’t tell you it was supposedly suspended in urine, you would not be angry.
2d ago
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guy was severely dehydrated no one ever mentions this
3d ago
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@SLOWDAZZLE i was gonna say that too LOL maybe it was just sitting out for a day or so before he took the photo
3d ago
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@SLOWDAZZLE then he definitely shook it to get the bubbles right
3d ago
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"he's trying his best" and *thumbs up* from the Pope himself lmao
3d ago
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This painting is called Kneeling Nun, by Martin Von Meytens, an Austrian painter who happened to be a protestant. The front of the portrait is the one of a seemingly pious nun who seems to be taking up her duties on prayer, with another nun behind her looking very fixated on...what if we turn the portrait and see what she's looking at?...Oh! Good heavens!
Yep. If you actually look at the reverse of this portrait, you'll see a complete image exposing another perspective that suddenly parodies the catholic devotion, having the painting turn into a sapphic tale. As a catholic, I gravitate naturally towards everything that's ironic and this was just too delicious to ignore.
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Kind of a genre of medieval paintings, but confirms to me how horny people have always been and how we've always had to sublimate our desires into the dominant culture. It's so weirdly explicit and bizarre, and has so many layers in how it would have been used: a painting to look at, a page in a prayer book to speak as a script, a physical object to touch and venerate and meditate with.... like imagine people fingering this "wound" and being like, yes this is honestly totally about jesus. Crazy.
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I have so many paintings that I love and return to but this one is my deepest personal relationship. It is SO dark visually and thematically that each time you look at it, it feels like you finally see something new. It’s bizarre and haunting and there are these absolutely gargantuan naked male figures weeping in the middle ground.
In the research I’ve done, stunned scholars have theorized that it’s a reference to Michelangelo’s Ignudi’s or large naked male figures featured in a lot of his frescoes. But why are they at a Quaker meeting? Why are they so despairing? Quaker worship is characterized by a lot of internal prayer and silence followed by explosive fits of revelation and outcrying. It is a fascinating branch of Christianity and this painting depicts their private worship so well.
In all my research I have found no conclusive answer to the question of the giant nudes, but the question itself bring me back to this piece every time I visit this museum. Dark, haunting, a forever unraveling mystery to me.
Nov 2, 2024

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