9. Alternative Spaces, the NEA, and Censorship.pdf - Course ...
9. Alternative Spaces, the NEA, and Censorship.pdf - Course ...
9. Alternative Spaces, the NEA, and Censorship.pdf - Course ...
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Thursday, 17 January 13<br />
‘[In April 1989] <strong>the</strong> American Family Association (AFA) sent out<br />
one million copies of a letter denouncing an art work entitled Piss<br />
Christ (1987) by Andres Serrano. The work, a large-scale color<br />
photograph of a crucifix submerged in a luminous bath of urine, had<br />
been awarded a $15,000 prize by <strong>the</strong> Sou<strong>the</strong>astern Center for<br />
Contemporary Art in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, an institution<br />
partially funded by <strong>the</strong> <strong>NEA</strong>. Shortly after receiving <strong>the</strong> AFA's letter,<br />
Republican Alfonse D'Amato ripped up an exhibition catalog<br />
featuring Piss Christ on <strong>the</strong> floor of <strong>the</strong> Senate. In cheering on<br />
D'Amato's gesture, Helms announced, "The Senator from New York<br />
is absolutely correct in his indignation.... I do not know Mr. Andres<br />
Serrano <strong>and</strong> I hope I never meet him. Because he is not an artist, he<br />
is a jerk."’<br />
Andres Serrano (1950)<br />
Piss Christ, 1987
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