Piss Christ

work by Serrano

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July 19, 2026

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Piss Christ is a controversial photograph created by artist Andres Serrano in 1987. The artwork depicts a crucifix submerged in a jar of Serrano's own urine.1

When first exhibited, the piece garnered little attention. However, in 1989, its display at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts sparked a significant public outcry. Many viewers found the image to be profane and irreverent, particularly given that its creation was partially funded by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), a government agency.12

This controversy became a focal point of the "culture wars" in the United States during the late 1980s and 1990s, leading to a reexamination of public funding for the arts. The debate surrounding Piss Christ and similar provocative artworks prompted Congress to restrict grants to individual artists and reduce the NEA's funding. The artwork itself has been vandalized multiple times since its creation.12

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Catholic imagination
Catholic imagination in visual art
>Piss Christ (1987), one of a series of photographs for which Serrano submerged religious objects in his bodily fluids. However, Serrano’s series was directly inspired by his devout Catholic upbringing. As he told The Brooklyn Rail in 2017:
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>Piss Christ (1987), one of a series of photographs for which Serrano submerged religious objects in his bodily fluids. However, Serrano’s series was directly inspired by his devout Catholic upbringing. As he told The Brooklyn Rail in 2017:
Read More

Andres Serrano
…is an American photographer whose Piss Christ (1987), an image of a crucifix submerged in urine, resulted in a storm of controversy and was a central element in the so-called culture wars of the late 1980s and ’90s. The piece and others of a similar confrontational nature caused a reexamination…
Read More
…is an American photographer whose Piss Christ (1987), an image of a crucifix submerged in urine, resulted in a storm of controversy and was a central element in the so-called culture wars of the late 1980s and ’90s. The piece and others of a similar confrontational nature caused a reexamination…
Read More