7. Andres Serrano – Piss Christ, 1987
In 1987, Andres Serrano urinated into a container, dropped a crucifix in it, took a photo, and ended up winning a federal arts prize. The photograph was one of a series of photographs that the artist had made that involved classical statuettes submerged in various fluids – milk, blood, and urine. The full title of the work is ‘Immersion (Piss Christ)’. The presentation is that of a golden, rosy medium including a constellation of tiny bubbles. But the creation of the work led to the wrath of politicians such as Jesse Helms – not exactly the most Christ-like figure when it came to segregation in the 60s – howling from the political rooftops. Bodily functions are ideal for profaning the sacred: Apart from the submerged crucifix, Piss Christ is 95% water, 0.5% ammonia, 0.6% sodium, and 100% offensive to the American right.