Shock in Contemporary Art

     One of the most important points to shock or controversy in contemporary art is to get an audience to pay attention. Controversy draws individuals into the piece and brings awareness to a range of themes, such as, societal, religious, or political, to the surface for many to observe. Thriving as an artist is a hard business, hence the term, “starving artist.” There is a plethora of powerful art pieces that include a political, religious, or societal theme, which fly under the radar because they do not have an initial shock that attracts viewers to want to care about the piece. A way to make an impact on people through art is to have a controversy and to attract the media and critics to debate if the work is ‘good’ or ‘bad.’ 

   Piss Christ, by Serrano, is a famous and known piece for its controversy. If the piece had not sparked such shock and hatred in its audience, it would have been less significant and not talked about or taught in school. When analyzing Piss Christ, Serrano used bodily fluids, blood, and urine, to commemorate Jesus in natural ‘materials,’ that He also shared as being part human. In the textbook, Freeland states, “Serrano claims that his work was not done to denounce religion but its institutions– to show how our contemporary culture is commercializing and cheapening Christianity and its icons’ (pg. 15, 2003). Serrano’s theme is not a popular view in Christianity, but the controversy of Piss Christ got people to listen at least. The shock value brought in people from all over the world to debate and contemplate the idea. 

    Koons started his controversial career by “putting consumer items in Plexiglas or boxes. Anything from vacuum cleaners to basketballs” (Hughes, 2004). His artistic career ranged in controversy from pornography, to creating exact replicas of advertisements, and statues of pop culture. Koons dabbled in themes of religion and made a connection between pop culture and Christianity. He became a well-known artist for creating a shock factor in each piece, that both confused and raised questions from the audience. This is seen in Koons's sculpture of Micheal Jackson and his pet monkey, bubbles. In The video, The New Shock of the New, Jeff Koons states “I saw a Micheal at the time as somebody that really would do anything for his art. Somebody who was just transformed. He wanted a large audience and at the same time, the public seemed so hungry for this too. Micheal was a symbol of the kind of celebrity culture that we look to that culture for. This deals with this Christ-like quality of putting somebody in this type of situation. It has a sense of evolution and a sense of eternity” (Hughes, 2004). He explains how he used these ideologies to create pieces that the public would ponder about. These questions arise from publicity and that’s how artists become well-known. 

Freeland, C. (2003). Art Theory. Oxford University Press Academic UK.                            https://tiffin-bookshelf.vitalsource.com/books/9780191579325

Hughes, R. (2004). The New Shock of the New. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPUO6F-8p1o