This is a rather strange story from an art exhibition in France. A man took a hammer and destroyed the controversial photograph of a crucifix. The reason why he got angry was because the photograph had the crucifix bathed in urine.
This happened at the modern art museum, the Collection Lambert in France. The photograph was made by an American artist Andres Serrano and titled it as 'Immersion (Piss Christ)'.
This is not the first time something of the sort happened. This photograph has been under fire ever since Serrano created it. In 1987, Serrano was heavily criticized for his Piss Christ work that lead to a religious controversy altogether.
The photograph was part of an exhibition called 'I Believe in Miracles'. It was denounced by right wing groups and considered blasphemous. Perhaps, the man who damaged the photo belonged to the right wing also.
The police saw two people entering the museum with spray paints and a chisel in their jackets but the guards removed these objects. However, a third person got hold of a hammer to damage the photograph. The attacker managed to escape. He also ended up damaging another piece of art while escaping titled 'The Church (Sister Jeanne-Myriam)' that showed a nun praying.
On Tuesday, the museum will reopen with the destroyed works on display so that the public can view the damage.
Serrano made this work by placing a crucifix in urine and blood and Christian groups have criticized it openly. The Christian activists will take Collection Lambert to court and want the museum to remove the photograph from its exhibition. They feel, this photograph insults Christians. The exhibit opened last December and will run till May 8th.
I understand the creativity and artist connection completely but the crucifix and urine combo was a bit too much or beyond my understanding. Obviously, with such a sensitive subject religion and holy figures involved, one has to be careful because you might end up hurting sentiments of many.
