Artist responsible for "Piss Christ" guest of Pope in Vatican

This week the Pope welcomed artists to the Sistine Chapel, reminding them that true beauty inspires the desire for God, and renders glory to Him, for the 50th anniversary of the inauguration of the Vatican Museums’ Collection of Modern Art by Pope St. Paul VI.

One of them was Andres Serrano.  There is nothing beautiful about his work.

He is notorious for "Piss Christ", a photo of a crucifix submerged in his own urine which was destroyed by protestors in 2012, only for the a restored/or replaced version to be sold at Christie's for £130,000 in 2022. Blasphemy pays.

One of his earlier works was "Blood Cross", filled with cow's blood.

Another work in several variations is Red Pope 1, II and III. A plastic statue of Pope Saint John-Paul II photographed immersed in animal blood.

More details of his other works can be found here. Untitled X is more vile than I would want to put on this page, along with other works illustrating animals gratuitously slaughtered.

The Pope clearly loves the artist and hates the Church and her Divine Founder.

By way of more background.

Scandal artist buys piece of Trump wedding cake at auction

The taste might be rather mediocre after 14 years, but nevertheless Andres Serrano paid almost 2000 dollars for a very special piece of cake. The artist instigated many a scandal in the past.

Just under eight centimetres high, the gem is called "Chocolate Truffle Cake with Buttercream Rose and Gold Flakes". In the US, controversial artist Andres Serrano has bought at auction a 14-year-old cake that was served at the 2005 wedding of then-realtor Trump and model Melania at the Mar-a-Lago club in Florida.

According to the art newspaper "Art Newspaper", Serrano paid 1880 dollars, the equivalent of about 1700 euros, at the auction in Boston last week. What the artist plans to do with the piece of cake is unclear. But he is known for his use of unusual materials: The New York-born artist has worked with sperm, breast milk and blood, among other things.

His photograph "Piss Christ", which shows a crucifix in a jar of his own urine, caused a sensation in 1987. The work was destroyed in 2011 in Avignon, France, presumably by Christian fundamentalists: they mauled the artwork and another of Serrano's paintings with cutting and striking tools

Serrano had photographed Trump in 2003 as part of a series on the USA. At the wedding in Florida in January 2005, guests included model Heidi Klum, Arnold Schwarzenegger, rapper P. Diddy and ex-president Bill Clinton with wife Hillary. The chocolate cake served as a substitute for the actual, seven-tier wedding cake, which cost an estimated $50,000 and was not served because of the amount of wire frame.

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