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Lot Essay
"I don't consider myself religious, but I do consider myself spiritual, which is why I am not a heretic. I have no problem with God; my issue is with the Church, with the dogma and confusion, a perversion of the actual teaching, that seems to have failed Christianity." (A. Serrano, in: 'Andres Serrano. Works 1983-1993', Philadelphia 1995, p.100.)
In the truptych 'Red Pope I-III', a plastic statuette of the Pope has been submerged in animal blood. The traditional pure white robes here become stained, suggesting the Church's culpability for the death of innocents over the centuries. In the shadow of the AIDS crisi, blood has come to be perceived as especially dangerous. Blood has come to symbolise death and defilement, while for ages, as Bell Hooks points out, it symbolised redemption. "Indeed, one of the most disturbing aspects of Serrano's blood photographs is the startling beauty of these images. [...] Serrano's work urges us to luxuriate in the ecstasy of red." (In: B. Wallis (ed.), 'Andres Serrano. Body and Soul', Philadelphia 1995, unpaged.)
The essence of Serrano's work is perhaps best summarised by the artist himself: "I like to make formally pleasing pictures, but with an edge." (In: 'Talking Art I', no.12, 1993, p.128.)
In the truptych 'Red Pope I-III', a plastic statuette of the Pope has been submerged in animal blood. The traditional pure white robes here become stained, suggesting the Church's culpability for the death of innocents over the centuries. In the shadow of the AIDS crisi, blood has come to be perceived as especially dangerous. Blood has come to symbolise death and defilement, while for ages, as Bell Hooks points out, it symbolised redemption. "Indeed, one of the most disturbing aspects of Serrano's blood photographs is the startling beauty of these images. [...] Serrano's work urges us to luxuriate in the ecstasy of red." (In: B. Wallis (ed.), 'Andres Serrano. Body and Soul', Philadelphia 1995, unpaged.)
The essence of Serrano's work is perhaps best summarised by the artist himself: "I like to make formally pleasing pictures, but with an edge." (In: 'Talking Art I', no.12, 1993, p.128.)