Blasphemy: Art That Offends

The issue of censorship has never been hotter. The boundary between artistic freedom and incitement is becoming ever more blurred, and the modes of objection by political and religious fundamentalists to the art they deem offensive are turning ever more extreme. God, Mohammed, Jesus, the Quran and the Torah have all been at one point or another subjected to artistic interpretation, as have more liberal values, such as friendship, education and the nation-state. The responses these images have provoked have ranged from indifference, to, in the case of Theo Van Gogh, murder. Through an examination of a broad range of contentious imagery in art, this book questions the status of blasphemy in a world ever more divided in its views of what is acceptable, and provides an intriguing vantage point from which to view the interrelations between religion, politics and the visual arts.\n\nWith works including Andres Serrano’s Piss Christ, Faith Ringgold’s The Flag Is Bleeding and Theo Van Gogh’s Submission, as well as popular films such as The Last Temptation of Christ and Life of Brian, and historical material from artists such as Hieronymus Bosch, this book takes a broad view of what is perceived as controversial, idolatrous or obscene. Elaborating on subjects such as the public funding of art, flag desecration, religious tolerance, and challenges to the secular nation state, this is a timely consideration of art and its relationship to authority.\n\nClearly written and thouroughly researched, this book will appeal to both the general reader and the expert in contemporary art. With an appendix of related articles and commentary-from media coverage to political posturing and religious dogmatic assertions-this book provides an important resource for anyone interested in the debates surrounding freedom of expression. The book’s content has wide-ranging relevance, running parallel with recent world events such as the ongoing conflict and polarisation in the Middle East; the Taliban in Afganistan; the Christian right in the United States; radical clerics in the UK and Europe; and the dismantling of formerly Soviet States.\n\nTheorist of religion and visual culture, S. Brent Plate, currently teaches at Texas Christian University and is the author/editor of numerous publications including Re-Viewing the Passion: Mel Gibson’s Film and Its Critics (Palgrave Macmillan, 2004).