The Vienna Künstlerhaus has unveiled a new exhibition titled "Thou Shalt Make Yourself an Image," featuring 42 artists exploring the complex relationship between art and religion. The show presents works that once sparked major scandals, raising questions about whether such pieces have lost their provocative power in today's cultural landscape.
The Künstlerhaus has recently shown no hesitation in tackling grand themes, having previously organized exhibitions around concepts like Peace, Substance, and System Relevance. While Vienna's Dom Museum is typically known for similar thematic exhibitions, the leadership of both institutions confirms they don't interfere with each other's programming. The Künstlerhaus has access to different artistic paths that allow for more controversial displays.
Curator Günther Oberhollenzer was particularly influenced by a 2008 incident in Bolzano, South Tyrol, where German artist Martin Kippenberger's crucified green frog sparked a major art scandal. This controversial crucifix now hangs in the exhibition's first side room, positioned behind a work by Renate Bertlmann featuring a cross adorned with pacifiers. Another provocative piece includes Ursula Beiler's "Grüß Göttin" (a play on "Grüß Gott" meaning "Hello Goddess"), which once caused controversy when displayed at a highway entrance near Kufstein but now elicits mere smiles in Vienna.
The exhibition's openness, however, presents certain challenges. The selection is based on somewhat unclear concepts, making it difficult to define what exactly is meant by "art and religion." Without clear taboos, there are no boundaries to violate. The modification of the Second Commandment in the exhibition title remains insufficiently explained, and while the ancient debates over image prohibitions, iconoclasm, and religious image propaganda may not be suitable subjects for a contemporary art show, more theoretical foundation would have benefited the presentation.
The Christian tradition, which the exhibition focuses on exclusively, has produced genuine evergreens in terms of visual formulas. The crucifixion, along with the carrying of the cross and the deposition with the mourning Mary (Pietà), represent powerful pictorial formulas that function even for non-religious viewers. The Madonna image remains equally compelling. However, the question of what contemporary artists make of these traditional images becomes more complex.
The exhibition raises intriguing questions about whether Christian images now sit in artists' repertoire like a bottle of whiskey, pulled out when a strong statement is needed or when inspiration runs dry. Alternatively, do these images still emanate a spirit in the sense of religious practice? The selection doesn't provide clear answers to these fundamental questions.
Andres Serrano's high-gloss depictions of carrying the cross seem to revel in the power of the pictorial formula, much like the witty image pairings by Tyrolean artist Lois Hechenblaikner, who connects Austrian folk singer Hansi Hinterseer with the Sermon on the Mount. Serrano, whose work "Piss Christ" once triggered a mega-scandal in the United States, demonstrates how religious imagery continues to provoke strong reactions.
Visitors to the Marina Abramović exhibition at the Albertina Modern will notice that this renowned performance artist is also a clever user of Christian iconography. In the upper floor of the Künstlerhaus, Abramović appears in a Madonna pose with a small girl as the child, continuing her exploration of religious symbolism.
The deconstruction of the Madonna image represents the most coherent part of the exhibition. Particularly striking are Julia Krahn's photographs, where she holds her aging father in a Pietà pose and elsewhere stands in a Madonna pose without a child. Leslie de Melo's colorful Madonnas recall Chris Ofili's "Holy Virgin Mary," though they come without the addition of elephant dung that caused the British artist to create a scandal in London in 1997.
In Vienna, the painting "Quaint Sunday/Mary's Penis No. 3" by Anouk Lamm Anouk might be the most likely to stir heated emotions, depicting a transgender person who is bleeding with an erect member. However, it remains unclear whether the Virgin Mary is actually intended, or if the painter is simply using the Madonna schema as a tool. Here, conceptual work on art and religion would be helpful, though perhaps such clear delineation was intentionally avoided.
The exhibition ultimately demonstrates how religious imagery continues to serve as a powerful reservoir for contemporary artists, even as the scandal potential of such works appears to have diminished in our current cultural moment. The show runs through early 2025, inviting visitors to contemplate the evolving relationship between sacred traditions and artistic expression in the modern world.
