10 Controversial Artworks That Created A Storm of Theories Around Them

Can art really be exempted from controversies? No, we didn’t think so. 

Sometimes, the topic of controversy is genuine but it’s really over the top quite a few other times.

Popular paintings across the globe are mostly susceptible to getting hit by controversy. 

Well, vice-versa is also true in this case. For instance, some paintings become popular for a controversial reason. 

Controversy is a very subjective thing. It can hold a very different meaning and significance for different people. 

Yet controversial artworks have the audacity to create a disparity between the people. 

Keeping that in mind, an artwork that might be celebratory for some, could be a symbol of disrespect for another. 

Now let’s get acquainted with some of the most controversial artworks in the world and decode the theories behind them! 

1. Fountain by Marcel Duchamp 

On a general note, art is known as a medium of expression for unheard and untouched feelings. 

It has been a prominent influence on various reforms and political movements. 

Whereas, there are some controversial art pieces that astonished the world by their mere presence in art exhibitions. One such story rolls out from The Society of Independent Artists, New York. 

It was just the beginning of the post-war era. Art was becoming substantially popular amongst the American people. 

Art exhibitions and symposiums became a popular sight in the big apple New York. 

The Society of Independent Artists conducted an exhibition for autonomous artists and made a claim about the event being completely equivalent.

Inspired by the claim, French artist Marcel Duchamp produced a urinal shaped fountain of porcelain, and submitted it as an entry for exhibition. 

He submitted his controversial art with a fake name “R.Mutt” signed on his artwork as he was one of the board members. 

His skepticism about the Society’s liberal claim turned out to be true as his entry got rejected. 

The society desolated his artwork saying that “Something which contains human waste cannot be termed as a symbol of creativity” 

Duchamp resigned after the society’s disrespectful act towards him. However, The Fountain fetched him global attention and became one of the most controversial artworks.

(Also Read: Viking Art Guide)

2. Guernica by Pablo Picasso 

Probably one of the most controversial artworks of all time, Guernica by Pablo Picasso is an exemplary post-war controversial artwork.

It reflects the devastation caused after the hazardous bombing of the Spanish city Guernica. 

In 1937, the fascist government of Spain along with Nazis, bombed the city of Guernica resulting in major loss of life and infrastructure.

Post this incident Spanish Republican Govt. was looking for famous Spanish artists to produce a masterpiece that could be displayed in the Paris World fair. 

They approached Pablo Picasso with the request and without a second thought, Picasso depicted the devastation caused by Guernica bombing in his painting. 

He included forms of life affected by the bombing. There were a significant number of victims affected by these aerial attacks which was shown in this famous painting by Picasso. 

A man known for using vibrant and vivid color schemes in his paintings ended up incorporating white and black significantly.

The black and white color scheme was used to depict the colorless and tragic life left after the bombings. The monochromatic color scheme of Guernica made it one of the most controversial paintings. 

3. Blue Poles by Jackson Pollock

Formerly known as number 11, this is one of the most controversial artworks by Jackson Pollock.

It is one of the finest examples of abstraction of art as it embodies every element from the expressionist style of painting. 

Pollock was a very famous American artist known for his expertise in creating vivid abstract paintings using various color schemes.

In Blue Poles, Pollock used sticks instead of any paint brushes and tools along with his exceptional dripping technique. 

This artwork took the international audience by storm after its purchase in Australia. It sold for $1.3 millions and was recorded as the Highest amount paid for any American painting at that point of time. 

After its movement to Australia, controversies arose with most of them being targeted at its massive price. 

However, after a few years of tussle, it still rests in the National Gallery of Australia and elevates the surroundings by its artistic remanence. 

Also Read: Paintings by Jackson Pollock

4. Campbell’s Soup Cans by Andy Warhol

Painted by one of the famous artists of Pop art, Andy Warhol, this painting is a depiction of real life ordinary moments on a large and grand scale. 

Andy Warhol painted soup cans that were manufactured and sold by Campbell Soup company in the 1960s. 

With a thirst of portraying something ordinary, Warhol wanted to paint something that could connect with the audience with a snap of fingers. 

Andy Warhol was always influenced by consumerism. Many of his paintings portray consumerist ideas with a little tweak. 

He painted controversial art in order to grab the attention of the audience prominently. 

However, his consumerist approach did not align with the Campbell Soup Company’s brand value ideas. 

Soon after this painting became popular, a cloud of controversies burst upon Warhol. Eventually making it an example of controversial art. 

5. Piss Christ by Andres Serrano 

Also known as “Immersion”, this photo art work by Andres Serrano is one of the most controversial artworks of all time. 

The photograph contains a crucifix submerged in an orange colored liquid. This photo is from Serrano’s series of photographs in which he depicted the crucifix submerged in various natural liquids. 

He included blood, milk and urine in that. 

The point of controversy in this photo is Christ’s immersion in urine. This escalated even more when the artist claimed the urine to be his. 

Despite that, Piss Christ received a high amount of critical appreciation for its unique and courageous perspective. 

Serrano received the award for best visual arts from  the Southeastern Centre for Contemporary Arts. 

It was applauded in many parts of America for being a unique presentation of visual art but on the other side Serrano’s mailbox was full of death threats and hate mails.

Due to these controversies, Serrano lost his $15,000 grant as well which he had received as an appreciation from the jury of Centre of Contemporary Arts. 

6. Dropping a Han Dynasty Urn by Ai Weiwei

Created by an artist of excessivism, Ai Weiwei, Dropping of a Han Dynasty urn is a very famous incident that shook the global creative diaspora. 

The Chinese contemporary was brought in a very challenging terrain yet he was from one of the first generation of Chinese students that went to the US for studies. He lived there for about 12 years. 

His return to China marked a milestone for the Chinese art community. Due to communism and political instability, freedom of expression wasn’t available to people. 

Dropping a Han Dynasty urn was a publicity stunt pulled off by one of the controversial artists Ai Weiwei to make people aware about losing their culture and heritage.

Weiwei was heavily criticized and ridiculed for destroying a precious artifact in the name of political awakening. 

Some even labeled him as a maoist quoting Mao’s words “The only way of building a new world is by destroying the old one.”

7. My Bed by Tracey Emin

A peculiar and unpopular theme carved into an art of sculpture by British artist Tracey Emin, My Bed is a snapshot from a routine life of the artist.

This controversial artwork includes various elements from Tracey Emin’s life. 

A crumpled tissue, a set of sanitary napkins with period stains and a pair of used condoms along with lubricants can be seen. 

These items indicated a possible break up that the artist must’ve gone through at that time. 

The stand out element of this painting happens to be the confessionalism embedded in each of the items visible. 

The confessional nature of this painting became the main reason behind all the controversies. 

Although Emin has produced controversial artworks like these before and after this affair. Still this painting remains as one of the most controversial ones from the late 20th century. 

8. Lady Godiva by John Collier 

Lady Godiva painting is probably the most successful artwork by British artist John Collier and yet controversial.  

With its theme dating back to nearly 1000 years, this painting became infamous for different reasons. 

Lady Godiva is a portrayal of the naked horse ride taken by anglo saxon Lady Godiva against his husband Leofric’s evil regime. 

Leofric was the Earl of Mercia, who contributed towards building several monasteries. He suddenly started imposing unreasonable taxes on his tenants. 

Apart from running this irrational campaign, Leofric was not considering anyone. 

So, his wife decided to show this act of resistance against his cruel deeds. 

After this incident, Lady Godiva was mentioned in the domesday survey from which artist John Collier took inspiration to paint her. 

This painting was termed controversial because of its nudity. The historical figure Lady Godiva is considered a symbol of holiness by some people.

A painting with an astonishing historic legacy and an immaculate artistic theme, Lady Godiva is none less than a jewel to keep as a souvenir of art. 

9. For The Love of God by Damien Hirst

The most expensive artwork from this list, For The Love of God is a sculpture by Damien Hirst. 

A very untraditional piece of art, this sculpture is a platinum cast of human skull studded with more than 8000 diamonds on it. 

Quoted at a whopping price of 10 million pounds, this sculpture consists of a large pink diamond embedded on the forehead of the skull. 

Apart from this, the teeth used by Hirst were also of a real human, bought by him in London. 

This 2007 artwork is valued at more than 50 million pounds currently. However, its valuation became a topic of discussion among the modern art community. 

Apart from the use of ornamental elements, this sculpture became famous for a series of copyright infringements as well.

Damien Hirst sent a copyright infringement notice to Peter Fuss. This incident soon turned into a controversy and For The Love of God kept becoming famous with the night.  

10. Les Demoiselles d’ Avignon by Pablo Picasso 

One of the most controversial artworks from the early 20th century, Les Demoiselles d’Avignon is a well-known Spanish painting that blazed chaos.   

Produced by the legendary Pablo Picasso, this painting portrays five nude women prostitutes standing on a street of Barcelona.

What made this painting peculiar and controversial is the composition and portrayal of the subjects. 

This artwork follows a proto-cubist style which justifies the facial textures of the women subjects. 

However, the disjointed and irregular body highlights of the prostitutes accounted for the non-feminine look they portray. 

This became a point of conflict and created a difference of opinion amongst other contemporary artists. 

Many art enthusiasts highlighted Picasso’s recent influence with primitivism and mentioned that the unfamiliar look on the prostitutes is nothing but a racial remark by Picasso. 

Epilogue:

“An artists world is reflection of his artistic inspirations” 

These paintings/artworks are driven from different inspirations. Some aim to inspire the world, some seek inspiration from the world. 

With different perspectives, come different receptions and feedback! 

No matter how controversial or publicized an artwork gets, the prime motive should not change!

These controversial artwork testify to the existence of alternate realities in today’s world. 

Authors Note: 

I’d like to acknowledge all the readers who stayed till the end and read the whole piece. 

I hope my writing did justice to your time!

Who wouldn’t enjoy a classy controversial portrait hung on their wall? Plus it’s too easy to order and pretty light on the pocket as well!

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