Body fluids in art

Occasionally in art, artists use body fluids as a medium in their art. Examples include:

Artist	Title	Year	Description	Urine	Blood	Vomit	Semen	Other	Notes
Andy Warhol	Oxidations series	1977	Invited friends to urinate onto a canvas of metallic copper pigments, so that the uric acid would oxidize into abstract patterns.[1]
Elito Circa	Love and Life artwork series, A Thousand and One Lives and Pacquiao Hearted Fist,[2][3] Duterte in the Center of the Triangle.[4][5][6]	1982	He incorporates some strands of his hairs in his painting and signing his drawing using his own blood to authenticate the artworks and later explore and experiment it as a medium in paintings.[7]						Human Hair
Andres Serrano	Piss Christ and various other works	1987	Piss Christ, a controversial photograph of a crucifix submerged in urine Various other photos featuring the use of urine, feces, blood, semen and human milk						Human milk
Marc Quinn	Self	1991, recast 1996	A frozen cast of the artist's head made entirely of his own blood
Helen Chadwick	Piss Flowers	1991–92	Twelve white-enameled bronzes cast from cavities made by urinating in snow (though this might not be characterized as the use of bodily fluids in art, just their use in preparation)
Hermann Nitsch	Das Orgien Mysterien Theater	1962–1998	Uses urine, feces, blood and more in their ritual performances
Marcel Duchamp	Paysage fautif ("Faulty Landscape")	1946
Stelarc and Nina Sellars	Blender	2005-2016	The artists mixed their lipids inside a sealed, air-powered machine.[8]						Lipids
Gu Wenda	Oedipus Refound	1989							Various fluids[9]
Judy Chicago	Menstruation Bathroom	1972	Used tampons displayed in a garbage can.

Criticism and difficulties

Depicting objects of popular respect (religious subjects, flags, etc.) in art which includes body fluids can trigger public protests due to such material's historic association with dirtiness. The outcry about the Piss Christ photo is an example.[10]

In addition to the obvious difficulties of preserving perishable material, there can be regulations complicating transport by rail, truck, or aircraft of liquid body fluids due to the fluids' possible classification as dangerous goods.[11]

The sale of blood art via eBay is prohibited as eBay prohibits the sale of body parts, and classifies blood art as falling under this heading.[12]

See also

• New materials in 20th-century art

References

1. "Oxidations & Abstractions". Archived from the original on 2015-01-19. Retrieved 19 January 2015.
2. "Artist uses own blood, hair in paintings". The Philippine Star. Philippine Star. 2011. Retrieved 2011-07-12.
3. "Ecija folk artist paints Pacquiao using his own blood". Manila Bulletin Newspaper. 2015. p. 15. Archived from the original on 2015-05-18. Retrieved 2015-05-02.
4. "國際/熱血相挺　菲畫家用血畫出杜特蒂". cdnews.com.tw. 2016. Archived from the original on 2016-11-04. Retrieved 2016-11-02.
5. "Artist Paints Duterte Portrait in Blood". CNN TV Network.
6. "Filipino folk artist portraits duterte using own blood". Daily News PH. Archived from the original on 2016-11-09. Retrieved 2016-11-02.
7. "Ripley's Believe It or Not". Ripley's Believe It or Not. 2011. Retrieved 2011-09-11.
8. "Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA)". Museum of Contemporary Art Australia. Archived from the original on 2016-12-20. Retrieved 2016-12-03.
9. Zhou, Yan (2015-03-11). Odyssey of Culture: Wenda Gu and His Art. Springer. ISBN 9783662454114.
10. Fusco, Coco (Fall 1991). "Shooting the Klan: An Interview with Andres Serrano". Community Arts Network. CommunityArtsNetwork. Archived from the original on 2011-04-19.
11. "International Air Transit Association page on DGR (Dangerous Goods Regulations)". Archived from the original on 2011-08-05. Retrieved 2011-08-05.
12. "Blood Art". Archived from the original on 2008-02-24.