What if I told you that some of your favourite artworks were banned or rejected because they challenged society’s norms? Throughout history, artists have been shaking up the art world with their radical and sometimes shocking artwork. Here are 10 of these artistic revolutions that pushed the boundaries of what was considered acceptable art.

1. “Fountain” by Marcel Duchamp

Fountain is a prefabricated urinal that Marcel Duchamp bought from a  plumbing supplier in New York City in 1917. Duchamp was known for repurposing commonplace practical items as art that would challenge the pre-existing schools of thought in the art world. He submitted this particular work to the Society of Independent Artists 1st ever exhibition which was prided on accepting any artwork, so of course, Duchamp would have seen this as a fitting opportunity to push the boundaries and stimulate discourse. However, to his dismay, Fountain was met with immense disapproval and even refusal by the Society who didn’t consider it to be art. Nevertheless, Fountain would go down in art history as playing a pivotal role in inciting fundamental questions surrounding the topics such as what is considered art and “the role of art institutions in evaluating and qualifying art”  which would be the springboard for the contemporary art scene.

2. “Le Dejeuner sur l’Herbe” by Edouard Manet

1863 marked the year of one of art history’s significant moments - the creation of “Le Déjeuner sur l’Herbe” by Edouard Manet which was characterized by and well-known for its controversial and scandalous nature. This painting depicts a naked woman amidst fully clothed men. In my opinion, the symbolism of this piece can denote the desired liberty of women and non-conformity or conversely, the portrayal of the male gaze and hyper-sexualisation of women. In 1863, this artwork was rejected by the Salon in Paris and rather was showcased at the Salon des Refuses (an art exhibition held that same year in Paris “by command of Napoleon III with the intention of exhibiting works that had been refused by the jury of the Official Salon” (Britannica). The painting shocked the conservative public who viewed it as vulgar, distasteful and indecent because it revolutionized traditional ideals and Romanticism which was favored at the time. 

3. Campbell’s Soup Cans by Andy Warhol

1962 - The year of the Beatles first debut single “Love Me Do”, the death of icon and entertainment reality star, Marilyn Munroe and the infamous year artist Andy Warhol created 32 paintings of a household item that would stir the art world. Andy Warhol was a prolific figure in the pop art movement who, through his influential work, explored themes such as artistic expression, pop culture, mass media culture, consumerism and mass production. History.com explains that “to make the Campbell’s Soup Can” paintings, Warhol projected the image of a soup can onto his blank canvas, traced the outline and details, then carefully filled it in using old-fashioned brushes and paint. For consistency, he used a hand stamp to make the fleur-de-lys pattern around each label’s bottom edge, but he didn’t always get it right. Small details—tiny splashes of red on the Tomato Soup painting, the unevenly applied fleur-de-lys stamp on others—betrayed the paintings’ handmade origins.”

It was during the exhibition in Los Angeles when this series truly sparked diverse reactions amongst the population - some encouraging his efforts and others scorning it because it threatened and contradicted traditional art and equally because Pop art was a style that had just emerged in the art scene. According to History.com, one critic wrote “this young ‘artist’ is either a soft-headed fool or a hard-headed charlatan” signaling the disapproval and skepticism held amongst many members of the public. Nevertheless, this series helped to redefine the rigid notions and considerations of art at the time because the public grew to appreciate Warhol’s work which was also later on displayed in The Museum of Modern Art as well as on the cover of Esquire magazine and in 1995 became part of The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s collection.

4. “Blue Poles or Number 11” Jackson Pollock

Jackson Pollock was a renowned American Abstract Expressionist who was known for his radical style that redefined art at the time. His action painting technique exuded dynamism and novel approaches through the use of paint splatters and drips and his work seeks to capture horrific and traumatic period of World War II. One of his paintings that did just that was “Blue Poles or Number 11”, a large-scale enamel and aluminium paint with glass on canvas piece, created in 1952. As highlighted by the National Gallery of Australia, “Blue poles was first exhibited at Pollock’s solo show at Sidney Jane Gallery in 1952 where it was titled Number 11, 1952. Pollock’s decision to forego conventional descriptive titles and simply number his paintings”. This painting showcased Pollock’s style in all of its glory with piercing white splatter,

The true uproar surrounding this piece arose in Australia when the Australian Government paid $1.3 million which was the most money spent on an American painting at that time. It became a controversial topic amongst the population, especially taxpayers who saw it as a waste of funds. Artland notes that “After 23 years of a conservative government, the Labourite and then Prime Minister Gough Whitlam wanted to make changes and supported this bold and progressive abstract art purchase. However, the conflict was such that many people who identified as progressives still wanted an Australian-only culture, and were angry that so much money was spent on this difficult-to-comprehend American abstract artist.” Nevertheless, Pollock had become and still remains a staple of international, American modern culture in Australia as well as a celebrated work globally.

5. “Do Women Have To Be Naked To Get Into The Met. Museum?” by Guerilla Girls

No but do they? - Do women have to be naked to get into the Met. Museum? Maybe that’s not a common question often asked now but it sure was a topic of discussion amongst feminist activist artists and groups like the Guerilla Girls back in 1989. Gender and ethnic bias and corruption in different spaces such as the arts, politics, pop culture has been prevalent in society for centuries and the Guerilla Girls found humour, visuals, and factual information transmitted through their artwork to be a means of guiding discourse on these topics. 

Now, in the 21st century, New York City is known for its eye-catching advertisement landscape which resembles that of the 1980s when advertising and billboards were regarded as an effective way to spread your message or grow your brand. Being aware of this, the Guerilla Girls made use of this platform by designing “this billboard for the Public Art Fund (PAF) in New York, aimed to criticize the museum institutions for under-representing female artists and objectifying women.” (Artland). The famous print showcased a naked woman in their signature gorilla mask with the question  “Do women have to be naked to get into the Met. Museum?” supported with the fact “less than 5% of the artists in the Modern Art Sections are women, but 85% of the nudes are female.” Unfortunately, their work was rejected by the PAF due to its “provocation” but that did not stop the determined feminist artists who opted to display their work as ads on NYC buses.

6. “My bed” by Tracey Emin

Tracey Emin is a British artist who works in a wide array of media including painting, drawing, video, sculpture, photography and more that are autobiographical and confessional in nature. Her work is known to address recurring themes such as rape, sex and abortion.

In 1999 at the Turner Prize exhibition, one year after the creation of “My bed”, she shocked the art world by creating an installation out of her own bed which had a similar effect to the British savoury food spread, Marmite’s brand slogan - either you love it or hate it! This statement artwork displayed crumpled stained sheets which were a “testimony not to a good night’s sleep, but to despair. Next to the bed, piles of junk from her daily life. Empty bottles of vodka. A pair of dirty slippers. Cartons of cigarettes and other trash. A pair of panties soiled with menstrual blood. A container of birth control pills. Condoms” (ImageJournal.org) which reflected her previous mental breakdown and darkest moments. She introduced the public to a grave, unfiltered reality that was often thought to be taboo. This work directly challenged the notions of decency, sexuality, mental health and the ideals to which women are subject.

7. “For The Love of God” by Damien Hirst

Born in 1965, Daniel Hirst is a British contemporary artist, art collector and entrepreneur. As highlighted in his biography on his website, “Since the late 1980’s, Hirst has used a varied practice of installation, sculpture, painting and drawing to explore the complex relationships between art, religion, science, life and death. Explaining: “Art’s about life and it can’t really be about anything else… there isn’t anything else. Hirst’s work investigates and challenges contemporary belief systems, and dissects the tensions and uncertainties at the heart of the human experience.” He also explains that his fascination  in examining “unacceptable ideas” of death began as a teenager when he would regularly frequent the anatomy department of Leeds Medical School in order to create life drawings such as “With Dead Head” (1991). These recurring themes can be seen in one of his most controversial pieces “For the Love of God '', created more recently in 2007. This piece is a platinum cast of a skull encrusted with  8,601 diamonds. The same year as its creation, art historian Rudi Fuchs described the work as being “out of this world, almost celestial. It proclaims victory over decay.” This piece surely is a representation of death and deterioration being starkly juxtaposed with beauty and riches. So you might be asking yourself, why was this controversial then? Here’s why - the artwork has an enormous cost (approximately 14 million GBP to fabricate and an asking price of 50 million GBP) and also because of the use of a human body part and the ties to the blood diamond trade in Africa.

8. “Piss Christ” by Andres Serrano

In 1987, American photographer Andres Serrano took a photograph that would create immense scandal in not just the art world but amongst high profile Senators and many more groups as well. This piece was “Piss Christ”, a photograph of a small plastic crucifix submerged in a glass tank of the photographer’s own urine. In particular, senators were enraged because Serrano had in fact had used a pool of funds from taxpayers issued by National Endowment for the Arts support funding. Equally, many saw the work as blasphemy and being outright disrespectful to Christianity. Tensions were running so high after this photograph that Serrano would receive deaths threats and hate mail and during an exhibition in Avignon, France, vandals targeted a print of this work.

9. “Guernica” by Pablo Picasso

When Pablo Picasso created Guernica in 1937, he was not only painting an image of horror for Basque villagers but also making a broader statement about the human condition and a decry against fascism. His message has since resonated around the world as one that speaks against fascism and totalitarianism in all its forms; however, this doesn’t negate the fact that it equally incited controversy in the art world. In 1967, a petition amongst artists in favour of removing the piece as a protest against the Vietnam War and decades later, in 2003, “a tapestry version of Guernica was covered up at the United Nations” (Artland).

10. “Dropping a Han Dynasty Urn” by Ai Weiwei

Born in 1957, Chinese contemporary artist and activist, Ai Weiwei is known for his work (sculptural installations, photography, film, architectural projects) that critics Chinese history and their government and authoritative bodies. His black and white triptych entitled “Dropping a Han Dynasty” could very well be the epitome of his artistic investigations as he destroys a Han Dynasty urn, a treasured cultural marker of Chinese history. According to Artland, “Many called this an act of desecration [and blatant destruction], to which Weiwei replied: “General Mao used to tell us that we can only build a new world if we destroy the old one”. Weiwei saw it as a means of challenging the viewer’s values stating that “the act is easy - every day we can drop something, but it is when we are forced to come face to face with this action and make a judgment… that is the interesting part”.

Conclusion

We hope that these 10 controversial artworks leave this important message with you - Stay true to your style even when met with disapproval or goes against the norm because you never know, you may be paving a way for the next and redefining the parameters of art as we know it”.