"Vagina". There, I said it.

What makes art controversial? This is a tough question. Often what demarcates controversial art from non-controversial art is individual perception and subjectivity. When an artwork divides audiences, sparks reactions, and upsets general culture and expectations, it tends to be a controversial piece of art.

Sometimes an artwork might not adhere to general societal norms and depict nudity, violence, and death. Such art is labeled as kitsch or low art.

Let's analyze 5 controversial modern artworks that sparked reactions amongst the general public and were criticized in the cultural realm.

1. Chair by Allen Jones, 1969

A female mannequin dressed up in hot pants, boots, and gloves. Her bare breasts, fetish clothing, and an uncomfortable constrained position became the talk of the town in 1969.

Allen Jones provocative Chair was one of three 'furniture' works (alongside Hatstand and Table) that created massive outrage amongst female activists in the 1970s. They dismissed this piece of art and found it objectifying and transgressive.

On International Women's day in March 1986, this artwork was doused with paint stripper by a pair of activists who were appalled by the artist's chauvinism.

In turn, Jones responded, "he's is a feminist - woman is the subject, the sculpture is the object."

In 2014, he commented, the sculptures are trapped in their time but hopefully, people are robust enough to see them as playful and regard them as another way you can look at humanity."

2. The Dinner Party by Judy Chicago, 1974–79

Judy Chicago's The Dinner Party is composed of a ceremonial banquet, arranged in a triangular table with a total of thirty-nine place settings, each representing an important woman from history.

The setting consists of embroidered table runners, golden chalices, and Chinese porcelain plates crafted with designs of vulva and butterfly. Each plate was personally stylized for a woman being honored. The 39 women included in The Dinner Party begins from prehistorical times with the Primordial Goddess and continues chronologically to Anne Hutchinson and Virginia Woolf in the modern era.

The names of another 999 women are inscribed in gold on the white tile under the triangular table.

This artwork is amongst the few that have sparked controversy for nearly 40 years. Many labeled it as revelatory but conservative critics as Hilton Kramer called it vulgar, kitsch, and crass. Another female critic tagged it as preachy.

A Los Angeles Times art critic cruelly bashed it, calling it "a lumbering mishmash of sleaze and cheese."

3. What is the Proper Way to Display a US Flag by Dread Scott, 1988

This installation consisted of a photomontage showing pictures of South Korean students burning US flags and holding signs saying 'Yankee go home son of bitch' with a text printed on the photomontage that reads "What is the Proper Way to Display a U.S. Flag?", a blank diary on the shelf with ink pens, a 3'x5′ American flag on the ground, and an active audience.

Many people outpoured their feelings in the diary, some even stood on the flag as they wrote their comments. Samples included -

I am a German girl. If we Germans would admire our flag as you all do, we would be called Nazis again…I think you do have too much trouble about this flag.

The visual piece stirred controversy across the country and President Bush Sr. declared it disgraceful. The entire US congress heavily criticized it and passed legislation to "protect the flag."

As a repercussion, it led to the popular movement of opposing "forced patriotism" over citizens. Dread Scott and his companions burned the US flags on the steps of the US capitol which resulted in a Supreme Court case and a landmark First Amendment decision.

4. Self by Marc Quinn, 1991

Marc Quinn's self-portrait is not the usual self-portrait. When people put "heart and soul" into their work, Quinn took a leap forward and put his "blood" into the sculpture. Literally, he siphoned off eights pints of his blood and refrigerated the mold of his face to achieve the dark red tone on his sculpture.

For some, it was nothing more than a bizarre and vampiric stunt. For others, it embodied an act of self-representation that profoundly highlighted the fragility of human beings.

5. Shark by David Černý, 2005

This art piece mimicked Damien Hirst's The Physical Impossibility of Death In The Mind Of Someone Living, which featured a howling shark suspended in a formaldehyde solution.

Czech artist David Černý created a hogtied sculpture of the Iraqi tyrant, Saddam Hussein. Many felt that the image was graphically inappropriate and featured Hussien as a victim rather than an oppressor.

This floating sculpture in vitrine was considered too provocative for certain population groups. Hence, an exhibition at a museum in Middelkerke, Belgium, which planned to display Shark was ultimately canceled by the town's mayor.

References-

1. The artworks that caused a scandal

2. The Dinner Party by Judy Chicago

3. The Value and Impact of Controversial Art

4. Judy Chicago, the Godmother

If you like this you might enjoy my Youtube videos on art and art history.