This historically significant masterpiece sets an elite high-end standard, establishing itself as a premier example of contemporary archival photography that challenges societal taboos through a highly stylized, baroque lens. Shot in 1996 during Andres Serrano's most prolific and fiercely debated creative period in New York, the vertical composition belongs to his landmark series A History of Sex, which recontextualizes human intimacy through theatrical performance. The raw framing captures a figure wearing dramatic white clown makeup and an ornate, detailed black and white ruffled lace collar, staring with absolute psychological sovereignty at the camera during an explicit sexual act with a second costumed partner. Expertly developed as a premium, vintage Cibachrome print—celebrated in the art market for its archival longevity.
In the portraits of The History of Sex, taken in 1996 in the Netherlands, the camera looks directly at the models, who respond in kind. Eyes first seems to be the guiding principle of most of the portraits that address the culture of sex.Impeccable, unsettling, innocent, irreverent, hopeful, the photographs possess a glossy sheen, highlighting details, combining angles, exploding with color, embracing freedom as a possibility and the end as a certainty.
Serrano's retrospective will resonate with each viewer in a unique way. Everything is here: fury, nostalgia, passion, tenderness, critique, loneliness, life, and death; that's why they are impossible to look away from.
"I’ve never called myself a photographer. I studied painting and sculpture and see myself as an artist with a camera. I learned everything I know about art from Marcel Duchamp who taught me that anything, including a photograph, could be a work of art." -Andres Serrano.
Incorporate an iconic document from the history of contemporary art and a powerful conceptual statement into your space; acquire this archival contemporary photography work by Andres Serrano on our website.
Contemporary Archival Photography - A History of Sex (Head) 1996, Andres Serrano
Andres Serrano
A History of Sex (Head), 1996
Cibachrome Print Front-Mounted to Plexiglas, wood frame
Dimensions:
Image size: 40 H x 32.5 W in.
Frame size: 45.2 H x 35.6 W x 0.75 D in.
Edition 5/7
Labels from Paula Cooper Gallery 534 W. 21 Street, New York, NY 10011. Titled, and numbered on the reverse.
Andres Serrano is perhaps best known for his unflinching color photographs of controversial subjects including dead bodies, feces, handguns, Ku Klux Klansmen, and Catholic figurines submerged in bodily fluids. Serrano’s painterly compositions and rich tonalities create strange juxtapositions with his confrontational subject matter. In his famous photograph Piss Christ (1987), for example, Serrano uses a glowing, color-saturated palette to depict his transgressive subject: a crucifix suspended in urine. The photograph became a major touchstone in the American culture wars and sparked debates about arts funding in the United States. The artist has exhibited in New York, London, Paris, Tokyo, Berlin, Beijing, and Brussels. His work has sold for six figures at auction and belongs in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Stedelijk Museum, among others.
