Yo Mama's Last Supper
Encyclopedia
Yo Mama's Last Supper is a work of art by Jamaican-American artist
Renée Cox
. It is a large photographic montage of five panels, each 31 inches square, depicting photographs of 12 black men and a naked black woman (the artist's self portrait) posed in imitation of Leonardo da Vinci
's painting The Last Supper. Cox is pictured naked and standing, with her arms reaching upwards, as Jesus
.
In 2001, the piece was exhibited at the Brooklyn Museum of Art as part of an exhibition called Committed to the Image: Contemporary Black Photographers. New York City
Mayor Rudy Giuliani
was offended by the work and called for the creation of a panel to create decency standards for all art shown at publicly funded museums in the city. The work has also been included in other exhibitions about artistic depictions
of The Last Supper
, in locations such as the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum in Ridgefield, Connecticut
; a church in Venice, Italy; and a gallery in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
Renée Cox
Renée Cox
Renée Cox is an Jamaican-American artist, photographer, political activist and curator. Cox currently lives and works out of New York.-Early years:...
. It is a large photographic montage of five panels, each 31 inches square, depicting photographs of 12 black men and a naked black woman (the artist's self portrait) posed in imitation of Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci was an Italian Renaissance polymath: painter, sculptor, architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist and writer whose genius, perhaps more than that of any other figure, epitomized the Renaissance...
's painting The Last Supper. Cox is pictured naked and standing, with her arms reaching upwards, as Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
.
In 2001, the piece was exhibited at the Brooklyn Museum of Art as part of an exhibition called Committed to the Image: Contemporary Black Photographers. New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
Mayor Rudy Giuliani
Rudy Giuliani
Rudolph William Louis "Rudy" Giuliani KBE is an American lawyer, businessman, and politician from New York. He served as Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001....
was offended by the work and called for the creation of a panel to create decency standards for all art shown at publicly funded museums in the city. The work has also been included in other exhibitions about artistic depictions
Last Supper in Christian art
The Last Supper of Jesus and the Twelve Apostles has been a popular subject in Christian art, often as part of a cycle showing the Life of Christ. Depictions of the Last Supper in Christian art date back to early Christianity and can be seen in the Catacombs of Rome.The Last Supper was depicted...
of The Last Supper
Last Supper
The Last Supper is the final meal that, according to Christian belief, Jesus shared with his Twelve Apostles in Jerusalem before his crucifixion. The Last Supper provides the scriptural basis for the Eucharist, also known as "communion" or "the Lord's Supper".The First Epistle to the Corinthians is...
, in locations such as the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum in Ridgefield, Connecticut
Ridgefield, Connecticut
Ridgefield is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. Situated in the foothills of the Berkshire Mountains, the 300-year-old community had a population of 24,638 at the 2010 census. The town center, which was formerly a borough, is defined by the U.S...
; a church in Venice, Italy; and a gallery in Jakarta, Indonesia.