The works of American photographer Joel-Peter Witkin demonstrate how Catholic faith can influence and challenge an artist’s practice. Through an analysis of four photographs, A Christ (1987), Crucified Horse (1999), Naked Follow the Naked Christ (2006), and Crucifix and Tapestry (2010), I examine how Witkin represents the crucifixion by altering its iconography in creative ways. I compare Witkin’s crucifixion imagery to works by Andres Serrano and Cosimo Cavallaro, artists who share some of Witkin’s interpretations of the
crucifixion, and to the work of Hermann Nitsch, whose practice is radically different. Witkin’s crucifixions defy orthodox representations of the body not only by presenting a nude male body but also by shifting its affect – from devotion to eroticism. While these depictions of the crucifixion have been criticized for being
blasphemous, this MRP seeks to analyze and explore how they may be understood as an alternative confirmation of the Catholic faith.