Introduction: Bodily fluids have long been utilized in artwork either depicted as symbols of significance or used in tangible forms as medium to produce art. Naturally, patrons of art become fascinated when urine and semen are incorporated. Here, we look to see how the usage of genitourinary (GU) secretions has evolved over time from historic work to modern artwork. Methods: A literature review was performed using Pubmed, Google, and Google Scholar. Results: Centuries ago, flasks of urine in art were iconic. Physicians were depicted holding these flasks performing uroscopy, a practice of analyzing urine based on look, smell, and taste to diagnose patient illnesses. More recently, GU secretions have become mediums for artistic expression. “Piss, Oxidation, and Cum” is a well-known series of paintings designed by Andy Warhol (AW). Utilizing primed canvases and metallic paints, AW would drip or directly urinate/ejaculate onto the canvases to express his own voyeuristic pleasures and the inner sexuality of a human being. In 1972, Vito Acconci took things further when he conducted a two-week performance piece at Sonnabend Gallery in New York City. Laying beneath a ramp in the gallery, he masturbated for eight hours each day. Though viewers could see Acconci perform his sexual acts and hear him murmur profound sexual comments, he was not privy to those who came to see his work. Artists’ fascination with semen and masturbation did not end there. In 2003, Martin von Ostrowski, known for his feces portrait of Hitler, utilized his own semen to create over 30 portraits to demonstrate human vitality and energy. It is believed that his pieces required in excess of 40 ejaculations per piece equating to well over 1000 orgasms in the name of art. Another artist, Marc Bradley Johnson, displayed 68 vials of his own semen in Manhattan’s Visual Arts Gallery in 2013 in the name of “creation, parenting, desire, masculinity, fantasy, and reality.” While some artists utilized their secretions for sexual purposes, others did so to fight injustice. Cassils, a trans-gender artist, spent 200 days creating Pissed. Pissed was a collection of the first 200 gallons of his excreted urine that was put on display to protest Trump’s 2017 rollback of an Obama-era executive order allowing transgender students to use the bathroom matching their chosen gender identity. Conclusions: Today, the use of urine, and other GU secretions, has taken on a new role in modern art and is used by artists for religious and political undertones as well as to put their bodily fluids on display. It is clear that artistic expression has no bounds, and artists will go to great lengths to achieve their visions. SOURCE OF Funding: None
