Humor can act as a powerful force in contemporary art, and many artists use visual jokes as a way to make their work resonate with audiences and transcend language. Humor can also serve as an effective critique. For example, in the face of the Abstract Expressionist movement, Andy Warhol created his Oxidation Paintings or Piss Paintings, in which he urinated on canvases treated with a copper-based paint. The urine caused the copper paint to discolor, resulting in colorful splashes that mimicked the form of Pollock’s drip paintings while parodying the macho, self-serious nature of the AbEx movement. Humor also operates as a coping mechanism for dealing with dark truths. John Currin’s bombastic paintings of overly sexualized women are made with centuries-old painting techniques, but mimic pornography in their over-the-top subject matter. Currin has said, “When I started making funny paintings, they felt deeper and more about heavy things, like death and sex and love, that I always wanted my paintings to be about.” British artist Damien Hirst, too, uses humor and bombast as a form of farce in his work. His infamous sculpture For the Love of God consists of a platinum skull encrusted with diamonds. While directly referencing human mortality, the skull subverts the idea of decay and instead becomes a symbol of grotesque extravagance.

Humor can also be an effective form of social critique. Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan makes humorous sculptures of familiar figures that at first evoke laughter, then emerge as potent political statements. His sculpture La Nona Ora (1999), for example, shows Pope John Paul II bowled over by a meteorite. Other artists who use humor in their work include Richard Prince, Bruce Nauman, William Wegman, Vik Muniz, John Baldessari, and David Shrigley.