Shit in a can. Literally, shit in a can. When looking at said shit in a can, would you think "Hey, what a beautiful piece of art!" or "Hey, why is this guy selling shit in a can?" Piero Manzoni, an Italian artist, seemed to believe that his shit in a can was art. Personally, I can see no artistic value whatsoever in feces that has decomposed for fifty years inside a can, but others do. I tried very hard to understand how Manzoni's creation could be considered art, but I really cannot see past the fact that it is simply human waste in a sealed container. The piece, "Artist's Shit" is a series of various tin cans filled with Manzoni's personal waste. Though there must have been some method to the ninety cans filled with thirty grams of feces, I simply cannot figure what it may be. I am truly baffled that people spend good money on this ridiculous "piece of art." I find it close to impossible to find the intrinsic and extrinsic beauty that "Artist's Shit" possesses to some. I am almost concerned that Piero Manzoni thought that it was perfectly acceptable to sell his feces as art. I can understand selling "Artist's Shit" as a fertilizer, like cow manure, but definitely not as a showpiece next to the Mona Lisa's of this world. Don’t waste your money on useless shit!
What about DuChamps' fountain, which was just a urinal turned sideways? Is that art?
ReplyDeleteI posted the picture above your entry.
ReplyDeleteI think that the urinal is more artistic than the can.
ReplyDeleteNo! If I turn my bed sideways will it be art? Can we flip the desks upside-down in the classroom and call it art?
ReplyDeleteI think if you flipped the desks upside down in the class it could be considered art. Aren't you changing the perception of a usual, familiar scene? Doesn't art do that? Look at Monet's countless haystack paintings. He is providing a different perspective on the scene based on the lighting of the moment. Capturing an image that passes us by. He makes us see haystacks differently. If you turned the desks upside down or glued them to the wall, then it would be art, no?
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