A NY museum has replaced one of its standard porcelain toilets with an upscale equivalent – an 18-carat, solid gold, toilet that is fully functional and will be open to the public to use.
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In this undated photo provided by the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, an18-karat gold toilet is shown in the museum’s 14th floor restroom at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in NY.
The installation, “America”, is the first piece that Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan has exhibited since his 2011 retrospective at the Guggenheim. Finally, it’s here and can be used just like any other john (presumable with a wait time worse than every women’s bathroom combined).
The golden throne is meant to be a gesture of provocation, Spector says. There will be a security guard outside who will explain to people what the piece is …
If you think the line to use the restroom at Yankees games is long, we shudder to think how long the lines will be for this “opportunity to spend time completely alone with a work of art”, as the museum puts it. “And this notion of having a very intimate, private experience with a work of art, and a work of art that speaks quite dramatically about its own value, is fascinating on many many levels”, she adds.
“One can see the title as a critique but also as idealistic”.
According to the museum, the exhibit’s goal is to make an extravagant luxury intended for the 1% available to the public.
A gold toilet presents its share of maintenance challenges.
It was rejected, but is now regarded as one of the most iconic pieces of 20th century art. In 1917, artist Marcel Duchamp called a porcelain urinal mounted to the wall a “Fountain” creating an uproar in the art community.
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The artwork was originally scheduled to open to the public on May 4, but the museum ran into trouble casting the work, which is an exact replica of the toilet which was originally in the single-person, unisex restroom.
