Piero Manzoni’s “Artist’s Shit” was referenced tonight during casual conversation. I had completely forgotten about controversial series. Interestingly, his Wikipedia entry included a recent sale:
In May 1961 Manzoni created 90 small cans, sealed with the text Artist’s Shit (Merda d’Artista). Each 30-gram can was priced by weight based on the current value of gold.The contents of the cans remain a much-disputed enigma, since opening them would destroy the value of the artwork. Various theories have been proposed, including plaster. In the following years, the cans have spread to various art collections all over the world and netted large prices, far outstripping inflation. The most recent can to be auctioned, #19, sold on 26th February 2007 in the USA for $80,000.
