4 men charged in theft of satirical golden toilet titled ‘America,’ at Churchill’s birthplace
4 men charged in theft of satirical golden toilet titled ‘America,’ at Churchill’s birthplace
Four men have been charged over the theft of an 18-carat gold toilet from Blenheim Palace, the sprawling English mansion where British wartime leader Winston Churchill was born.
LONDON (AP) — Four men were charged Monday over the theft of an 18-carat gold toilet from Blenheim Palace, the sprawling English country mansion where British wartime leader Winston Churchill was born.
I like how the headline mentions the toilet is "satirical" as if they were worried people might think they had a non-ironic 18k solid golden toilet. I'm sure the thieves were only stealing the toilet as a parody of crime.
You know someone somewhere got their feathers ruffled when they heard about a
goodgold toilet named AmericaEdit-dang swipe to text. :(
good toilet named America
A good toilet in America, now that would be ironic 😉
The joke would be to paint it white and reinstall it.
Now that would be some serious art
I recognize that toilet! No joke, I pooped in it when it was installed in the NYC Guggenheim (where this article’s photo was taken).
I, too, saw that toilet at the Guggenheim. However, I don’t remember it being available to use—how were you so chosen?
When I was there, there was a short line to use it, so after I learned it was a special toilet, I just got in line. I try not to poop in public toilets as a rule, but this seemed like the ideal exception to make.
E: also, it’s a real shame that you weren’t allowed to use it, as use was the primary intention of the artist. I googled it to make sure I wasn’t misremembering…
From the Guggenheim’s website:
Its participatory nature, in which viewers are invited to make use of the fixture individually and privately, allows for an experience of unprecedented intimacy with a work of art.
"Me and that shitter go way back."
Marcel Duchamp sends his regards. Gotta make sure he's the toilet king of the art world.
Fountain is a readymade sculpture by Marcel Duchamp in 1917, consisting of a porcelain urinal signed "R. Mutt". In April 1917, an ordinary piece of plumbing chosen by Duchamp was submitted for an exhibition of the Society of Independent Artists, the inaugural exhibition by the Society to be staged at the Grand Central Palace in New York. When explaining the purpose of his readymade sculpture, Duchamp stated they are "everyday objects raised to the dignity of a work of art by the artist's act of choice."