Piero Manzoni

                          Artist’s Shit

Piero Manzoni, Artist’s Shit, 1961. Human feces in a tin can. 4.8x6.5cm. 30 grams.

About Piero Manzoni:

Manzoni was an Italian artist whose work has been related to mass production and consumerism. His work eschews normal materials used in art; his work has ranged from using rabbit fur to human excrement. The use of fingerprints, blood, and breath was also featured in his experimental pieces.

About the Piece:

At the time the piece was created, Manzoni was producing works that explored the relationship between art production and human production. In May 1961 he canned 90 tins sealed with his own feces inside. Each can was 30-grams and priced at the current value of gold ($1.12 a gram in 1960).

Each tin says (In English, French, Italian, and German): 

Artist's Shit
Contents 30 gr net
Freshly preserved
Produced and tinned
in May 1961