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, 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.
Yes, my point was that you can use it. I know because I did use it, and the quote was there to back up my experience.
I think I must have seen it when there was no line. Nobody expressly told me I couldn’t use it, but it was obviously an exhibit, and I don’t make a habit of taking risky poops in art.
If I had only known…
I can completely understand that conclusion. It’s the first and last piece of art that I’ve literally shit on, and it felt weird doing it. It also made me contemplate why toilet seats are the only item in the world that we are ok touching with our skin after many strangers’ bare asses have touched it.
I think what we’ve shared here is a teaching moment. Everyone: Poop in Art. They probably want you to!
Not sure about the Guggenheim but in London the article says:
The golden toilet was fully functioning, and prior to the theft, visitors to the exhibition could book a three-minute appointment to use it.
how can you know when you’re gonna poop in advance with that amount of precision
