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| Guggenheim Museum's 18-carat gold toilet to open to public | |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| Members of the public are being invited to spend a penny in a solid gold toilet at New York City's Guggenheim Museum. | Members of the public are being invited to spend a penny in a solid gold toilet at New York City's Guggenheim Museum. |
| Italian artist and sculptor Maurizio Cattelan created the fully functional 18-carat gold lavatory, which he has titled America. | Italian artist and sculptor Maurizio Cattelan created the fully functional 18-carat gold lavatory, which he has titled America. |
| The, ahem, interactive exhibit has been installed in one of the Guggenheim's public bathrooms, reports the New Yorker. | The, ahem, interactive exhibit has been installed in one of the Guggenheim's public bathrooms, reports the New Yorker. |
| The Fifth Avenue museum describes the piece as "a bold, irreverent work". | The Fifth Avenue museum describes the piece as "a bold, irreverent work". |
| The lavatory replaced one of the Guggenheim's porcelain toilets in a one-person, unisex restroom. | The lavatory replaced one of the Guggenheim's porcelain toilets in a one-person, unisex restroom. |
| Visitors who pay museum admission will be able to use it as they wish. | |
| The Guggenheim said the piece is "ultimately reminding us of the inescapable physical realities of our shared humanity". | The Guggenheim said the piece is "ultimately reminding us of the inescapable physical realities of our shared humanity". |
| The exhibit is aimed at "making available to the public an extravagant luxury product seemingly intended for the 1 percent", according to the museum. | The exhibit is aimed at "making available to the public an extravagant luxury product seemingly intended for the 1 percent", according to the museum. |
| "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," said the Guggenheim. | "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," said the Guggenheim. |
| Cattelan, a Milan-based artist and a truck driver's son, hinted earlier this year that his creation had been inspired by economic inequality. | Cattelan, a Milan-based artist and a truck driver's son, hinted earlier this year that his creation had been inspired by economic inequality. |
| The exhibit has also drawn comparisons with Marcel Duchamp's avant-garde "Fountain", the porcelain urinal he exhibited in New York in 1917, causing a sensation in the art world. | The exhibit has also drawn comparisons with Marcel Duchamp's avant-garde "Fountain", the porcelain urinal he exhibited in New York in 1917, causing a sensation in the art world. |
| Cattelan, 55, is known for his provocative sculptures, including La Nona Ora (The Ninth Hour), which depicted Pope John Paul II floored by a meteorite. | Cattelan, 55, is known for his provocative sculptures, including La Nona Ora (The Ninth Hour), which depicted Pope John Paul II floored by a meteorite. |