STRANDLINE SCULPTURES (CYPRUS) by KEITH McINTYRE

 RELOCATED TO CYPRUS FROM THE UK IN 2005 

 

      MANZONI & THE BROWN STUFF      In May 1961, the Italian artist Piero Manzoni packed and sealed ninety cylindrical cans, each containing thirty grams of his own excrement . Atop each tin are the words PRODUCED BY, followed by the signature Piero Manzoni, and a stenciled number designating its place in the run. A label affixed to the body of each consists of rows of the artist's first and last names strung together and repeated over and over. This PIEROMANZONIPIEROMANZONI functions as a background on which is printed the words:

Artist's Shit

CONTENTS 30 GRAMS NET

FRESHLY PRESERVED

PRODUCED AND TINNED

IN MAY 1961

On every can, these words appear in four languages-English, Italian, French, and German. Merda d'artista, to be sold by weight based on the current price of gold, was first exhibited in August of that year at the Galleria Pescetto in Albisola, Italy.