May
26
Possibilities
May 26, 2010 | Tagged art, Manzoni, taboo, Veblen | Leave a Comment
In 1962, Piero Manzoni canned his own feces—90 cans, each with 30 grams of contents. At that time, Manzoni priced his work per the price of gold according to weight (about $33 per can).
In 2007, one of those cans set new auction records, fetching over $150,000
Does status derive from the absurdity, branding, scarcity, taboo breaking , or originality? What can we say about Manzoni for effectively making his defecations worth more than gold (accomplishment) or the collector who is willing to push the price of the symbol?
Here is an archetypal example Veblen symbolism.
