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# There’s a Can of Poop at MoMA
- URL: https://www.artwalkway.com/moma-artist-shit-piero-manzoni/
- Published: 2024-12-28T00:45:00.000Z
- Updated: 2024-12-29T00:49:24.000Z
- Description: The smelling story behind Piero Manzoni’s most infamous work.
- Author: ART News
- Tags: Latest Art News

Yes, you read that right—**New York’s Museum of Modern Art** houses one of the art world’s most peculiar creations: *Artist’s Shit* by **Italian conceptual artist Piero Manzoni**. This provocative piece, created in 1961, is said to contain exactly what its title suggests: the artist’s excrement, canned and labeled as an artwork.

Manzoni, ever the provocateur, produced **90 numbered cans**, each labeled in multiple languages and sealed to perfection. He famously declared that **their value should match their weight in gold**—a playful critique of the commodification of art in the post-war era. Today, these cans are worth far more than their weight in gold, with one selling for **$300,000 at auction in 2016**.

**MoMA owns one of these infamous cans**, but no one truly knows what’s inside. The cans can’t be x-rayed, and the few attempts to investigate have yielded inconclusive results. Yet, this uncertainty only amplifies the work’s mystique and its **biting commentary on the art market**.

Manzoni’s bold work continues to challenge perceptions, forcing us to question: **What defines art?** And how far will we go to put a price on it? For now, the can remains sealed, its mystery intact—a perfect metaphor for the ever-evolving dialogue around **art and value**.

**ART Walkway News**

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