Expensive toilet

Eleazar · 01-06-2006, 08:38 AM

Artist Accused of Vandalizing Urinal
Jan 06 8:50 AM US/Eastern
Email this story

PARIS

A 76-year-old performance artist was arrested after attacking Marcel Duchamp's "Fountain" - a porcelain urinal - with a hammer, police said.

Duchamp's 1917 piece - an ordinary white, porcelain urinal that's been called one of the most influential works of modern art - was slightly chipped in the attack at the Pompidou Center in Paris, the museum said Thursday. It was removed from the exhibit for repair.

The suspect, a Provence resident whose identity was not released, already vandalized the work in 1993 - urinating into the piece when it was on display in Nimes, in southern France, police said.

During questioning, the man claimed his hammer attack on Wednesday was a work of performance art that might have pleased Dada artists. The early 20th-century avant-garde movement was the focus of the exhibit that ends Monday, police said.

A 2004 poll of 500 arts figures ranked "Fountain" as the most influential work of modern art - ahead of Pablo Picasso's "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon," Andy Warhol's screen prints of Marilyn Monroe and "Guernica," Picasso's depiction of war's devastation.

"Fountain" is estimated at $3.6 million.

01-06-2006, 08:38 AM	Topic Starter
Eleazar Beyond the Rapids Join Date: May 2003 Location: Langley, VA Casino cash: $-370000	Expensive toilet Artist Accused of Vandalizing Urinal Jan 06 8:50 AM US/Eastern Email this story PARIS A 76-year-old performance artist was arrested after attacking Marcel Duchamp's "Fountain" - a porcelain urinal - with a hammer, police said. Duchamp's 1917 piece - an ordinary white, porcelain urinal that's been called one of the most influential works of modern art - was slightly chipped in the attack at the Pompidou Center in Paris, the museum said Thursday. It was removed from the exhibit for repair. The suspect, a Provence resident whose identity was not released, already vandalized the work in 1993 - urinating into the piece when it was on display in Nimes, in southern France, police said. During questioning, the man claimed his hammer attack on Wednesday was a work of performance art that might have pleased Dada artists. The early 20th-century avant-garde movement was the focus of the exhibit that ends Monday, police said. A 2004 poll of 500 arts figures ranked "Fountain" as the most influential work of modern art - ahead of Pablo Picasso's "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon," Andy Warhol's screen prints of Marilyn Monroe and "Guernica," Picasso's depiction of war's devastation. "Fountain" is estimated at $3.6 million.
Posts: 80,659