THE STORY OF THE FOUNDATION

1971 ROME AND CONTROVERSY

A major retrospective at the Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna in Rome, strongly promoted by the director Palma Bucarelli, in collaboration with Germano Celant, triggered national controversy over the exhibition of the tins of Artist’s Shit.

The Honourable Guido Bernardi addressed a parliamentary question to the Minister for Education, asking for an explanation of the criteria employed for the expenditure of public money when selecting the works on show.  Palma Bucarelli, supported by a number of critics and exponents from the art world, fought back by underlining the cultural value of Piero Manzoni’s œuvre as a whole and the need to present it to the public in its entirety. 

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Merda d’artista n. 68 (Artist’s Shit No. 68), May 1961, tin can, printed paper, 5 × ∅ 6,5 cm

Article published in the newspaper Il Corriere della Sera, March, 14 1971

Cover of the exhibition catalogue Piero Manzoni, Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna, Rome, 1971

View of the exhibition Piero Manzoni, Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna, Rome, 1971

 

View of the exhibition Piero Manzoni, Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna, Roma, 1971

Invitation to Valeria Manzoni from Palma Bucarelli for the opening of the exhibition