Understanding our Humanity Through a Solid Gold Toilet

America, 2016, Maurizio Cattelan

In its broadest form, art may be considered an exploration of the human condition, or a product of the human experience. Although, this broad definition can be condensed into one work of art by artist Maurizio Cattelan titled “America”: a fully functional, solid 18-karat-gold copy of a Kohler toilet that more than 100,000 people used in a museum restroom. The sculpture’s artist has said he hopes people do not see the toilet sculpture as a joke and that he would like to offer it to the White House for a long-term loan. While it is easy to associate “America” with the current political climate, urinating on someones art goes far beyond politics. ““America” contains so many layers that its title alone seems to weigh more than the toilet itself.”

I have not had the opportunity to interact with the artwork in person, but I have contemplated on many accounts how I predict I would. I imagine waiting in the typical two hour line, contemplating how bizarre our collective eager is to have such an intimate moment with a toilet. “The fact that we are so easily duped into standing in line for so long for a chance to sit on gold, and in most cases make selfies of the act and post it online, raises important questions about the nature of luxury and its excess, our love of shiny objects and income inequality.” At the same time, the toilet makes a mockery out of us and ultimately reminds us of the inescapable physical realities of our shared human condition and nature.

Cattelan explains: “Whatever you eat, a two-hundred-dollar lunch or a two-dollar hot dog, the results are the same, toilet-wise.”