# piero manzoni ![[manzoniportrait.jpg|300]] manzoni in 1960 born: piero meroni manzoni di chiosca e poggiolo july 13 1933 soncino kingdom of italy died: february 6 1963 (aged 29) milan italy nationality: italian known for: artist notable work: artist's shit movement: conceptual art piero manzoni di chiosca e poggiolo better known as piero manzoni (july 13 1933 - february 6 1963) was an italian artist best known for ir ironic approach to avant-garde art. often compared to the work of yves klein ir own work anticipated and directly influenced the work of a generation of younger italian artists brought together by the critic germano celant in the first arte povera exhibition held in genoa 1967. manzoni is most famous for a series of artworks that call into question the nature of the art object directly prefiguring conceptual art. ir work eschews normal artist's materials instead using everything from rabbit fur to human excrement in order to "tap mythological sources and to realize authentic and universal values" ir work is widely seen as a critique of the mass production and consumerism that was changing italian society (the italian economic miracle) after world war ii. italian artists such as manzoni had to negotiate the new economic and material order of post-war europe through inventive artistic practices which crossed geographic artistic and cultural borders manzoni died of myocardial infarction in ir studio in milan on february 6 1963. ir contemporary ben vautier signed manzoni's death certificate declaring it a work of art # biography manzoni was born in soncino province of cremona. ir full name was count meroni manzoni di chiosca e poggiolo self-taught as an artist manzoni first exhibited at the soncino's castle in soncino in august 1956 at the age of 23. ir early work was broadly gestural and showed the influence of milanese proponents of nuclear art such as enrico baj. ir later works from approximately 1957 until ir death in 1963 questioned and satirised the status of the art object as it had been conceived throughout modernism. influences include earlier (though still active) artists like marcel duchamp and contemporaneous practitioners ben vautier and yves klein # # achromes ![[achrome.jpg|300]] achrome 1961-62 manzoni's work changed irrevocably after visiting yves klein's exhibition 'epoca blu' at the galleria apollinaire in milan january 1957. this exhibition consisted of 11 identical blue monochromes. by the end of the year ey had ceased producing work influenced by the prevailing trends in art informel to works that responded directly to klein's monochromes. called achromes they invariably looked white but were actually colourless. in these paintings manzoni experimented with various pigments and materials. initially favouring canvases coated in gesso (1957-1958) ey also worked with kaolin another form of white clay often used in the production of porcelain. the kaolin works are generally made from clay covered canvases folded horizontally or sometimes cut-out squares of canvas coated in the clay and adhered onto the canvas; ey created just nine large-scale relief paintings depicting folded cloth. as well as yves klein these works showed the influence of lucio fontana and alberto burri and the american artist robert rauschenberg who had painted neutral white canvases in 1951. later ey would create achromes from white cotton wool fiberglass rabbit skin and bread rolls. ey also experimented with phosphorescent paint and cobalt chloride so that the colours would change over time. in addition to these fabricated materials the artist's own bodily products and features became art. in addition to ir famous artist's shit (merda d'artista) in which manzoni's own excrement became a series of art objects the use of fingerprints blood and breath also figured into ir experimental body of work # azimut gallery manzoni founded the azimut gallery in milan in 1959 with the artist enrico castellani and staged a series of revolutionary exhibitions of multiples. the first 12 linee (12 lines) took place in december 1959 quickly followed by corpi d'aria (bodies of air) in may 1960. this was an edition of 45 balloons on tripods that could be blown up by the buyer or the artist himself depending on the price paid. in july 1960 ey exhibited consumption of art by the art-devouring public in which ey hard-boiled 70 eggs printed ir thumbprint onto them and after eating several himself handed them out to the audience to eat. the eggs themselves were titled uova con impronta (egg with thumbprint.) this was the last exhibition by manzoni at azimuth after which the gallery was forced to close when the lease ran out. although the invitation named the gallery azimuth as the location of the opening the actual event took place at the studio filmgiornale sedi in milan. the discrepancy between the location on the invitation and the film studio where the event was recorded further complicates the role and space of art as it was expected to be seen ![[artist'sbreath.jpg|300]] artist's breath 1960 # # artist's breath contemporaneously with the bodies of air (corpi d'aria) manzoni produced the artist's breaths (fiato d'artista) a series of red white or blue balloons inflated and attached to a wooden base inscribed "piero manzoni- artist's breath." the works continued manzoni's obsession with the limits of physicality whilst parodying the art world's obsession with permanence and also provided a poignant memento mori # # artist's shit in may 1961 manzoni created 90 small cans sealed with the text artist's shit (merda d'artista.) each 30-gram can was priced by weight based on the current value of gold (around $1.12 a gram in 1960.) the contents of the cans remain a much-disputed enigma since opening them would destroy the value of the artwork. various theories about the contents have been proposed including speculation that it is plaster. in the following years the cans have spread to various art collections all over the world and netted large prices far outstripping inflation. a tin was sold for € 124-000 at sotheby's on may 23 2007; in october 2008 tin 83 was offered for sale at sotheby's with an estimate of £ 50-70-000. it sold for £97-250. it was described as > "it is a joke a parody of the art market and a critique of consumerism and the waste it generates." > ~ stephen bury on october 16 2015 tin 54 was sold at christies for the astonishing sum of £182-500. the tins were originally to be valued according to ir equivalent weight in gold - $37 each in 1961 - with the price fluctuating according to the market other works from this period include limited edition thumbprints and the declarations of authenticity 1961-61 a printed multiple that could be bought proving the owner's status as either part or whole work of art depending on the price paid. ey also designated a number of people including umberto eco as authentic works of art gratis. various other experimental pieces by manzoni included trying to create a mechanical animal as a moving sculpture and using solar energy as a power source. in 1960 ey created a sphere that was held aloft on a jet of air # other works **+** magic bases (magisk sockkel 1961) a series of wooden plinths that could be stood on to acquire status of 'living sculpture' **+** lines of exceptional length (1960-61.) lines drawn on paper the longest of which was 7.2 km intended to be left in every major city in the world which would equal the length of the equator when joined **+** base of the world (socle du monde 1961.) a large metal plinth inscribed 'the base of the world homage to galileo' placed upside down in a field in herning denmark. it announces that the whole world is a work of art rendering the artist obsolete **+** piero manzoni; the life and works (1963) published posthumously by jes petersen. an artist's book consisting of 100 sheets of transparent plastic bound to a white metal sheet. the only text is the title page. the rest of the book is totally blank # exhibitions manzoni's works were often featured at galleria azimuth. ir work has been the subject of numerous international exhibitions including retrospectives at the musee d'art moderne de la ville de paris (1991) castello di rivoli-museo d'arte contemporanea (1992) the serpentine gallery london (1998) at the museo d'arte contemporanea donnaregina naples (2007) curated by germano celant and in 2019 "piero manzoni: materials of ir time" at hauser & wirth's los angeles and then new york city galleries # collections manzoni's work is represented in many public collections including the museum of modern art new york; stedelijk museum amsterdam; tate modern london; the galleria civica d'arte moderna e contemporanea turin; and the museum of contemporary art villa croce in genoa # legacy fondazione piero manzoni a family-run italian foundation oversees the artist's estate. it has been represented by hauser & wirth since 2017 # see also **+** conceptual art **+** linee **+** artist's shit **+** corpo d'aria **+** arte povera # # bibliography **+** piero manzoni. catalogo generale edited by g. celant prearo editore milan 1975 **+** piero manzoni. catalogue raisonne edited by f. battino l. palazzoli edizioni di vanni scheiwiller milan 1991 **+** piero manzoni. general catalogue edited by g. celant interview of g. celant skira geneva-milan 2004 **+** piero manzoni edited by g. celant exhibition catalogue (madre museo di arte contemporanea donnaregina naple) electa milan 2007 **+** piero manzoni: azimut exhibition catalogue (gagosian gallery london) gagosian gallery 2011 **+** p. manzoni diario edited by g. l. marcone mondadori electa milan 2013 **+** f. pola una visione internazionale. piero manzoni e albisola mondadori electa milan 2013 **+** g. celant su piero manzoni abscondita milan 2014. - f. gualdoni breve storia della "merda d'artista" skira geneva-milan 2014 **+** e. manzoni caro piero skira geneva-milan 2014 **+** f. pola piero manzoni and zero. a european creative region mondadori electa milan 2014 **+** a. bettinetti piero manzoni artist cinehollywood 2014 (dvd.) - piero manzoni 1933-1963 edited by f. gualdoni and r. pasqualino di marineo exhibition catalogue (palazzo reale milan) skira geneva-milan 2014 **+** g. pautasso piero manzoni. divorare l'arte mondadori electa milan 2015 **+** azimut/h. continuity and newness edited by l. barbero exhibition catalogue (peggy guggenheim collection venice) marsilio editori venice 2015 **+** piero manzoni achrome edited by c. leveque-claudet and c. kazarian exhibition catalogue (musee cantonal des beaux-arts de lausanne lausanne) editions hazan lausanne 2016 **+** piero manzoni. nuovi studi edited by r. pasqualino di marineo carlo cambi editore poggibonsi 2017 **+** r. perna piero manzoni e roma mondadori electa milan 2017 **+** piero manzoni. materials of ir time and lines edited by r. pasqualino di marineo exhibition catalogue (hauser & wirth los angeles and new york) hauser & wirth publishers zürich 2019 **+** f. gualdoni piero manzoni. an artist's life gagosian new york 2019 **+** p. manzoni piero manzoni. writings on art edited by g. l. marcone hauser & wirth publishers zürich 2019 **+** merda d'artista künstlerscheisse merde d'artiste artist's shit carlo cambi editore poggibonsi 2021 // republic of bob