An 18-carat-gold toilet designed by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan and titled 'America' opened to the public on Friday in one of the Guggenheim Museum's unisex restrooms.
The installation, which is supervised by museum custodians to avoid vandalism and theft, was originally scheduled to open in May but plumbing problems caused delays.
The controversial 55-year-old artist from Padua said the work was inspired by economic inequality and concludes a cycle that started with Marcel Duchamp's 1917 work 'Fountain' and followed with Piero Manzoni's 1961 work 'Artist's Shit'.
'America' will remain in the museum until a collector decides to purchase it.
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