US museum to get fully functional gold toilet

An 18-karat solid gold toilet seat is set to be installed at a US museum bathroom and the “piece of art” will not just be for viewing but could be used too.

The Guggenheim Muse-um here will install the fully functional, 18-karat solid gold toilet by Maurizio Cattelan in one of its public bathroom stalls.

“You can lock the door and have your experience, whether that be just looking at the toilet or using it,” Guggenheim publicist Molly Stewart told the New York Daily News.

Stewart said she believes this work, titled “Maurizio Cattelan: America”, to be the first time a toilet that is available to public use will be on display at the Guggenheim. The lavatory masterwork marks an end to its creator’s self-imposed retirement. Cattelan, 55, walked away from the art world in 2011, right around the time the Guggenheim held a retrospective for his work. He said at the time the demands of the art world had sent his inspiration down the drain. The idea for “America” though, brought him roaring back to the scene.

Cattelan said that he alluded to economic inequality as a theme of the toilet piece.