The Guggenheim Museum has unveiled an 18-karat gold toilet that you can use at your own discretion.
The New York City museum partnered up with artist Maurizio Cattelan, the mastermind behind the shiny creation. The toilet is called “America” and it is available for anyone to use in a private bathroom.
The solid-gold creation weighs between 70 and 120 pounds, making it worth between $1.4 million and $2.6 million based on current gold prices. After using it, security guards who monitor the toilet clean it with medical wipes rather than industrial cleaners.
“Cattelan’s toilet offers a wink to the excesses of the art market, but also evokes the American dream of opportunity for all, its utility ultimately reminding us of the inescapable physical realities of our shared humanity,” the Guggenheim announced in a press release.
There is no special entrance that leads you to the toilet–it is simply a private bathroom with an entrance that has no description. The toilet is open beginning today.
“In a gallery environment where visitors are constantly being told, ‘don’t touch,’ this is an extraordinary opportunity to spend time completely alone with a work of art by a leading contemporary artist,” the museum wrote.
You have the option of sitting directly on the golden creation. Alternatively, you can take the precautions used in other toilets and put a wipe on top of it in order to avoid too much sharing.
Tickets to the museum cost $15 a head and “America” will be open indefinitely.
