Protect your gold toilets and other valuable art
Posted On: Nov. 15, 2019 11:40 AM CST
Seeing a golden opportunity to use the theft of Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan’s gold toilet titled “America,” European art insurer Arte Generali is prompting giggles in the Italian art market by poking fun at the ordeal in its new advertising campaign, art site Hyperallergic.com reported Thursday.
The theft of the toilet — 18-karat gold and valued at €4.8 million ($5.3 million) — made headlines in September after unknown thieves lifted the throne out of a wood-paneled bathroom in Blenheim Palace, the birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill, according to news outlets.
The insurer’s advertisement features the artist himself clowning around naked with only oversized paper cutouts of his works, missing toilet included, to protect him, the website reported.
“Arte Generali’s brand campaign juxtaposes the risk run by art collectors of their art pieces being stolen with the metaphorical act of stealing that every artist commits,” Arte Generali said in a statement launching a campaign it says emphasizes the innovation of artists, with the catchy tagline: “Art insures creativity. Generali insures art.”