Articles by hanad

Business

Video shows fully operational solid-gold toilet sold for $12 million

A Throne of Irony: The Day a Golden Toilet Flushed Into Art History They say art should make you look twice. Maurizio Cattelan’s 18-karat gold toilet did more than that — it made a room full of collectors and commentators look in the mirror. Last week in New York, Sotheby’s rang down the hammer on a work that looks, at first glance, like the punchline to an extravagant joke. Titled America, the fully functional, gleaming toilet drew a final bid of $12.1 million including fees. It is by turns a ceremonial object, a satire, a scandal waiting to be retold at dinner parties for years to come. The facts that refuse to stay simple Cattelan’s piece weighs roughly 101.2 kilograms and is cast in 18-karat gold — a material that, depending on the market, can swing wildly in dollar terms. Sotheby’s framed the starting bid to move with the global price of gold, a reminder that the work is itself a commodity as well as a critique. “The buyer is a famous American brand,” a Sotheby’s spokesperson told reporters, declining to provide more details. The announcement folded into the narrative: a golden toilet purchased by a corporate name, itself a sort of punchline about capital and spectacle. For those who followed Cattelan’s career, this sale reads like a particularly apt coda. The artist, renowned for his razor-sharp satire, first startled the art world with pieces that balanced on the knife-edge between jest and provocation. In 2019 he made headlines again with Comedian, a banana duct-taped to a wall, which became a lightning rod for debates over value, taste and the limits of art after it fetched millions at auction. From the Guggenheim to Blenheim: The odyssey of a bathroom fixture America first took the public’s breath at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in 2016–2017, where visitors queued to sit — literally — on a gleaming throne. Photographs proliferated: hands on porcelain, selfie sticks raised like flags. The absurdity was delicious and deliberate. In 2019 the object’s story turned cinematic when a version was stolen from Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire, an audacious nighttime raid that left the public gawking. The stolen toilet has never been recovered. The example sold at Sotheby’s is, according to the auction house, the only surviving version currently available — which, for collectors and curators, elevates it from novelty to artefact. What does this say about value? “Art has always been an alchemist,” said Dr. Lila Moretti, an art historian who has taught at Columbia and written widely on contemporary installations. “Cattelan is explicit about the conversion of material into meaning, and then back into capital. America is about consumption and refusal at the same time.” It’s a paradox laid bare: an object that mocks excess is itself a monument to excess. Is it cynicism? Performance? A mirror held up to our gilded age? Voices from the crowd: reaction, bemusement, outrage On the sidewalk outside Sotheby’s, passersby struggled to pick a single reaction. “It’s funny and grotesque. I think that’s the point,” said Maya Johnson, a museum educator who had rushed over after learning of the sale. “A toilet is intimate, humble, ugly — and then someone coats it in gold and sells it to a brand. It’s theatre.” Across the street, a retiree named Victor Alvarez shook his head. “It’s obscene,” he said. “When some people can’t afford basic healthcare and we pay millions for toilets — well, that’s a picture of a moment in history.” Meanwhile, a young art student, clutching a notepad, laughed. “Cattelan always knew how to get a conversation started,” she said. “It’s brilliant marketing and a serious provocation at once.” Experts weigh in “This auction tells us as much about today’s market as the artwork itself,” said Thomas Reed, an auction analyst. “Major houses have leaned into spectacle as a way to generate headlines — that drives bidders, which in turn drives prices. When you combine scarcity, provenance and provocation, you have a powerful mix.” His numbers are instructive: the contemporary art market has repeatedly proven resilient. Auction houses reported strong returns for headline-grabbing lots in recent years, and star artists have seen collectors willing to go beyond traditional metrics of rarity or historical significance. Why a brand matters: the buyer becomes part of the story That a “famous American brand” emerged as the purchaser adds another layer. When corporations collect in public ways, they aren’t simply acquiring art — they are buying narratives, prestige and cultural capital. The brand’s name attached to America will be whispered in boardrooms, press releases, and marketing campaigns. “Brands are increasingly playing the role of patrons, but with a twist,” said corporate curator Anna Liang. “They treat acquisitions as statements — about identity, about values, sometimes about power. This is soft diplomacy through aesthetics.” Beyond the gilding: what America asks of us Cattelan’s toilet forces questions we often dodge: What is worth what we say it is? How do objects mediate our relationship to wealth and public life? When does satire become spectacle — and does that matter? Think of the image: a visitor, coat collar up against a cold New York wind, standing in front of a case where a toilet glints like a relic. Someone snaps a photo, posts it, tags a friend. The internet transforms a private joke into a global event. The absurd becomes a headline, then a meme, then an asset. Is that cynical? Perhaps. Or maybe it’s honest. In an era of growing economic inequality, where luxury condos share skylines with encampments and cost-of-living crises, gestures like America cut close to the bone. They shame and fascinate in equal measure. Where do we go from here? There are practical questions, too. How will the buyer display the piece? Is it destined for a corporate lobby, a private bathroom, a museum loan? Will it ever again be plumbed into public use? The irony, after all, is most potent if it remains more than image — if people can still sit, flush, feel the cold bite of gold between their fingertips and the seat. And for those who track provenance and restitution after art thefts, the unanswered theft at Blenheim still stings. “The theft speaks to a broader problem of cultural heritage protection,” Dr. Moretti said. “When an object confounds value systems, it becomes both target and talisman.” So what do you think, reader? Is the sale of America an elaborate joke, a masterstroke of modern commentary, or an empty exercise in conspicuous consumption? Does buying a golden toilet make a brand braver — or merely louder? One thing is certain: the piece will not stop asking questions. And whether you find it hilarious, offensive, or tragically fitting, Cattelan has once again turned the world’s attention toward the altar of value — and forced us to consider who kneels before it, and why.

Technology

Catch the Beaver Moon Tonight: Stargazers Set to Spot It

Tonight’s Moon Isn’t Just Full — It’s a Moment Look up. If the sky is clear where you are, the moon will be a little closer, a little brighter, and a touch more commanding than usual — a silver coin pinned to the night. Over the next couple of nights, including tonight through Thursday night, stargazers around the world will be treated to the year’s most dramatic supermoon, known in many North American traditions as the Beaver Moon. “You can feel it in the way people slow down,” said Dr. Elena Morales, an astronomer at the Royal Astronomical Society. “Even in a city where the stars are few, the moon still reaches us. A supermoon is a good excuse to step outside and remember we’re all under the same sky.” What Makes a Supermoon Special? Technically, a supermoon happens when a full moon coincides with the moon’s perigee — the point in its elliptical orbit when it is closest to Earth. Put simply: the sun, Earth and moon line up, and the moon sits nearer us than usual. That closeness translates into real, measurable differences. NASA and other observatories explain that a typical supermoon can appear up to about 14% larger and as much as 30% brighter than the smallest, farthest full moons. The moon won’t suddenly double in size. But when it’s near the horizon and framed by familiar foregrounds — a church spire, a stand of pines, a rooftop — that increase can feel cinematic. Average lunar distance is roughly 384,400 kilometers. At perigee, the moon might be nearer to around 357,000 kilometers. Those numbers wobble a bit from month to month, but they’re enough to make a noticeable difference, especially through a camera lens or a good pair of binoculars. What to Expect This Week The full moon will be visible across multiple nights — one of the conveniences of a skywatching weekend. Observers in North America, Europe, parts of Africa and Asia can catch the moon when it climbs the evening sky, while late-night viewers in other regions will also have opportunities. Cloud cover, local weather, and light pollution will be the deciding factors. “Even a thin veil of clouds can make the moon glow like a watercolor,” said amateur astronomer Priya Shah, who runs a neighborhood stargazing group in Toronto. “But if you want sharp detail — the maria, the craters — aim for a clear, dry night and find an elevated spot away from streetlights.” The Story Behind the Name: Beaver Moon Names for full moons are threaded through cultures and seasons. The “Beaver Moon” is one of those time-honored names that comes from Native American and early colonial agrarian calendars; it arrived in common parlance through sources like the Farmers’ Almanac and references to Algonquian language traditions. For many Indigenous communities, the name signaled a time when beavers were active and trappers set their final traps ahead of winter, when woodcutting, food stores and shelter had to be secured. “These names are ecological markers,” said Dr. Naomi White, a scholar of Indigenous studies. “They connect human lives to animal cycles, weather patterns and the lived knowledge of people who have been watching the sky for generations.” It’s a beautiful reminder: the calendar in our heads isn’t just numbers. It’s weather, migration, harvest, and ritual — a map of how communities related to the land and sky before modern timekeeping made everything abstract. How to See — and Photograph — the Supermoon Whether you’re a casual looker or a determined shooter, the moon is forgiving. Here are some tips drawn from photographers and skywatchers: Find a foreground. Trees, buildings, and people give scale and soul to lunar photos. Use a telephoto lens (200–600mm) or binoculars to make the moon’s features pop. Stabilize: a tripod or leaning against a steady surface will reduce blur. Camera settings: start around ISO 100–400, aperture f/8, shutter speed 1/125–1/250. The moon is bright — slower exposures will wash out detail. Try the “moon illusion”: photograph when the moon is low on the horizon to make it feel enormous, even though it’s the same size later on. “I always tell people: don’t only shoot for the internet’s sake,” Priya Shah said. “Try to take one picture and then just sit and look. Your eyes will appreciate the experience more than any lens.” Light Pollution, Cultural Moments, and Quiet Reflection There is another thread running through this small astronomical event: the steady encroachment of light pollution. Studies in recent years have estimated that a substantial majority of people on Earth now live under skies brightened by artificial light — enough that the Milky Way is invisible to much of the global population. Still, the moon’s brightness can cut through city glare and remind urban residents what a true night feels like. For others, the moon intersects with local customs. In East Asia, autumn moon-viewing festivals have their own rituals; in Turkey and across the Muslim world, moon sightings mark important calendar moments. In fishing communities, moon phases are woven into the practical rhythms of tides and nets. The Beaver Moon carries a whisper of all those connections. “I check the moon before I check the weather,” said Jonas Petrov, a lobsterman in coastal Maine. “Tides change, but the moon tells you something about the rhythm. Folks like me still time things by that old knowledge.” Why It Matters — More Than a Pretty Photo On one level, tonight’s sky is a simple offering: a luminous companion to our brief lives on a blue planet. On another, it’s a chance to reconnect. We live in an era of constant information and often-compartmentalized time; a supermoon asks us to pause collectively. It becomes a public event you can experience without an app, a place where amateurs and astronomers meet on equal footing. So, will you step outside tonight? Will you pull a blanket over your knees, pause a busy evening, or drag your partner out of a meeting so you can both watch the earthlight spill across the same face of the moon that sailors, farmers, and storytellers have watched for millennia? If you do, you’ll be taking part in a quiet, ancient ritual — and you might just remember how small our everyday anxieties look beneath a brilliant, borrowed sun.