UK Art Gallery Paid $26k for Sheep Dropping Art

London’s Tate Modern art gallery paid £16,000 (about $26,000 US) for a work of art consisting of sheep droppings affixed to metal rods.

The gallery purchased a total of 18 works by Mexican artist Abraham Cruzvillegas, including the 2008 “sheep” work known as “AC: Sh-t Models.” Described by the gallery as “sheep excrement, dung, plaster, cardboard, steel and wood,” the work consists of items the artist found while in Scotland.

Daily Express points out that another £229,000 ($377,000 US) was spent on a work consisting of two light bulbs, light sockets, and a cable by Felix Gonzales-Torres.

Funds donated to the Tate were used to purchase the Cruzvillegas work, which was installed in 2011. Tate Modern is the world’s most-visited modern art gallery.

The New Modern has described Cruzvellegas as “Mexico’s most important artist.”

Sources

• Cruzvillegas (S.L. Conway, The New Modern: May 15, 2011)
• Taxpayer-funded Tate Modern splashes out on £16k sheep droppings ‘art installation’ (Matthew Davis, Daily Express: December 29, 2013)
• Tate Modern (Official Website)