Magazzino Italian Art in Cold Spring, New York, is reactivating Piero Manzoni’s seminal conceptual work, "Magical Base" (1961). On April 10 and 11, visitors can stand on the artist's wooden pedestal to be documented as living sculptures, receiving a photograph and record of their participation. The activation is part of the larger exhibition "Piero Manzoni: Total Space," which also features the artist's "Achromes" and immersive, unrealized environments like the "Phosphorescent Room" and "Hairy Room."
This reactivation highlights Manzoni’s enduring critique of the art market and the traditional boundaries between artist, object, and viewer. By turning the audience into the artwork, the museum connects Manzoni’s 1960s radicalism to contemporary selfie culture and the digital curation of identity. The exhibition underscores the artist's shift away from permanent objects toward experiential art, challenging the obsession with the artist's physical hand as the sole source of value.