The intellectual and the fool: Piero Manzoni between the Milanese art scene and the land of cockaigne

Current scholarship situates Manzoni within the framework of European post-war avant-gardes, but neglects the significance of the north Italian artistic environment in the shaping of his work and thought. Focusing on the intricacies of the Milanese art scene, it is possible to illustrate how a work such as Artist's shit results from the controversies informing the intellectual milieux with which the artist was acquainted. A close look at both this work and Manzoni's published and unpublished writings reveals the artist's systematic use of tropes and objects connected to medieval and early-modern peasant culture. Concepts drawn from popular culture historians will provide the theoretical tools needed to highlight Manzoni's appropriation of the myth of Cockaigne, an as yet overlooked reference that is crucial for an examination of Manzoni's 'subversive humour' and his stance vis-a-vis the Italian economic boom.