Paul McCarthy’s Complex Shit crashes into building, steals editorial copy - 2008 (2010)

Hmm... I wonder how much this "performance"— and the publicity outputs— are worth monetarily to the artist and museum. Don’t know? Then consult your high-end PR evaluation professional...

D.M. Gray
Art Design Publicity at ADC | 29 May 2010 | Re-released: 25 October 2021 | Updated 25 October 2021

Below is a current record of the aftermath— I mean publicity— from Paul McCarthy’s "renegade" inflatable dog poo. This is just a sample of the print and Internet media coverage.

Sorry, can’t be bothered with searching the art press really on this one.


(For rough foreign language translations, see Google translate.)


Monday, 11 August 2008


Your attention, please. Wire service reports:

(11 August 2008). Aufblasbares Hundehaufen-Kunstwerk von Wind weggeblasen. Agence France Presse (German).

(11 August 2008). Centre Paul Klee à Berne Le vent emporte une énorme crotte de chien gonflable. SDA (French).

(11 August 2008). Centro Paul Klee a Berna: vento si porta via "Complex Shit". SDA (Italian).

(11 August 2008). ’Complex Shit’ causes museum chaos in Switzerland. Agence France Presse (English).

(11 August 2008). Zentrum Paul Klee Bern Wind blies hausgrosse Hundekot-Installation fort. SDA (German).


AFP. (11 August 2008). Flying American poo wreaks havoc in Switzerland. Gawker Web Blog.

AFP. (11 August 2008). Flying piece of art causes museum chaos in Switzerland. Breitbart.

ATS. (11 August 2008). Le vent emporte une énorme crotte de chien gonflable. 20 minutes online (Switzerland).

fest / sda. (11 August 2008). Wind bläst Kot-Installation weg. news.ch (Switzerland).

fest / sda. (11 August 2008). Wind bläst Kot-Installation weg. eishockey.ch (Switzerland).

fest / sda. (11 August 2008). Wind bläst Kot-Installation weg. Nachrichten.ch (Switzerland).

Független Hírügynökség. (11 August 2008). Elszállt a "Komplex Kaka". webradio.hu (Hungary).

SDA. (11 August 2008). "Fäkalkunst" im Zentrum Paul Klee. Tagblatt (Switzerland).

SDA. (11 August 2008). Wind bläst Kot-Installation weg. Swiss Weather online (wetter.ch).

(11 August 2008). Aufblasbarer Hundehaufen fliegt durch Bern. Welt Online (Germany).

(11 August 2008). Un crotte de chien s’envole devant le Centre Paul Klee. Le Matin (Switzerland). (Hard copy, 12 August 2008, p. 5.)



Tuesday, 12 August 2008



Your attention please, wire service reports:

(12 August 2008). Giant dog ’poo’ attacks neighborhood. UPI.

(12 August 2008). House-sized inflatable dog turd wreaks havoc at Swiss art show. RIA Novosti (Russia, English language).

(12 August 2008). Гигантские надувные собачьи фекалии улетели из швейцарского музея. Newsru.com (Russia).

(12 August 2008). Гигантские надувные собачьи фекалии улетели из швейцарского музея. newsru.ua (Ukraine).

(12 August 2008). Огромные надувные собачьи экскременты улетели из швейцарского музея. RIA Novosti (Russia).

(12 August 2008). 巨大バルーンの芸術作品、風に飛ばされ近隣に被害. AFP BB news (Japanese).

(12 August 2008). Leute des tages: Paul McCarthy. Agence France Presse (German). (Mention).

(12 August 2008). Odd stories in the news: Art movement. Press Association National Newswire.

(12 August 2008). UPI NewsTrack Quirks in the News. UPI. (Mention).


AFP. (12 August 2008). Blow-up dog poo causes museum chaos. The Age (Australia).

AFP. (12 August 2008). Complex Shit causes museum chaos. The Australian.

AFP. (12 August 2008). Giant dog poo causes chaos. Brisbane Times (Australia).

AFP. (12 August 2008). Giant inflatable dog poo wreaks havoc. news.com.au.

AFP. (12 August 2008). House-sized dog poo causes chaos at museum. ABC News (Australia).

APA. (12 August 2008). Scheiß Wind: Kunstwerk verweht. Der Standard (Austria).

Richard Chang. (12 August 2008). Giant dog turd lays waste to Swiss museum. The Orange County Register (Arts blog) (California, USA).

CNN. (12 August 2008). Из швейцарского музея исчезли надувные экскременты. Pravda online (Russia).

The Daily News (Nanaimo). (12 August 2008). Giant turd takes down power line. canada.com.

Rohin Guha (12 August 2008). Poopapocalypse stikes Switzerland. Black Book Magazine (US).

Vitaly Kirichevskiy. (12 August 2008). Собачьи фекалии взлетели, разбили окно и приземлились. ОБОЗ.ua (Ukraine).

newsru.com. (12 August 2008). Гигантские надувные собачьи фекалии улетели из швейцарского музея. gorod.lv (Latvia). (News portal).

newsru.com. (12 August 2008). Гигантские надувные собачьи фекалии улетели из швейцарского музея. News RuFox (Russia).

newsru.com. (12 August 2008). Гигантские надувные собачьи фекалии улетели из швейцарского музея. TV Net (Latvia).

Newstalk ZB. (12 August 2008). Giant dog turd wreaks havoc. TVNZ (New Zealand).

ОБОЗ.ua. (12 August 2008). Собачьи фекалии взлетели, разбили окно и приземлились. ВСЕКОММЕНТАРИИ.com (Ukraine).

Jenny Percival. (12 August 2008). Giant dog turd wreaks havoc at Swiss museum. The Guardian (UK).

Pascal Schwendener. (12 August 2008). Häufchen vom Winde verweht. Der Bund (Switzerland).

(12 August 2008). Artist in poo over wayward giant dog turd. Cape Argus & Independent Online (South Africa).

(12 August 2008). Aufblasbares Hundehaufen-Kunstwerk vom Wind verweht. Vienna Online (Austria).

(12 August 2008). Complex Shit wreaks museum havoc. SBS World News Headline Stories.

(12 August 2008). Extreme Shit de lucht in. NOS news (The Netherlands).

(12 August 2008). Giant inflatable turd causes havoc in Switzerland. current.com (high traffic blog).

(12 August 2008). Giant inflatable turd escapes moorings and brings down electricity line. The Telegraph online (UK).

(12 August 2008). Giant turd damages children’s home in Berne. Digital Journal, web blog.

(12 August 2008). Giant turd takes down power line. Nanaimo Daily News, (British Columbia, Canada), p.A2.

(12 August 2008). Гигантские надувные собачьи фекалии улетели из музея, побили окна и повредили ЛЭП. Nakanune (Russia).

(12 August 2008). Huge inflated dog poo brings down power lines. Windsor Star, (Ontario, Canada), p. c2.

(12 August 2008). Huge turd catastrophe for museum. Metro (London).

(12 August 2008). Hundekot vom Winde verweht; Schneise der Zerstörung; Namhafte Künstler. Berner Zeitung (Switzerland).

(12 August 2008). Inflatable dog turd sculpture escapes Swiss museum, wreaks havoc. CBC News (Canada).

(12 August 2008). Kot-Kunst vom Winde verweht. St. Galler Tagblatt (Switzerland).

(12 August 2008). McCarthy dogshit work wreaks havoc in Switzerland. Art Info.

(12 August 2008). Музейные собачьи экскременты напугали швейцарцев. lenta.ru (Russia).

(12 August 2008). Необычный экспонат улетел из швейцарского музея. Ваш выбор-Самара (Russia).

(12 August 2010). Opblaasbare reuzedrol op de vlucht in Zwitserland. Het Laatste Nieuws (Belgium).

(12 August 2008). Paul McCarthy’s ’Art is Complex Shit’ on the runs. Liveleak.

(12 August 2008). Security system fails as giant inflatable turd wreaks havoc in Switzerland town [Turdzilla]. Gizmodo, web blog.

(12 August 2008). Turd alert as art takes off. MX Brisbane (Australia), p. 6.

(12 August 2008). Turd alert as art takes off. MX Melbourne (Australia), p. 8.

(12 August 2008). Turd alert as art takes off. Sydney MX (Australia).

Keith Olbermann. (12 August 2008). Countdown TV show (8PM, EST). MSNBC. (Mention).



Wednesday, 13 August 2008


AFP. (13 August 2008). Up in the sky: is it a turd? Is it a plane? The Sydney Morning Herald (Australia).

Petra Bosetti. (13 August 2008). Plastickfäkalie- Völlig Losgelöst. Art Magazin (Germany).

Konstantin Buoys. (13 August 2008). Гигантские собачьи фекалии улетели из швейцарского музея (Giant dog feces flying from Swiss museum). Новые Известия (Russia).

PA News. (13 August 2008). Giant dog poo wreaks havoc. channel4.com (UK).

(13 August 2008). Around the world. Townsville Bulletin, (Australia), p. 15. (Mention).

(13 August 2008). Beschissenes Bern; Riesiger Hundehaufen besdelt Schweizer Stadt. Taz, die tageszeitung (Germany).

(13 August 2008). Giant inflatable turd wreaks havoc at art show. The Pantagraph (Bloomington, Illinois, USA).

(13 August 2008). Inflatable faeces raises a stink. BBC News.

(13 August 2008). Leute. Süddeutsche Zeitung (Germany). (Mention).

(13 August 2008). Oddspot. Taranaki Daily News (New Zealand).

(13 August 2008). Oddspot. The Daily News, (Plymouth, New Zealand), p. 1.

(13 August 2008). Opblaasbare drol zorgt voor chaos. WaarMaarRaar.nl (Netherlands).

(13 August 2008). Poo flew. The Gold Coast Bulletin, (Australia), p. 16.

(13 August 2008). So, how big was the dog? Geelong Advertiser, (Australia), p. 9.

(13 August 2008). Some art stinks. St. Petersburg Times, (Florida, USA) p. 4A.

(13 August 2008). Talkers: Scaredy-cat too shy for exhibit. Kansas City Star. (Mention).

(13 August 2008). Una escultura hinchable se desprende de un museo y causa el caos en la capital suiza. Cadena Ser (Spain).

(13 August 2008). Welcome to your Wednesday Advocate: What the ...? Coffs Coast Advocate (Australia), p. 2. (Mention).

(13 August 2008). What was that blowing by? No, it couldn’t be... The Times Union (Albany, New York, USA).

(13 August 2008). When s*** hits the... Metro (UK), p. 15.



Thursday, 14 August 2008



AFP. (14 August 2008). Paul McCarthy’s dog poo creates havok in Berne. Wooster Collective.

Rawiya Kameir. (14 August 2008). Paul McCarthy’s “Complex Shit”. Format Mag.

Alexander Kluy. (14 August 2008). Hundekot in Bern, vom Winde verweht. Die Welt (Germany).

Tom Radler. (14 August 2008). Swiss art museum loses inflatable poop to the breeze. asylum.com (high traffic blog).

Ana Samways. (14 August 2008). Sideswipe: Thursday. New Zealand Herald. (Mention). (Also, hard copy).

(14 August 2008). Art installation proves this "Complex Sh*t" is no joke. complex.com (online blog).

(14 August 2008). Attack of giant poo. The Sun (UK).

(14 August 2008). Giant inflatable dog poo cuts off electricity supply. Burnley Express (UK).

(14 August 2008). Гигантские надувные фекалии улетели из музея. rbc.ru (Russia).

(14 August 2008). Masaya Nakahara, Mike Kelley and Paul McCarthy at Echo tonight. LA Times (US). (Mention).

(14 August 2008). NIEUWS in het kort. DAG, Netherlands. (Mention).

(14 August 2008). Opblaasbare drol Paul McCarthy zorgt voor chaos. De Standaard (Belgium).

(14 August 2008). Opblaasbare drol Paul McCarthy zorgt voor chaos. Nieuwsblad.be (Belgium).

(14 August 2008). Super turd. Architects’ Journal, p. 16.

(14 August 2008). What a wacky world we live in. Sherbrooke Record (Quebec, Canada). p. 2.



Friday, 15 August 2008


Your attention please, wire service report:

(15 August 2008). FED: Oddities of the week. Australian Associated Press. (Mention).


Gigglesugar. (15 August 2008). Headline(s) of the day: Giant Dog Poo Wreaks Havoc. TrèsSugar.com (San Francisco, CA, USA) (very high traffic site).

Michael Kesterton. (15 August 2008). You lost what? The Globe and Mail (Canada), p. L6. (Mention).

Debra Yeo. (15 August 2008). Sixty-second critic. The Toronto Star (Canada). (Also, hard copy, p. E10.)

(15 August 2008). ’Cocô gigante’ sai voando e deixa cidade sem energia na Suíça. globo.com (Brazil).

(15 August 2008). Crappy chaos. World Entertainment News Network.

(15 August 2008). Giant flying turd hits house. The Young Turks.

(15 August 2008). (Untitled). The Irish Times, p. 14.



Saturday, 16 August 2008


Jean-Pierre Duboux. (16 August 2008). «Kunstbanausen» ist von Petrus geholfen worden. Berner Zeitung (Germany).

(16 August 2008). Opblaasbare drol Paul McCarthy veroorzaakt chaos. De Standaard (Belgium).

(16 August 2008). (Untitled). Coffs Coast Advocate (Australia). (Mention).



Sunday, 17 August 2008


Carole Cadwalladr. (17 August 2008). Opinion: Look, there goes a runaway installation, blown loose from its moorings. And you thought modern art was.... The Observer (UK), p. 11.

Carole Cadwalladr. (17 August 2008). The gold for hypocrisy goes to the BBC. Guardian online. (Mention).

Patsy Crawford. (17 August 2008). An arty farce. Sunday Tasmanian (Australia). p. 20.

(17 August 2008). Bad idea. The Sunday Times (London), p. 14.

(17 August 2008). Art puts new spin on airborne pollution. The Edmonton Journal (Alberta, Canada), p. A14. (Mention).

(17 August 2008). Ils sont fous, ces Suisses... Sud Ouest Dimanche (France). (Mention).



Monday, 18 August 2008


Simon Castets. (18 August 2008). Paul McCarthy: Air Pressure. Art in America. (Mention).

(18 August 2008). Complex Shit goes on the runs. Poop Report web blog.

(18 August 2008). Excremento gigante. sur.es (Spain) (online blog).



More August 2008


Richard Chang. (19 August 2008). A clearer view of the dog poop. The Orange County Register (Arts blog) (California, USA).

BBC. (20 August 2008). Швейцарский музей лишился надувных фекалий. utro.ru (Russia).

(20 August 2008). 空飛ぶウンチが街を破壊! ガラスを割り、電線も切断する大暴れ. livedoor.com (very high traffic blog) (Japan).

(21 August 2008). Giant inflatable dog mess breaks free of its moorings and brings down power line. Daily Mail Online (UK).

(22 August 2008). Giant dog poo flies into power line. The Sun (UK). (Also, hard copy edition).

(22-30 August 2008)) Bad week for modern art. The Week, p. 6.

Jeremy Au Yong. (23 August 2008). More farty than arty; I have devised a test to decide what’s art and what’s dull and void. The Straits Times, (Singapore). (Mention).

20min.ch. (28 August 2008). Complex Shit. Courier International (Paris, France). p. 50.

(28 August 2008). Une merde s’envole: la sculpture gonflable de Paul McCarthy s’échappe. paperblog.fr (France).

Maureen Callahan. (29 August 2008). The tao of poo— Serrano lets louche but finds it hard to shock. The New York Post (USA), p. 37. (Mention).

Ulrich Raphael Firsching. (August 2008). Ein Spiel des Wetters: Paul McCarthys Hundehaufen in Bern. kunstmarkt.com (Germany).

(August 2008). Imperdible- escultura inflable con forma de caca de perro. pixmedial.net (online blog).



More 2008


Alex Webber. (10 September 2008). Из музея в Швейцарии ветром унесло надувные собачьи какашки. Synthesis News (Russia).

Chuck Sheperd. (19 October 2008). Next up- Adam and Eve: The Game Show; Runaway art, rascally Romanians, Chico bin Laden and an obit worth dying for. The Vancouver Province, (British Columbia, Canada), p. C2. (Mention).

(9 December 2008). Une merde géante tombe sur la Suisse. 20minutes.fr (France).

Donald Kuspit. (Unspecified day/month, 2008). The Triumph of Shit. Artnet. (Photo and mention).



2009


(February 2009). Toilet Training. artsjournal.com. (Mention).

(July 2009). Air Pressure: Paul McCarthy. airpressure.nl. (Photo).

John Scott Lewinski. (14 August 2009). A year later, Swiss town rebuilds from giant dog poo attack. Wired.com.



May 2010


(29 May 2010). Paul McCarthy Kothaufen hinterlieb Schneise der Verwustung. artinfo24.com. (Mention).