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"Student arrested for painting rock"
some background info on 1987's Piss Christ, which has nothing in common with this poo art from 1993, besides use ov vaguely similar materials...
"Student defends feces as piece of art"
(I submitted 2 works under the name Edgar Allen Poo. One was a piece of poo in a Kraft Sweet N' Sour jar, and the other was a poo & water in a big jar, sealed with Saran Wrap, with a sunflower sticking out. They were priced at $30k and $20k, respectively, and were later thrown in the trash by art professor Ron Mills. I demanded $50k payment, but never received anything but juvenile fighting words from Mr. Mills.)
From the Linfield Review, McMinnville OR, 1993:

Student defends feces as piece of art

To all concerned artists, students, and general public:
This letter is in regard to the Linfield College student art show and the art pieces submitted by student Edgar Allen Poo under the titles, "Sunflower in Poo Water," and, "The Satisfaction of a Good Poo," both of which incorporate actual poo in the artwork. After initial acceptance into the show, both pieces were rejected on the grounds of being offensive. This is despite 11th hour attempts to claim health dangers as the cause for exclusion - dangers which were unspecified and intended to play upon common misconceptions that poo is filthy and bad.
It is disgraceful for an artist to be forced or even asked to explain art, for art should stand on its own. But when someone attacks art and makes it a political issue, it becomes the responsibility of all artists to fight on art's behalf. It is therefore my responsibility to defend the art of Edgar Allen Poo in the following manner.
I understand that it is generally unpleasant to come in contact with poo, but to throw it out of an art show for its offensiveness amounts to calling it obscene. If poo truly is obscene, then we can say that every single human being, from day of birth to the day of death, practices obscenity regularly (or not) and with extreme frequency. Poo cannot be obscene. Poo is a simple truth of human existence.
Edgar Allen Poo's art takes on one of art's more noble aims, that is to explore what we can call common ground, to hit at something universally human, in which we may all share. And he does it with humor as well. If we can't laugh at poo, what can we laugh at? We may look at this poo art and consider our own poo. How often do we get the chance to see someone else's poo? Perhaps married couples see each other's poo, but I'm sure their poo begins to look the same after a year or two of marriage.
I believe we owe a debt of gratitude to Edgar Allen Poo for his bravery and artistic integrity in trying to afford all of us a look at his poo (I assume it's his), as well as the universal bond we all share through our own poo.

Ernest C. Smitten
senior, creative writing