ABSTRACT
If Manneken Pis can be incorporated into the many celebratory moments of the city, it can also be used to articulate its tensions. Indeed, it provokes tension itself, both because of the status it has achieved in society and its inherent qualities. Perhaps the most straightforward example of Manneken Pis used to voice criticism occurs in the 1860 publication by a group styling itself 'Club Yellowboy', Manneken-piss au salon de 1860. The name of the club is intended to be a reference to the fountain, and the booklet reports from the year's art fair, held in Brussels. The statue's name looks Dutch when it is written down, but, when pronounced it could easily be bilingual, even a French name, since Dutch manneken has given French mannequin and pis and pisse are distinguished only by the length of the vowel.
