The first bathroom art gallery on the web. Since then, I’ve noticed a few others.
And no, I don’t take requests.
I am including this note to explain why you will not see all your favorite artists here.
Some of us are too modest to post our creations online. Some of us lack the visual talent to draw what we see in our heads. I lack the time and the inclination, both of which I have in abundance for other things. Some of us are waiting for ideal conditions that never arrive: “I’ll start with watercolors when I have time and a place where it won’t get wet.”
Other stuff: Today my friend pointed me at www.mistersmut.com, which is exactly what it sounds like. A comment there links to a page about urinary tract infections that will make you want to laugh or cry or both (www.healthcentral.com/ency/article/002457). One of the commenters points out that “in normal everyday life one does not use the word ‘chunder'”. Thanks for pointing that out! Anyway, if you’re up for some bathroom reading, go on over and check them out.”
The first thing to realize about bathroom art is that most of it serves no function. For example, you can see a lot of intricate line drawings in men’s rooms of the sort favored by teenagers: sports cars, fighter planes, pin-up girls. These serve no purpose at all (unless they are left there by teenagers).
The second thing to realize is that much bathroom art has a sort of time-capsule quality.** It makes sense to put up a line drawing in a men’s room even if it has no function, because at least it isn’t going to change; but what reason would anyone have for putting up an ad for last year’s car or discontinued cigarettes?
My own bathroom contains a curious example of bathroom art. It is a printed sign, with a drawing of a man and woman looking at each other while they sit on opposite sides of the toilet and read their respective copies of the New York Times. The caption reads “The New York Times: It Is What It Is.” This is not just bathroom art; it’s meta-bathroom art.
For those who have not seen this, or have forgotten it, here are some examples from a Google image search for “New York Times” + “toilet”:
(If you’re wondering why there are so many pictures of toilets on the Internet, consider that in Japan these are known as “Washlet” and have their own trade association.)
I have no explanation for the popularity of this particular motif. I like to think that it is because people think about deeply philosophical issues as they sit on the toilet. But I’m sure it mostly has to do with the fact that it’s funny to draw people reading newspapers on toilets.
Originally posted to a.p.g.b on April 20, 1998.
Folks,
Here is my list of favorite bathroom art and why I like it:
1) A cartoon of a little boy sitting at the dinner table with his family. The caption reads, “I am the only one who has to eat the pot roast.” When my ex-wife and I were separating, this was one of my all-time favorites.
2) A cartoon of two guys in a bar. One says, “So I said to him, ‘Hey! That’s not my fish!'” This also beats the hell out of a framed picture of some guy’s naked wife or girlfriend that is supposed to be “art” because she has big boobs.
3) A Far Side cartoon showing two cavemen looking at a magazine with a picture of a woman wearing a fur coat and holding an umbrella and saying, “See, our wives don’t look like that!” This is obviously referring to the prehistoric discovery (or rediscovery) that women are not furry and have no tails.
4) A Far Side cartoon showing a caveman looking at another caveman who is holding a club and wearing what looks like armor made out of tree branches and saying,
Despite the title, this article is not about graffiti. I’m using the term bathroom art to refer to any kind of non-commercial art that you see in a public place that’s meant to be there—or at least it was supposed to be there when it was made.
In other words, this is not about something someone put up on the wall or ceiling and then painted over when they moved out or got caught. This is about art that was left on purpose, but where the artist wasn’t paid for it.
The bathroom is a place where we are forced to confront our insignificance. What could be more obvious than the fact that we don’t live in Versailles? This is why the bathroom provides such fertile territory for subversive expression. You can be as bawdy as you want, since no one will take offense. This is also the only place where you can express your true political sentiments, since there is no chance anyone else will see them.
If you happen to share a bathroom with someone whose politics are different from yours, this is also where you can fight it out. It’s hard to punch someone on the nose over dinner, but graffiti on the toilet walls is fair game.
The toilet itself, far from being a mere convenience, has become an art form, and plumbing fixtures have become accepted material for sculpture. Because of its potential for expressing so much of what we feel about ourselves and our lives, the bathroom has become an important venue for artistic self-expression.
