I always look for art in awkward places. I don’t want to see
what the city, town or country wants me to see. I want to see the true spirit
of the place I’m visiting, so I pay close attention to art in bathrooms.
I started doing it when I was 13 years old. I was eating at
a restaurant with my family in Philadelphia and I saw a terrible painting of a
cow. The cow was formless, black and white and it looked like someone smudged
green paint on their fingers to make grass. It had no structure. It was a very
ugly painting.
It was over a hand dryer. Women splashed water on it as they
shook their hands dry.
Philadelphia is an artsy city. The city has over 1,000
murals and offers tours to explain them in the summer (It’s a great tour—I
highly recommend it). Philly also has a very large art museum, thousands of
sculptures, intricate water fountains and an abundance of galleries.
Philadelphians value all art. We love it!
Yet, it’s a place where
a deformed cow can hang in a public place.
I started to wonder where the painting would be if it wasn’t
here in Philadelphia.
It would probably, in
the trash.
It wouldn’t last in
New York. New York bathrooms have pictures of ballet slippers and Sicilian
oranges with class casings so no one can splash water on it.
Connecticut likes to hang print copies of flowers in their
bathrooms.
Pittsburgh is conceited. Pittsburgh has pictures of its own
skyline and champion football teams in its bathrooms.
Bathroom art tells the heartbeat of the city. It gives a
glimpse into the culture of the moment.
Philadelphia bathroom art is telling people that as a city,
Philadelphia makes the best of what it has. It is possible to become immortal
in Philadelphia because whatever you leave behind will never be thrown away.
Philadelphia survives off of its history with Ben Franklin,
cheese wiz, water ice, a dinged up bell, weird (almost Australian sounding)
accents and we Philadelphians wouldn’t have it any other way.
Come check us out, let us multi-color your world.
—Whitly Gardner
Come check me out too! Sodangawkward.blogspot.com
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