Seven toilets adorned with clay, latex, fur and gold leaf are on display in the School of Art gallery in Foster Hall. These toilets are part of “Bathroom Issues,” an exhibit created by ceramics graduate student Craig Clifford for his Master of Fine Arts thesis.
“Things that make people uncomfortable intrigue me because I find that these same things are the very ones that makes us laugh the hardest,” Clifford said.
According to Clifford, sex and bodily functions rank high on the lists of humor and discomfort.
“In this exhibition, I am attempting to combine these two threads in a way that makes the viewers laugh, while at the same time reconsidering the rationale behind this discomfort,” he said.
Clifford decorated each toilet with a different theme. For example, “Reader’s Digest” is a replica of a leather recliner, while “Male Fantasy” is covered with breasts.
“My favorite piece is the one with air fresheners because smell is usually associated with the bathroom,” said painting and drawing senior Lisa Myers.
Myers said it is evident Clifford spent a lot of time on the project because each piece is well crafted, unique and imaginative.
“The most difficult one to construct was ‘California,'” he said. “I had to make it once or twice to make it more proportionate.”
Clifford said his favorite toilet to construct, and the most interesting one, is “Farm, Fertilize, and Feast.”
“This one was designed to counteract the initial reaction you have to food around the toilet,” Clifford said. “It features food-bearing plants like herbs, tomatoes and peppers, all growing in a place where it is not usually seen.”
Art professor Albert Allen said Clifford’s pieces create an interesting element by using toilets, which are typically seen in bathrooms, as the ground plane instead of a canvas or wood.
“The pieces also represent dual functions,” Allen said. “For example, ‘California’ is a toilet, but its tank is also a functional aquarium.”
Psychology freshman Michelle Ostrick said she enjoyed Clifford’s project.
“It makes a bold statement because of its originality and creativity; we see don’t see art like this every day,” she said.