"The Task Of Polishing Turds"
March, 2004, Digital picture with photoshop
This is a little image I made to help me meditate on the idea of "My Father's Bathroom," which deals with the memories I have from my childhood of the little bathroom in our house growing up that was only used by my dad. It was always the scary, forbidden place that my sisters and I would tell stories about and sit around in our bedrooms at night, talking and wondering what was inside of dad's bathroom. What was so special about it that we weren't even allowed to go IN it, let alone use it? To this day I still do not allow anyone but me to poop in my personal toilet at home and I think this stems back to my memories of dad and his toilet, and how he had a special way of sanctifying his own turds by threatening to whip us if we went into his special place in the house. How what seemed horrible and mysterious when I was younger also taught me some elements of art and poetry and of the process of making things which seem disgusting seem beautiful and meaningful or at least useful through skilled creative interpretation.
|
