The spirit of Duchamp at the Poop Culture release party

This Tuesday night is the big Poop Culture [1] release party [2] at Galapagos Art Space in Brooklyn. Galapagos is a trendy venue set up in an old industrial space; and because their arrival in Williamsburg predated the hipster masses (or, at least, the yuppie masses who followed), Galapagos was able to dedicate a significant amount of real estate to something beyond maximizing their mojito-per-square-foot ratio. They have a big atrium replete with reflecting pool reserved for artistic installations; and in honor of the book release, my friend Joe (this Joe [3]) and his friend Scott decided to create something beautiful.

The theme of their installation, Joe told me a few weeks ago, was inspired by something in my book: the possibility that one day human waste will be used to generate electricity. On the phone, Joe described to me a toilet, a pipe coming out of it, an electrical outlet coming from the pipe, and a lamp plugged into the electrical outlet. I envisioned an abstract little installation, but I did not realize how firmly the ghost of Marcel Duchamp would grab hold of Joe and Scott. With the legacy of R. Mutt burning in their soulds, they created what they have called the Doo Champasaurus.

I helped them set it up today. Reader: my mind is blown. A few pictures and a video are below; click here for the full Flickr set [4] of the construction.

[5]

[6]

The video below shows the whole thing from mouth to anus -- or, from production to transformation to energy consumption. It gets a little dark at the end, so I'll tell you what you're seeing: a fancy lamp being powered by the shit of the world.

Tuesday night, with the sun down and the mood lighting turned it, it'll look absolutely spectacular. A million thanks go to Joe and Scott for their stunning creation.