Dan Wood [4] is a toilet artist. To be more accurate and respectful, Dan
Wood is an artist who has found a unique subject matter through which to
explore the simultaneous past and present of humanity: the toilet.
On a bright day in New York City, fellow PoopReporter Tim and I sat down
with Dan to view and discuss his work.
The underlying philosophy behind Dan's work is that the toilet is a
timeless aspect of the public sphere. More than a personal appliance, the
toilet is a solution to a problem faced by every human that has ever lived.
Since the dawn of man, man has pooped. And since civilization began,
man has tried to dispose of poop. From chamber pots to toilets, finding
ways to remove waste has shaped society as much as finding ways to supply
food and water has. As civilization advanced, so did methods for
distribution of sustenance and removal of waste -- allowing cities to safely
grow bigger and bigger without starvation or disease.
The toilet represents thousands of years of human evolution, the past
and the present at the same time. As a kid, Dan was fascinated by the
urinals at Fenway Park -- giant troughs, constantly flushing, purely
utilitarian and functional. As Dan grew older, he learned about the
toilets of the Roman Coliseum: built over a diverted river, it was
essentially a giant constantly-flushing trough. 2,000 years of history and
advancement, and yet the past remains the present.
This is the crux of Dan's art. "Here's this thing you use every day --
but it's been used every day for 2,000 years." When you look at the
toilet, you're looking at humanity's past, present, and likely its future.
To Dan, the toilet is a time machine, a window into humanity. The
issues you think about sitting on the toilet are the same issues your
ancestors thought about when they were sitting on theirs, and the same
issues the Romans faced when they pooped 2,000 years ago.
The toilet is a reminder that while our culture and our technology has
advanced, humans have not. We are still driven by the same needs, wants
and desires that we have been for ten thousand years. As complex as
society becomes, it is still nevertheless ultimately driven by the
distribution of sustenance and the removal of waste.
-- Dave [5]
Like Dave? He's featured in The Journal of Ass Production [6]!
Click to see the image bigger, w/ commentary from Dan. Also, visit Dan's website [7].
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