Resting
There was an odd moment during the trek across Wisconsin last week. I’ve been known to photograph restrooms because I find their oddball décor strangely compelling. I was exploring this example, which featured an odd deer hunting motif in carefully detailed porcelain tiles ringing the room at eye level. It was really striking in its position just above the urinal (where you usually find graffiti or advertising billboards) but I couldn’t find a good point of view to photograph it there. I settled for this more complex construction.
Just after I finished taking the photograph, a guy walked in. I think he suspected that something perverse was afoot. In a bizarre coincidence, when I stopped another sixty or so miles down the highway at a rest stop, the same man pulled up beside me. He walked away quickly, as if he thought I was stalking him. Strange.
I remembered all this when I stumbled on this article ranking local restrooms. I’ve only visited one of the landmarks mentioned—the Turf Club. I’ll have to file the rest.
April 1, 2006 7:43 PM
Perhaps the traffic cone was to protect the motif for your future viewing pleasure?
can you tell me where exactly this was, the tile would be perfect for a show im curating.
thanks
ase
It was in a convenience store with a DQ inside, immediately adjacent to Moe’s Diner, somewhere between DeForrest WI and the Minnesota border on I-94. That is as specific as I can get, I didn’t note the name of the town (if there even was one).
Jeff....I cannot find an accurate email address to persoanlly email you. I wanted to talk to you about Ward Way in Ojai, CA. I grew up on Ward Way and found your site only by doing a search on the street name with city/state.
If you have a moment...it would be great to share stories.
- Erin