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Porcelain Philosopher’s and The Writings on the Stall

Porcelain Philosopher’s and The Writings on the Stall

Porcelain Philosopher’s and The Writings on the Stall

Have you ever sat down on the toilet? Have you ever been sitting quietly while waiting for your body to emit sound, smell and matter into said porcelain toilet and begun thinking? Maybe you began observing your surroundings? Were they located in a public place?

toiletanimedeezone.jpgFor clarities sake most of us have sat down in a public restroom stall to poop or pee. The contents we excrete, we conveniently flush away with toilet tissues after a thorough wipe or patting of our nether regions. What did you do while you were inside… other than the obvious. Many people write. They write on the stall walls, scratching or marking and even burning letters, words, symbols, images, love notes, anagrams or their personal initials into and onto it. I read it. I grimace. Sometimes I even tag it too. I have even laughed or giggled out-loud.

Give Debbie a call for a good time or J.W.D loves HFO!!! greet my eyes and I wonder who this Debbie lady is and why her phone number keeps changing? And why does HFO not love J.W.D anymore, when in actuality J.W.D can be reached by dialling 555-5554 for a good time. Furthermore says J.W.D., Debbie isn’t so good with her time and blatantly scribbled in nearly illegible lettering that she is a filthy whore.

Ok, seriously, we can all relate to the above story. This story is as old as time itself. Private public places such as a public mall bathroom stall are as good as any stretched canvas for the general populace to create upon. Here is one such poem found in a High School women’s restroom in Vermont.

Here I sit
Broken-hearted
Came to shit
But only farted

What about the club bars plastered with every known possible sexual excretion and/or mind altering drug known to man, lightly dusting any flat surface available.

Porcelaine Philosopher’s presents an idea, that could inspire you, that will take you into the minds and voices of various toilet thinker’s heads. Where do their thoughts wonder, if at all, and what if those thoughts had a way of being seen or heard. By animating the stall walls the Porcelain Philosopher’s ideas, dreams or resentments will come alive. This environment is rich with history both rhetorically, and on a more personal level; inspiring. Did she go into the bathroom stall to cry? Did he go in to snort a line of coke to be confident to hit on that girl who cried? What did you last think of, read or add while sitting or standing in the bathroom stall all alone with only your own brain?

We all go in. What happens?

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Watch Darren create and make things move giving body to thought. The animation is claymation which is one form stop-motion animation can take. Or read some humorous poetry from another public bathroom stall inspired blog called The Writings on the Stall. I read the following from Jonathan’s about page.

‘€¦started to think not of what it read but more of what stalls can reflect in general society: a whole lot.

They serve as (informal) forums for politics, pop culture, humour, and so forth. What better, then, than to bring the best of these writings out to the world over this thing we call the Internet? Thoughts and ideas that once were localized can now be made globally available. Huzzah!

Art can be found in the strangest of places. As a society, we seem to turn our noses away from it publicly. It could be right in front of your eyes but you blinked while pushing and missed it. Privately I am guessing we all get quite a kick out of bathroom stall art and writings unless of course it is about you. Well you can fight back to defend your slandered great name with magic marker, house keys or you can contact the public washroom owner asking for quick and prompt removal of said slander. I wonder what Debbie does?

View Comments (7)
  • I’m proud to say that someday your work Jessica, both visual and spoken may grace the walls of the Porcelain Philosophers. Thank you so much for exploring this topic with your readers and expanding on a topic that I keep close to my heart.

  • Dee – I enjoyed writing this and discovering more about the inner stall wall thoughts and writings. If a topic is a little off the beaten road I tend to gravitate towards it. What you are undertaking here Dee is unbelievable and something we as humans ALL have in common.

    What goes into our bodies needs to come out…

  • Hi Jessica.

    Nice write-up on the less tread-upon paths. Incidentally I’m most creative when I’m sitting on my potty seat; whether it’s writing, or singing.

  • Armrit I have a little mini Connect Four game that I play while in the bathroom sitting on the toilet. It seems to have become a pleasant break for me in my own home.

    Thank you for sharing your singing thoughts. I might try singing next at home first. I could bring my laptop in I suppose… and blog…

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