There are many reasons to bemoan the decline of the chain bookstore, not least of which is the loss of easily identifiable venues for decent public restrooms. With this precious resource siphoned from society, we are collectively more bereft of culture and utilities in one tidy package. But wait! A recent poll by the American Alliance of Museums (AAM) asked museum professionals to submit their nominations for best museum bathrooms, and the results prove that Marcel Duchamp was only the first, but not the last, to find art in the commode. Joseph O’Neill, a content manager and editor for the AAM, dutifully compiled the results.
“Every month, we put out questions for museum people to connect around, and we were surprised as anyone to find out how much enthusiasm there is for this fun topic,” O’Neil told Hyperallergic. “But the responses we’ve gotten suggest bathrooms might be an underappreciated part of the visitor experience when it comes to belonging, inspiration, accessibility, and even education.”
Next up is the John Michael Kohler Arts Center (JMKAC) in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Obviously, bathrooms are going to be a point of pride for an institution founded by the manufacturer of bathroom implements, including sinks, toilets, and more. But JMKAC has gone above and beyond, with the “Sheboygan Men’s Room,” furnished with hand-painted porcelain tile and bathroom fixtures by once-artist-in-residence Ann Agee; Cynthia Consentino’s “The Women’s Room”; and Matt Nolen’s “The Social History of Architecture (men’s washroom).” That’s in addition to commissioned washrooms at the Art Preserve on the first and third floors. On a best bathrooms list, no one wants to be #2, but JMKAC proves that second is the best!
Coming in third, the Mariners’ Museum and Park in Newport News, Virginia, garnered praise for its bathroom series, A Head of Its Time: A Brief History of Going at Sea. It’s a look at how sailors “made do” in a time before flushing toilets, and even toilet paper. Bathroom reading material par excellence!