Lobotomy Lab: Trump’s Toilets

Lobotomy Lab: offering piercing insights into photography

Photography is art, I don't feel like there is any room left to debate otherwise.  Most detractors who argued otherwise are one dead and buried  Photography and other more abstract or temporary forms of art can have  a fascinating interplay that I think is often under stated or completely ignored.  A piece of performance art for example may only be preformed a few times for modest crowds at one location.  Similar with protest art, it can all too quickly be torn down or moved to limit the offense it may cause or silence the protesters.  If no photos are taken the art may fade into memory quite quickly, its message lost to the ages.  While this may drift in to the realm of documentary photography I still feel that does not change the pure, live, experimental art concept. I have a very personal connection to one such event.  One that I may be the only person to document or remember.

In January of 2016 Donald Trump came to power as president of the United States.  There was some fan fare and simultaneously to some of the largest protest seen in Washington DC in decades.  Most of these protests were exactly what one would expect, people marching down streets with signs, but some were far more interesting and stray into what I would call forms of protest art and I have seen no reference to it any where outside of the initial “display.”

The art in question was a series of urinal screens with an image on Donald Trump stenciled on them.  These were stealthily taken into the National Gallery of art and placed in at least one bathroom.  I do not know how many bathroom were hit or if some similar display was placed in to the women's rooms.  I also do not know if other building were hit with the protest art.  I have no idea if any of the screens were saved but suspect some were, though I doubt they are on public display. 

I bring this whole event up because despite its vert memorable nature it seems to have fallen into obscurity.  But not lost, because I shot a photo on my iPhone. It is probably one of the few pieces of evidence this protest took place.  Which is a shame because the idea is pretty clever and clearly took a fair amount of time and money. I don't have much more to say I just felt the need to share this and also explain why I feel the photos are important.  They are not going to win a prize but I think it is a protest worth remembering.