Drakkuss: Barney Smith – Toilet Seat Artist

Barney Smith, a career plumber, saw beauty in toilet seats. He has an immense collection of toilet seat art in which he created almost every piece. His first toilet seat art was when he mounted his deer horns after he had been hunting with his father. “What, exactly, is his toilet seat art? It's part found object assemblage, part collage, part hand lettering and drawing.” Roadside Americana. At this point, “the opportunity is ripe for a museum to get off the pot, so to speak, and actually acquire this elaborate collection, as Barney is looking for a permanent home to display his unusual passion.” Charney (Observer). He wants the collection to be kept intact not sold off piecemeal. He mentions that a toilet seat manufacturer in Wisconsin known as Bemis wants to display his collection there.

At 96 years old he began his toilet seat art over 70 years ago. From a family of plumbers he continued the trade while working his toilet seats. One day he was at a plumbing supply house and saw all the toilet seats they were throwing away. He was allowed to take some if he kept the lid and threw out the rest. After showing the guy at the plumbing wholesaler the art he did on one of the seats he was allowed to take the rest of the lids. This began his blooming folk art career as he worked his proverbial day job. “Starting in the 17th century, with the rise of art galleries in the Netherlands, artists first began to hyper-specialize in their subject matter and medium, and create artworks on spec, not waiting only for commissions. So Barney’s highly-specific art form is part of a rich art historical tradition, as he himself is aware, referring to himself as an ‘American folk artist’.” Charney (Observer). Untrained as an artist Barney practices what some would call outsider art.

People could not fathom why he chose to do his folk art on toilet sets. When Smith was younger he did paint on canvas so he wasn’t new to art work. “Why am I doing it?” said Mr. Smith, who was in the middle of gluing Scrabble tiles to No. 1,006. “Because I wanted to stay busy and keep with my business. I was a plumber.” Fernandez (NYTimes). Art is personal and the medium chosen often is ground in the artists’ personal experience. Remember this expression when you throw away a toilet seat what’s one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.

Smith is eager to show off his treasured collection by appointment only. His museum is located in a garage in his backyard in San Antonio, Texas. “He even encourages visitors to bring in their own toilet seats since he prolific enough to always be running out. If someone does bring in a seat that he ends up using, Smith will engrave the donator’s name on the seat so that future generations will know where it came from.” Murray (Atlas Obscura). Depending on complexity each toilet seat can take 20 hours to complete. He has created a seat for each state in America among our diverse subjects. “Each seat is individually numbered and tracked in a detailed notebook.” Shetler (Quirky Travel Guy). This collection is inventoried and ready for a museum.