RETAILOBSERVER.COM FEBRUARY 2016
14
T
he 1960's Hollywood Production Code allowed movies
to contain graphic violence, yet they did not allow filming
of a toilet being flushed. What better evidence of our
culture's high degree of discomfort about the room where we
spend more than a year of our lives. (Another symbol of
discomfort: the vast number of euphemisms our language has
for the bathroom.)
Bathrooms may be awkward to talk about, but they clearly
make an impression on us. Who can't recall some of the best
(and worst) bathrooms they've visited? In FLUSH: Celebrating
Bathrooms Past & Present, photographer Steve Gottlieb opens
the bathroom door and lets in some fresh air. He explores
bathrooms in their many guises, from grungy to gilded, minute
to massive, outhouses to airplanes. The excellent images are
combined with fascinating information on such subjects as the
history of outhouses and toilet paper and the evolution of
public restrooms and toilet technology.
In a world where virtually everything seems to have been
done before, what would explain why FLUSH is the first book
of its kind? Perhaps other photographers were held back by
the cultural stigma around the subject. Or perhaps the subject
didn't seem interesting or varied enough—a notion that Gottlieb
thoroughly disproves. You can display FLUSH with pride on
your own coffee table or toilet tank…or make it a gift that's sure
to make an impression.
Gottlieb's four previous books have received wide acclaim;
FLUSH is an altogether original and engaging addition to
his collection. Undoubtedly, he is the only professional photo-
grapher in the world who can proudly say that his career is in
the toilet.
RO
B O O K R E V I E W
FLUSH: CELEBRATING
BATHROOMS PAST & PRESENT
Author: Steve Gottlieb, Photographer
steve@gottliebphoto.com
603.305.8282
Publisher: Privy Publishing