To boldly go where no man (or woman) has gone before--all glass public restrooms! No. 2

Artist Who Inspired Sulphur Springs' Glass Bathroom Says the Texas Town Stole Her Work

In December 2003, across the street from London's Tate Britain museum, artist Monica Bonvicini debuted her latest installation. Titled "Don't Miss a Sec," it was a public toilet inside a cube of one-way mirrors. The bathroom user could gaze out upon the passing museum goers and see the construction workers milling about, but they couldn't see inside. It was, among other things, a way for Bonvicini to challenge how people interact with their surroundings.

A decade later, Bonvicini was horrified to learn that the city of Sulphur Springs had constructed a knockoff version of "Don't Miss a Sec" and plunked it down next to the oversize chess set on the town square. The copy is completely faithful to the original, save for the addition of a steel frame and heating and air conditioning, which the city manager bragged about on local TV.

It is, in the words of Bonvicini's New York-based attorney, Patricia Hertling, "not very nice for her to have her kind of sophisticated sculpture" turned into a low-brow tourist attraction, which Sulphur Springs has advertised in press releases and by putting it in the running for "America's Best Restroom" contest.

Recently, Hertling sent Sulphur Springs a cease-and-desist letter claiming that the town's bathroom infringes upon Bonvicini's copyrighted artwork and demanding that it be removed.

More at http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/unfairpark/2014/06/artist_battles_sulphur_springs.php

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To boldly go where no man (or woman) has gone before--all glass public restrooms!
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