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Press Release

THE ART MUSEUM TOILET MUSEUM OF ART – SPECIAL EXHIBITION: THE INAUGURATION CELEBRATION EXHIBIT

World-renowned Collection's Special Exhibition: The Inauguration Celebration Collection by Ira Tattelman

New York, NY, — The Art Museum Toilet Museum of Art, the world's largest collection of images of art museum toilets taken at various art museums around the world, is proud to announce its special exhibition: The Inauguration Celebration Collection. The exhibition is in celebration of the swearing in of our 44th President Barack Obama and showcases all major art museum toilets in the Washington DC area. The exhibition is the work of Ira Tattelman and curated by the directors at The Art Museum Toilet Museum of Art.

Ira Tattelman is an established artist, architect, author and scholar who is graduate of Columbia and Harvard Universities and has shown extensively in the US. He has been studying the subject of bathrooms for over four years for a series titled "The Bathhouse Series" and has put this series together specifically to celebrate this historic time. Ira also points out that his underlining philosophy "of constructing new spatial relationships out of existing ones" is met as he "focuses on what is normally hidden, trying to make the unseen or overlooked visible. By shifting the frame of reference to these modest sites, I intend to subvert the viewers expectations."

The exhibition can be viewed by clicking here and includes images from the six major Washington DC art museums:

"These bathrooms are unique because being located in the Washington DC area, these museums are visited by presidents, ambassadors, dignitaries and all kinds of private citizens." Schlemielle, the museum's director said. "These toilets have witnessed the back door of history and have done it indiscriminately. As Barack Obama is our first African American President we would like to celebrate that the toilet is the first great equalizer of the world, it serves its function no matter whom it serves. Additionally these museums will no doubt be a popular destination for inaugural visitors and through this exhibition people all over the world can enjoy these institutions at this historic time."

About The Art Museum Toilet Museum of Art
The site currently houses exclusive images ranging from the prestigious marble lavatory at the Metropolitan Museum of New York, behind-closed-doors shots of the Hermitage's latrines and the decaying (yet still flushing) pictures of the Mongolian Art Museum's commodes. The Art Museum Toilet Museum of Art was officially founded in 2005 and since its inception, staff members have tirelessly been collecting images from around the world. Believed by experts to be the world's largest, it was built to showcase the forgotten art that can be found in every museum.

For more information, please visit: www.artmuseumtoilet.org

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The museum also accepts submissions of art museum toilets to be posted on its website, please send image to: submissions@artmuseumtoilet.org. Museum officials ask that each image be labeled with the name of the museum, date of photo and the name of the photographer. All will be posted if the image is selected.

*Please note UNLESS stated upfront all images sent can be printed & distributed at will and become property of The Art Museum Toilet Museum of Art. If stated upfront you will retain your rights.

The Museum also sells a catalog, select clothing, postcards, posters, prints and CDs.

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