Fine Art In The Toilet?

I checked into the Seattle Sheraton Hotel this afternoon. Some might consider this to be an upscale hotel for a guy who works for a nonprofit, but I got a very good rate and the beds are the best in the hotel industry. Plus, it's central for my meetings. Why is this important?

If you're an art lover, there is an excellent display of Dale Chihuly's glass art in a display case in the lobby. Beautiful, white glass stylized flowers protected behind a glass wall. This is no small display - it's 8' x 10' by 6' deep. I've seen his art in Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, New York and now Seattle. He is an amazing artist.

What really amazed me was what I found in my room. Chihuly published a color photo book in 1995 of many of his various works that were displayed in Nutajarvi, Finland. Apparently the art curator for the Sheraton Seattle purchased one or more of the books, disassembled them, framed the pictures and hung two in my room - and I'd guess many more rooms throughout the hotel. The curator has excellent taste. Well, almost. One is on the wall in bedroom. The other is hanging above the toilet in the bathroom. WHAT? What in the world is this person thinking? First, the bathroom contains a shower and showers emit large amounts of steam that will destroy original art or good prints. Second, let's consider that the artist is world-renowned and his works are commissioned by groups such as the Bellagio, the US Olympic Committee and others. Would you insult your best friend - if they were an artist - by hanging their art above your toilet? I was amazed.

I went downstairs this afternoon and politely asked the nice lady at concierge desk if they could please move the Chihuly print to another location - out of the bathroom. With a wan smile, she said she'd mentioned it to housekeeping. I don't think she will. She took no notes, made no commentary in her computer, and immediately called a limo service to see if they could pick up the Schmedlap family to go to dinner. We'll see what happens tomorrow. I'm not optimistic.

PROLOGUE:

My faith in humanity has been restored.

The phone in my room just rang. It was lady who was at the concierge desk last night when I stopped by and asked about the pictures. She was calling me from home - it is her day off. She said she woke this morning and remembered our conversation and felt bad she hadn't called me back last night. She said they got very busy with people who wanted dinner reservations and she simply forgot. So, she talked with the manager's office this morning and found out the Chihuly prints are actually copies - very good copies - in all the guest rooms. She didn't want me to think she'd forgotten me and wanted to let me know that originals weren't in the bathrooms.

I learned two lessons: copy machines make remarkably good copies of original art today. Customer service is alive and well at the Sheraton Seattle Hotel. Thank you, Ann, for restoring my faith in this very comfortable hotel. And, please accept my apology for not believing you'd follow through. You've made my day.