Giant Potty Chair Creates A Stink

A Winter Haven artist’s latest project is creating quite a stink in the community.

It seems residents who live near Steven Chayt’s home aren’t too thrilled to see a giant “potty chair” being constructed before their eyes. Standing at 24 feet, that chair, complete with an opening in the seat, creates quite an imposing impression in the neighborhood’s skyline.

While some neighbors are poo pooing Chayt’s work, calling for its removal, the artist insists it’s a serious undertaking.

“You can be very, very serious about art that’s funny,” he was quoted in a video interview as saying.

As neighbors circulate a petition to get Chayt’s chair flushed out of their sight, the artist told Patch he is declining further comment on the subject until the work is completed.

That, he did say, is hoped to happen in the next few weeks.

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Dubbed the “Lawn Chair Project,” the outdoor sculpture is based on a much smaller-scale prototype Chayt made years ago. According to the project’s Facebook page, the original was sculpted in 1992.

“I decided to explore the chances of building a monumental size version,” Chayt explained on Facebook. The project’s page is meant for those who want to follow progress of the chair’s construction as it moves along.

While Chayt’s conceptual art is entering its final phases with sheet metal being attached to its facade to give it a metallic finish, neighbors say they’re worried the work will make their property values go down the drain.

James Barfield, who lives nearby to Chayt, told ABC he hopes the sculpture is taken down or moved once it’s completed.

Chayt, however, isn’t planning on that.

As for government intervention, that’s not likely either. Polk County officials told ABC Chayt has permits in order and since the potty chair is being built on private land, he’s not breaking any laws on the books.

Chayt’s not the only Tampa Bay area artist to create a brouhaha among neighbors in recent months. Over the summer, an artist in Tarpon Springs wrapped his home in aluminum foil, causing a bit of an uproar in that community.

Photo from WFTS/Inform video