Artist’s fear of germs focus of new exhibit

Erin Watts does not like germs.

When she was a little girl, and either of her two brothers got sick, she would take her toothbrush out of the bathroom and hide it in her bedroom because she just knew germs would get on it.

Now a senior art major at GCSU, Watts decided to express her fear through art in an exhibit titled “Handling Haptophobia,” which was displayed in the Blackbridge Hall Gallery April 3-7.

Haptophobia is defined as the fear of touch, an ironic choice of topic for an interactive art exhibit.

“The show conflicts with itself because I want people to get up close to the objects and touch them, but the objects themselves are things that I despise to touch,” Watts said.

For her exhibit, Watts chose a computer keyboard, a toilet brush and, of course, a toothbrush, all presented much larger than life.

“They are at the top of the list of things I consider to the germiest that I come in contact with,” Watts said.

Roxanne Farrar, an associate professor of Art History, along with art faculty, helped guide Watts’ decisions on the art exhibit.

“(Watts) is interested in germs, very conscious of objects that are touched,” Farrar said. “She blew them up to demonstrate how her fear is out of proportion.”

At first, Watts’ fear may seem a little extreme, but there is scientific research to back her up.

A study led by Charles P. Gerba for the University of Arizona in 2002 found that a computer keyboard has 3,295 germs per square inch, while a toilet seat had only 49 germs per square inch.

The study also found that when a person flushes a toilet a cloud of water droplets can travel up to eight feet, endangering any nearby toothbrushes.

“Droplets are going all over the place-it’s like the Fourth of July,” Gerba said in an article for The Atlantic Monthly.

The study did not address toilet brushes, but did compare the toilet, which receives its share of attention, to overlooked areas of the bathroom.

“If an alien came from space and studied the bacterial counts, he probably would conclude he should wash his hands in your toilet and crap in your sink,” Gerba said in an article for the University of Arizona Alumni Association website.

Watts deals with her fear by cleaning her hands as often as she feels is necessary.

“I have hand sanitizer in my purse, car, bathroom, everywhere,” Watts said. “If someone is sick in my house, I’ll open all the windows even if it is 30 degrees outside.”

So, what does Watts think about people coming through her exhibit and touching everything?

“I try not to think about it,” said Watts, who left a bottle of hand sanitizer on a table outside the exhibit.

Watts did not set out to address her fear of germs, but came to the topic while trying to decide what medium to work with.

“It started with me wanting to do tactile art,” Watts said. “When John Acorn, an artist, came and visited he had a piece called the ‘Unknown Men.’ It was very textured and I just really wanted to go up and touch his work, but you’re not supposed to interact with art through touch. That’s where the first inspiration came from.”

Creating her exhibit did not cure Watts of her fear of germs; however, it was a step forward in her career as an artist.

“I learned how to think like an artist, how to take different views of a piece,” Watts said. “I learned that I don’t want to stop learning.”

Watts said she thought the exhibit has gotten people thinking about what objects they find disgusting, which Watts said could have an important effect:

“Maybe they’ll wash their hands more.”

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Apr 14 2006. Filed under Other. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry