Rarely am I so perplexed and inspired by one thing. But today is one of those days. After reading a post by @meat99 (Tom Ajello) on A Tool to Deceive and Slaughter by Caleb Larsen.
What is ATTDAS? Good question. And after my brief explanation you still may not know.
Yes, it is a work of art. Yes it is a black box. Yes it posts itself to EBAY continuously for resale. Wait a second, what?!?
As the artist explains, ATTDAS is a work of art that has a physical and a perpetual online state. If either of these cease, then it no longer is noticed as a work of art by the artist that created it (whether this reduces the art value of it will be up to the collector to determine). So you buy the piece of art off of EBAY. You then get it in the mail, plug it in to Ethernet and it will re-post itself at the last paid bid (current bid: $4,250). You are agreeing under contract with the artist that when and if it sells, you will send it to the new highest bidder (and pay the artist 15% of your appreciation). The next person gets it and does the same. Whether you have it for 1 week or 10 years will be determined by the desire for the artwork. The artwork itself is predicated on it always being offered for auction.
Talk about augmented reality! Is the physical piece a work of art in itself or simply a representation of a concept that is auctioned off virtually and in perpetuity?
As noted from the agreement you make when buying the artwork:
"A. Artist has created a work of art titled “A Tool to Deceive and
Slaughter (2009)” (“the Artwork”) which consists of a black box that
places itself for sale on the auction website “eBay” (the “Auction
Venue”) every seven (7) days. The Artwork consists of the combination
of the black box or cube, the electronics contained therein, and the
concept that such a physical object “sells itself” every week.
B. Collector understands and agrees to the underlying concept and
function of the Artwork and that the sale of the Artwork by Artist is
dependent and conditioned upon Purchaser’s agreement and adherence to
the below terms. Such terms are fundamental and crucial to the on-going
viability and artistic integrity of the Artwork."
and
"Any failure to follow these terms without prior consent of Artist will forfeit the status of the Artwork as a legitimate work of art. The item will no longer be considered a genuine work by the Artist and any value associated with it will be reduced to its value as a material object and not a work of art."
My brain is still hurting a bit while thinking of this, but it is a truly inspiring (and perhaps meaningless) approach to the collaboration between technology, desire and creativity and it encourages me to think differently than I had, which is what I strive to do as much as I can.
How much is the current bid? You can always track it at http://atooltodeceiveandslaughter.com.
