The Emperor’s new art

The Fortean Times’s daily digest of breaking news provides plenty of food for this blog. Today’s selection was no different. Thanks to the FT I learned about invisible art. Not only is the work in the imagination of the beholder, someone apparently paid $10k for one of the pieces.

According to an NPR blog the person behind this concept is actor James Franco. The project, called the Museum of Non-Visible Art, contains works of art don't exist physically, instead they are imagined by the artist. Anyone purchasing a "work of art" gets a "card" to hang on an empty wall and you "describe it to your audience."

The museum just made one big sale. A woman paid $10,000 for a piece title Fresh Air. The work is described thus:

“The air you are purchasing is like buying an endless tank of oxygen. No matter where you are, you always have the ability to take a breath of the most delicious, clean-smelling air that the earth can produce. Every breath you take gives you endless peace and health. This artwork is something to carry with you if you own it. Because wherever you are, you can imagine yourself getting the most beautiful taste of air that is from the mountain tops or fields or from the ocean side; it is an endless supply.”

The purchaser, one Aimee Davidson explained the reason for her purchase:

“As a new media producer, I identified with the ideology of the project and was particularly inspired by the sentence, "We exchange ideas and dreams as currency in the New Economy."…. I felt that the act of purchasing "Fresh Air" supported my thesis about a concept I term "you-commerce," which is the marketing and monetization of one's persona, skills, and products via the use of social media and self-broadcasting platforms, like Franco's use of the crowd funding platform Kickstarter to fund the Museum of Non-Visible Art. Essentially, I wanted to put my money where my mouth is.

Well there you have it. Ms Daviddson is not the first person to spend a lot of money on bugger all. Then it is her money and if she wishes to waste it in such a manner then it’s her choice…

While I think she is foolish the only thing that really does annoy me is that I didn’t think of a museum of non visible art myself