Art is subjective -- a work that looks amazing to someone might not be the case to another person. Or, a work that doesn't make sense to almost everyone else, makes sense to someone.
So, even though the following piece of art might look ridiculous to you, someone might be willing to fork out US$225 (S$317) for it.
Created by Singaporean artist, Heman Chong, the print is a scanned copy of his iPad at the time he decided to produce it for online art gallery, The Artling.
We're not kidding. It's even titled accordingly -- Singtel / 64% / 13:59 / Monday 6 July / Slide to Unlock -- which is basically whatever's shown on the screen.
Here's his description of it:
It’s basically a very high resolution scan of my iPad at the moment when I decided that I will make a work for you.
It measures 42cm x 29.7cm, which is larger than the largest iPad model there is. To give you a better gauge of its size, here's how it would look like on a wall:
The artist
While some of you might snigger at this, the man behind the artwork is actually a renowned artist who has had various solo exhibitions around the world.
After graduating with a Diploma in Visual Communication from Temasek Polytechnic, he went on to further his education at The Royal College of Art in London, where he received a M.A in Communication Art & Design.
Other Singaporean artists in the project
Chong's work is part of a prints project by the gallery, where they bring together a group of artists in Southeast Asia to create a series of limited edition digital prints.
The works are all priced at US$225.
Another artist, Mintio, captured a photograph of Singapore's Chinese opera scene with a low shutter speed to deliberately create an overexposed theatre stage, using the surrounding heartland as its frame.
The piece, which measures 29.7cm x 42cm, has been sold.
So, does a scanned copy of an iPad bring to mind Baudrillard's Simulacra and Simulation? Is it a copy that depicts something that either has no original to begin with or is this an imitation of the operation of a real-world process?
Are you still reading this? What is art? What is life?
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Top photo via The Artling.
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