Caleb Larsen is a conceptual artist whose work I just discovered recently. It’s the ideas behind his work that are most important. Below are a couple of examples I found particularly interesting.
The “$10,000 Sculpture (in progress)” consists of a standard dollar bill acceptor installed seamlessly into a plain white wall. It offers no clues to suggest what might happen if one were to insert a bill. One is accustomed to receiving something in return when a dollar is inserted (some change, a soda, a candy bar…). This piece, however, asks for money and offers nothing in return. A dollar is inserted, and that’s the end of the transaction. The money it accepts goes into a fund with a goal of $10,000 (hence the title). A contract accompanies the piece stipulating that once the work has collected a total of $10,000, the amount is to be split 50/50 between the artist and the collector of the piece. Then the piece resets to zero, and the process starts all over again.
“A Tool to Deceive and Slaughter” is an even more intriguing piece of conceptual sculpture. This work perpetually attempts to auction itself on eBay. Every ten minutes the black box pings a server on the internet via an ethernet connection to check if it is for sale on eBay. If its auction has ended or it has sold, it automatically creates a new auction for itself. Each auction lasts seven days, and the opening bid starts at the previous purchase price. When a person buys the piece on eBay, the current owner is required to send it to the winning bidder. The new owner must then plug it into ethernet, and the cycle repeats itself. A collector owns the piece only until the end of the current auction, assuming someone has placed a winning bid. You could be its rightful owner for years, if nobody wants it, or just until you’re outbid. Like the “$10,000 Sculpture,” this piece also comes with an extensive contract spelling out the responsibilities of the buyer and seller. Theoretically, this piece could continue to sell itself on eBay for decades to come.
The amazing thing is, this artwork is actually being bought and sold just the way it was created to be. I read that on January 21, 2010, the piece was for sale on eBay for $2,500. The piece is currently up for auction with a starting bid of $6,858. If you have $7,000 to spare, you could be the lucky buyer, but you only get to keep the piece until the next person buys it. You might make a little money though! It certainly raises questions about the value and purpose of art. You can follow the latest auction at this link: http://atooltodeceiveandslaughter.com/.
Posted by greggarmstrong 
Musings & Amusings 