USA: An enduring symbol of pop culture - the ipod - has now been elevated to the level of art

Record ID: 580924

  • Title: USA: An enduring symbol of pop culture - the ipod - has now been elevated to the level of art
  • Date: 2nd March 2007
  • Summary: (L!1) NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (RECENT) (REUTERS) VIEWERS AT THE SCOPE NEW YORK ART FAIR LOOKING AT SECTION OF IPOD ART INSTALLATIONS; VARIOUS OF IPOD ART INSTALLATIONS
  • Embargoed: 17th March 2007 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Usa
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Science / Technology
  • Reuters ID: LVA39P9TBERRXK7DVRA0USORRUBL
  • Story Text: Emerging artists are creating elaborate iPod sculptures that make the digital music players the centrepiece of installations. Art gallery representatives say that these sculptures represent the electronic era that we live in today, but not all exhibition viewers agree that the installations are of any "particular substance." The gadget that has come to symbolize dynamic, on-the-go pop culture -- the Apple iPod -- is now receiving some artistic attention as well. At the recently held Scope Art Fair in New York City, seen as a forum for contemporary artists, one section was devoted to iPod art, with the digital music players integrated into sculptures and installations.
    Creator of the iPod sculptures, an artist whose real name consists of an unpronounceable series of letters -- dNASAb -- but g s by Disnee, has been working with iPod sculptures for a year now.
    "I use household plastics like drano bottles, and window cleaner bottles, and things like that, mixed with high-end plastics from Chinatown and artistic plastics and materials. That's the important part, the iPod is juxtaposed with pop cultural consumption material. So, it's in a pop art vein," Disnee told Reuters.
    Disnee, who uses LED (Light-emitting diode) very elaborately in his iPod sculptures, added that he thought that if Andy Warhol would have been around, he would have been dabbling in iPod art sculptures and that it was key not to see the iPod as high brow art material.
    Disnee's representative, Miami-based gallery owner Anthony Spinello has sold seven iPod art pieces to date. "There's just so much to entail with these pieces that it's almost infinitive, just with the way our future is going, in the direction of the products, the electronics that are coming out of our culture, how important it is in our society and it just makes sense that the only natural progression is that its going to be represented in art and Disnee is one of the artists that are getting the most attention with these iPod sculptures," said Spinello. But viewers who saw the glimmering iPod sculptures, had mixed reactions.
    "I think it's so forward and interesting and he took all of these really up to the minute sort of technologies and incorporated it into a whole creative expression ad I think it's so important that artists keep up and even get ahead of technology," said Rebecca Milikowski.
    Christophe Michel, another viewer, had a different opinion. "I just see a lot of cool stuff kind of moving around, a lot of lines and a lot of graphics and a lot of you know very very fun, very visually but I don't see anything of a particular substance like something trying to get across to me, an idea per se," he said. For those who think of buying a iPod sculpture, it would set them back about 4,000 U.S. dollars - but the good news is that the iPods are included.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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