How would you react if you knew an artist is selling a sculpture, which is in reality, nothing? Any person who is not an art aficionado will laugh it off. The art sphere continues to shock the world everyday, and now even more so.
An invisible sculpture was sold for $18,000 at an Italian auction house called Art Rite. The sculpture simply does not exist; you will not be able to see the sculpture, try what may. No invisible inks or materials used. Simply put, the sculpture is literally, nothing. The man behind this rather unusual piece is 67 year old Salvatore Garau.
The artist explained to reporters how the vacuum in his piece is “nothing more than a space full of energy”. Garau also cited the Heisenberg uncertainty principle, explaining how “nothing also has a weight”. He further added how he is letting the thoughts of the exhibit’s viewers to collect in that space, and accordingly alter his exhibit, which is nothing.
Another instance of this bizarre art ‘form’ is when Australian artist Kinly Gray exhibited his piece The Size of Air in 2017. Reported by The Sunday Morning Herald, Gray said that air is a “captivating” topic in the artistic perspective. It’s not just “nothing,” after all. Air is technically filled with pollutants, far more a number we can think of.
The area of weird art has always confused the ordinary man. Who would spend their fortune on something that clearly does not exist, after all? The rich spend lavish amounts of money on pieces as weird as blank artifacts, simply because of all the pondering they can do with it. ArtNet News reported how radio parodists Pat Kelly and Peter Oldring spoofed many collectors by staging an exhibition with the blank arts, made by a fictional artist, Lana Newstrom. She made headlines by exhibiting blank canvases, which were again, fake images that were being circulated.
They even went a step ahead and created a manager for Lana.
While incidents like these will only amuse us, those fond of art, especially collectors, would be rather furious. But the more money these bamboozling arts get, the more surprised we become. Do they buy these pieces because it their interest, or is it of any emotional significance, or do they just buy them because everyone in their class does it, we’ll never know.
Art is subjective, personal and all other similar adjectives, but at the end of the day, it probably might be only for those who are dire fans of the various perspectives art can be explored with.
