Gallery: 10 Visions of Apple-Inspired Dystopia
6:09 am, November 16th, 2009, Lonnie Lazar
We’ve written before in this space about Apple’s unique status as a Muse to creative people. In fact, the initial impulse for this post was a search for striking pieces of art created on the iPhone.
Those are out there, too, in droves — and we’ll be featuring them soon in another gallery post.
Today, however, we bring you something we didn’t quite expect to find: a series of art pieces that shed a bit of perspective on the dark side of Apple.
Perhaps a notice in Sunday’s New York Times about the potential of an Apple patent to shackle users — Clockwork Orange-like — to future advertising exploits may have pierced the veil of shiny, happy love for all things Apple.
But there’s no question some sensitive and talented artists see the world and view the rise of Apple, and of the iPhone in particular, with less than a fond regard.
The cover piece, titled “The iFuture,” was ironically fingerpainted using the Brushes app on an iPhone. But the artist Nuevemonos clearly isn’t sanguine about the technology.
T0bi1 calls this piece “It Must Be Wonderful” in reference to owning a Mac, but says, “Actually I don’t bother if it’s Windows or Mac OS, but sometimes I get this feeling that people tends to glorify Macs and everything about [Apple]… Kinda like a a creepy religious thing.”
Digital artist Takma Riera isn’t quite so sure about having created a piece that fully conveys the idea that young people today are “digital natives.” We think it hits the mark quite well and are particularly impressed by the Apple “power button” tattoo its subject sports.
“3D Mummy Drowning,” from artist Martin8910 could hardly be more explicit. The world is awash in technology, iPhones among the dominant pieces of flotsam and jetsam, and there’s almost a Munschean Scream thing going on there, too. Dark. Chilling.
The artist behind iPhrenology explains it as an editorial illustration project. “The article was about how the iPhone is killing face-to-face conversation and starting to control our decisions, as many people will refer to their iPhone before making one.” Because so many people can’t seem to do without their iPhone once they’ve got it, “it would be easier if the owner just had it wired to the brain so that then they would have it always.” RFID chips, anyone?
“The Persistence of Apple” is a clever take on Salvador Dali’s famous “The Persistence of Memory,” and while some may argue whether it is expressly “dystopian,” it seems a striking enough image to start a conversation about the impermanence, if not the ultimate irrelevance of Apple gear.
Posted by Lonnie Lazar in Apple, Opinions, Top stories, iPhone | Comment on this article
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Oh!! Thank you so much for posting one of my paintings! The post is just great and the other pieces are blowing mind!
Congrats for the web!
Luis Peso (nuevemonos), on November 16th, 2009 at 7:49 am
The ‘Digital Native’ piece is outstanding, and I wonder how you found it?
I read the NYT article that you linked as well. I imagine the patent has something to do with free hardware. You get the ‘thing’ for free, but must respond to ads. It’s a choice that a consumer would make, so I can’t view Apple as evil because of it.
JAYnLA, on November 16th, 2009 at 10:17 am
Apples have long been the epitome of evil…
http://lavatoryreader.typepad.com/the-lavatory-reader/2009/10/the-danger-of-eating-apples.html
Ajax Harington, on November 17th, 2009 at 12:09 pm