

A Tool to Deceive and Slaughter - mcantelon
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=190367275705

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idm
Okay - this counts. It's art. It's rare, so it could be valuable. It's a smart
idea, so it could get exposure. It's plugged in with ebay, so it's social and
self-promoting.

Really, it's one step away from a basic (parasitic) life form. I like it.

~~~
jballanc
It's even better --

 _The software driving the project will remain hosted on servers of the
Artist’s choosing to aid in maintenance._

So the "artwork" is only complete so long as the "servers of the Artist's
choosing" remain connected. Much like the "artwork" that people purchased from
Yahoo! or Microsoft was no longer complete when the DRM servers went off-
line...

...so it's a social commentary too. Definitely art.

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apowell
I like it, but I'd like it more if it printed and adhered a shipping label to
itself and scheduled a FedEx pickup after it was sold. Once you saw the label,
all you would need to do is put it on your doorstep and wait for it to
disappear.

~~~
idm
Totally! Of course, if it didn't need to be plugged in, a la Airnergy[1]^, and
if it used wifi... and maybe if it were weatherized, then it would never need
to be indoors in the first place. As long as it was never delivered to a place
without wireless, it would be "alive."

Arranging its own transportation via FedEx would incorporate the printing
method you describe, and it could pretty much move on its own.

1\. [http://www.ohgizmo.com/2010/01/09/ces2010-rca-airnergy-
charg...](http://www.ohgizmo.com/2010/01/09/ces2010-rca-airnergy-charger-
harvests-electricity-from-wifi/)

^ probably vapor, and clearly underpowered, but let's pretend

~~~
ique
Why go with just wireless? It could just as easily be hooked up to 3G and Edge
to access eBay.

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iron_ball
Much harder to arrange payment. With DHCP Ethernet, you can plug and play on
any modern network on Earth.

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ratsbane
That's quite clever. I like it so much... I just bid on it.

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almost
Awesome, keep us posted!

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ratsbane
Will do! I reasoned this way: if I win it won't be the most rash ebay purchase
I've ever made (I'm still paying slip fees on THAT one) because a) I'm curious
about its workings (as apowell mentioned I'll definitely monitor its traffic)
and b) I can actually see significance in it as a work of art - though of
course, if I do win it I probably won't get to keep it long and c) if I do win
it I can choose the price at which it's next listed; that price is going to be
more than $2500. d) this is going to be fun.

There's a decent chance I shall be outbid, though.

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tdm911
I was under the impression that if it re-lists itself then it will always list
at the same price - $2500.

~~~
superchink
Upon purchasing the Artwork, Collector may establish a new value for the
Artwork. The new value may not exceed current market expectations for the
Artwork based on the current value of work by the Artist. This value may be
reassessed quarterly.

~~~
tdm911
Thanks, well spotted.

I wonder how this is achieved? Perhaps there is an eBay account username and
password that goes with the sale.

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gr366
The artist should hook it up to a microblogging service so that it can keep a
log of the auction winners. It could be a very exclusive club to be in.

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JoachimSchipper
I'm somewhat torn between "novel" and "greedy" (15% of appreciated value?
Really?)

I also like how the contract declares the box to be worth nothing (well,
component cost) once the contract is broken.

On the other hand, the average EULA is more onerous. At least one owns this
box.

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carbocation
Firmly both: "In the event of a sale the Collector agrees to pay a sum equal
to fifteen percent (15%) of the Appreciated Value (as hereinafter defined), if
any, occasioned by such transfer or distribution or payment of insurance
proceeds to the Artist (or Artist's agent for the purpose) within thirty days
of the sale."

Coupled to the fact that this device continually tries to sell itself on ebay
q7days, it's clearly designed to be a money making scheme for the artist.
Surely, he would argue that this, too, is part of his art.

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hallmark
I think the money making bit is part of the witty name, "to deceive and
slaughter." :)

Otherwise, it would be "a tool to auction and ship around."

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swolchok
I'm not a lawyer. Is it the case that because the contract specifies a
(financially nebulous) penalty for its breach, there can be no other legal
repercussions for breaking it?

Actually adhering to the first clause seems difficult. As I'm sure everyone
knows, Internet connections are notoriously unreliable; coping with this is a
key distributed systems problem.

On another note, I bet it uses DHCP to get an IP address. What if it's a live
Internet connection, but the local network does not have a DHCP server? Seems
like that may not be in breach of the contract, but I bet that the box won't
be able to get online.

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brown9-2
The FAQ covers DHCP:

 _Q: What means does it use to connect to the Internet ? Wireless or other ?
A: It specifically connect via wired ethernet, and it automatically obtains is
IP through DHCP._

I assume that since the agreement stipulates that the "Collector agrees that
the Artwork will remain connected to a live Internet connection at all times",
then it is up to the buyer to provide a DHCP connection if none exists.

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romland
According to the artist:

 _Combining Robert Morris' Box With the Sound of Its Own Making with
Baudrillard's writing on the art auction this sculpture exists in eternal
transactional flux. It is a physical sculpture that is perptually attempting
to auction itself on eBay.

Every ten minutes the black box pings a server on the internet via the
ethernet connection to check if it is for sale on the eBay. If its auction has
ended or it has sold, it automatically creates a new auction of itself.

If a person buys it on eBay, the current owner is required to send it to the
new owner. The new owner must then plug it into ethernet, and the cycle
repeats itself._

Link: [http://www.caleblarsen.com/projects/a-tool-to-deceive-and-
sl...](http://www.caleblarsen.com/projects/a-tool-to-deceive-and-slaughter/)

What I found curious about it is that it's listed under 2008. Has it been
selling itself before or did it just take two years for it to convince the
artist to plug it in?

...and the Box has not published its source code under the link on that page
either :(

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ricree
Even if the purchase agreement is actually enforceable, would buying something
on ebay even count as entering into that contract?

Also, what does "In order to be recognized as a work of art the contract must
be adhered" mean? Is there actually someone out there officially `recognizing`
artwork, or is this just a fancy way of saying "follow these terms or I'll get
annoyed".

~~~
houseabsolute
If the artist feels a certain aspect of the work is integral, that can be
important. There are probably a lot of people who would be influenced by an
artist's threat to declare a work "not art," especially if it is his own work.
I think that's all he's saying: "I can't stop you from breaking the terms of
this contract, but if you do the work is dead to me."

~~~
flipbrad
can't a work of art remain a work of art - or even take on new artistic
meaning - if it's declared 'not art' or 'dead' to the artist? Especially when
it's entitled 'a tool to deceive and slaughter'!

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JoachimSchipper
For instance, if someone was found brutally bludgeoned to death with said
black box, this changes the context and thereby completely revolutionarizes
the artistic and cultural, not to mention physical, impact(s).

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ryanelkins
I'm kind of wondering why he started it so high ($2500), especially
considering that part of the deal is that he gets 15% of the appreciated value
every time it sells itself anyways. I guess it rubs me more as doing something
to make money rather than doing something to be interesting... not saying that
is a bad thing. It's an interesting concept at least.

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apowell
He gets 15% of the value of subsequent sales, but 100% of the first sale.
Plus, I'm sure a significant amount of time and material went into the piece.

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ryanelkins
Sure, but why not play out the auction thing and start it at $1 or something
and see what the market will bear. I guess I do wonder as well how often it
may sell if it's listing itself every week. How much does it relist itself
for? The buyer is responsible for all those fees generated by the box as well.
I don't know, the more I think of it, the more it seems like a big hassle.

~~~
sp332
In the art world, perception of value often _is_ value. It is (nearly)
guaranteed that it will sell for more since he asked for more.

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josh33
The question becomes how does one associate the new auction with their
account?

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mortenjorck
Maybe it has its own account.

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dkokelley
Who is paid when the item moves? It would seem that the artist set up his own
eBay account and would be paid every time it was sold. If this is the case,
why does he want 15% of the appreciation between sales? That would only make
sense if the recipient was paid by the new buyer.

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barmstrong
I assume once you buy it, it will keep trying to sell itself? So you wouldn't
own it for long, and maybe you have to enter your ebay account somewhere so
you get the money? Very cool.

That would be interesting if it tracked all the buyers, and slowly raised it's
own price

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_fool
it'd be a lot cooler if the device was entirely self-hosted--the software is
hosted elsewhere, according to my reading of the terms and agreement. once you
get a machine smart enough to adapt to changes in the ebay API
(<http://developer.ebay.com/common/api/>) i'll be excited enough to consider
spending thousands of bucks on it.

i wonder if "hosted elsewhere" doesn't translate out to "mechanical turk"
(<https://www.mturk.com/mturk/welcome>) somehow (i know you can request to see
the software...but only after you buy it!)

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rickmode
OMG: It's the Internet, only wired.

("The IT Crowd" Series 3, Episode 5.)

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joshu
I'm a bit fascinated on how the contract stipulates that it can become not art
under certain conditions.

I also wonder if the drama due to non-payment would be considered part of the
art piece.

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Tuna-Fish
_I also wonder if the drama due to non-payment would be considered part of the
art piece._

This was my first thought here too -- perhaps his goal is to get someone not
to pay and thus violate the contract, and then try to sue them in civil court
and have it officially determined to not to be a work of art anymore.

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pmorici
Someone should make a widget you can attach to any existing piece of artwork
that does this same thing. It could be a new model for artists to make money
in general. iTunes for physical art.

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angusgr
I'm a tiny bit disappointed that it needs to be plugged in.

3G + a chunky lead acid battery inside, and it could probably keep selling
itself for months without even being plugged in. ;)

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madair
Stop, or the Universe might implode! (Ohhh, that's why it's called that.)

It's the ultimate pyramid scheme. Like which, it could do worse than deceive
and slaughter, it could fizzle.

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giardini
I see the deceive part but where's the slaughter?

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Estragon
So, it has to be connected to the internet... I wonder what happens if you put
it behind a firewall which blocks access to ebay...

~~~
flipbrad
you'd be infringing the terms of your contract with the artist, and he could
sue.

there's a cold, hard legal side to this work which I find every bit as
fascinating as the invention itself, and I would consider totally inseparable
from the work in terms of its artistic merit

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apowell
Final price: $6,350.00 - wow!

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Raphael
So it logs into eBay and tries to sell itself? Funny.

