Museum of Non-visible Art (MONA) Sells Imaginary Masterpieces
Robyn Gee on Tuesday, Jul. 19th
Is the joke on us? Or is this for real? We’ll let you decide for yourself. In any case, there’s a lot of money involved.
The Museum of Non-Visible Art (MONA) is a project started by Praxis – the creative team that includes Brainard and Delia Carey and currently, James Franco. The project description on Kickstarter reads, “Composed entirely of ideas, the Non-Visible Museum redefines the concept of what is real. Although the artworks themselves are not visible, the descriptions open our eyes to a parallel world built of images and words.”
And the pieces are for sale. In fact, as NPR reports, Aimee Davidson just purchased a piece for $10,000. The project has already raised over $13,000.
When you purchase a piece of artwork from the Non-visible Museum, you do not get a physical piece of art. You receive a card with the artist’s description of the piece. You hang the description card on the wall and describe it to your guests. The art “comes alive” as you talk about it and stimulate the imaginations of your guests.
The money raised in this Kickstarter campaign will go towards taking the museum on tour. “For each exhibition, we will give a tour of the Non-Visible Museum, describing to all those in attendance what they are looking at and imagining,” reads the website.
If you donate to the project on Kickstarter, your prizes include some non-visible works of art such as:
- By Praxis – Sculpture – Fur Balls – A sculpture, the size of a human head, but round, covered with human hair taken from wigs. There are 18 of these which can be arranged, according to the site in any order you wish, so you can imagine those sculptures in your own space.
- By Praxis – Conceptual – Perfect Peace – This is a visualization of perfect peace. Since it is not visible, it is truly perfect. It is for you, and can be used anywhere, and at any time, by closing your eyes and focusing on the text which you can memorize.
But the project reminds you: “Important Note: When you contribute to this Kickstarter project, you are not buying a visible piece of art! You will not receive a painting or a film or a photograph in your mailbox. What you will receive is something even more fascinating: The opportunity to collaborate in an act of artistic creation.”
Will you donate? Do you want a memento of the inner workings of James Franco’s mind, to hang on your wall?
