James Franco is a jack of all trades as you may know: actor, musician, and artist. Perhaps we should be adding con artist to the mix? Last month, James Franco launched a new art project, the Museum of Non-Visible Art (MONA). And he's selling invisible pieces.
Apparently, there are no physical works to purchase, only ideas. Prices for the ideas range from $1 to $10,000, and despite the criticism and skepticism the project has received, there has been a surprisingly large purchase of ideas from MONA's campaign.
One of the buyers is Montreal web producer, social media marketer, model and actor Aimee Davison, who purchased the $10,000 piece entitled "Fresh Air." This description is the only thing Davison had to work off of since she couldn't actually see the work she bought.
By Praxis - Conceptual - Fresh Air -This is a unique piece, only this one is for sale. The air you are purchasing is like buying an endless tank of oxygen. No matter where you are, you always have the ability to take a breath of the most delicious, clean-smelling air that the earth can produce. Every breath you take gives you endless peace and health.
This artwork is something to carry with you if you own it. Because wherever you are, you can imagine yourself getting the most beautiful taste of air that is from the mountain tops or fields or from the ocean side; it is an endless supply.
In things that actually exist, you get to attend a party, a PDF file,a title, and a description card.
Naming Rights- You get an entire wing of the museum named in your honor for this purchase. The owner of this artwork will receive a title card with a description of the piece to be mounted on your wall, and used when explaining the work. You will also get a letter of authentication, and a pdf copy of the catalog! For this category, you will also get invited to the after-party if you are in New York City in November of 2011. Important! You are not buying a visible piece of art; you are buying the title and description card for the imagined artwork.
In an interview with Huffington Post, Davison is very candid about her reasoning to buy her very expensive visible art: "I wanted to participate in the controversy and possibly benefit from it." She spent the remainder of the interview promoting her own project, called "One Hundred Jobs," in which she attempts to complete 100 different jobs paying a minimum of $100 each. I guess everyone needs their 15 minutes and I can't wait to see if Franco becomes a world champion boxer next on his neverending bucket list.