destroyed apple products
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destroyed apple products
apple destroyed products by michael tompert and paul fairchild
all photos by michael tompert and paul fairchild
a series of smashed, mangled, shot up and melted apple products are the subject of
a recent photography project by a san francisco-area graphic designer who said he's
trying to make people think about their relationship with these universally beloved gadgets.
michael tompert said he had spent the last several months purchasing the newest in apple
consumer technology and then creatively destroying the pricey toys. the results, which
he photographed, briefly went on display at a gallery exhibition that ran over the weekend
at the small live worms gallery in san francisco.
tompert said the idea for the project came to him after he gave each of his two sons
an ipod touch for christmas. he said the two boys fought over one of the devices, which
had a certain game on it. fed up with the quarrel, tompert said he grabbed one of the ipods
and smashed it on the ground.
'they were kind of stunned - the screen was broken and this liquid poured out of it.
I got my camera to shoot it,' tompert said. 'my wife told me that i should do something with it.'
paul fairchild, a photographer. 'they had to be a brand-new product,' tompert said.
'it's not about destroying old products. it's about our relationship with the new.'
his methods of destruction varied by gadget. to destroy an iphone 3g device, he used a
heckler & koch handgun to blow a hole through it. to obliterate a set of ipod nanos,
he placed the devices on a train track so that a locomotive would run over them.
via
fubiz and LAtimes
"zabriskie point" over and over again...
a d k v 11.19.10
this really excites me!
Janna Maria Vallee 11.19.10
It is fuckin stupid. I want apple product and i cant buy one.
I canīt see the intresting point...
I canīt see the intresting point...
sv 11.19.10
damaged to the point of hell and it still looks good..
Skookalicious 11.19.10
You need professional help.
Falco 11.19.10
A crime of passion
mbrc 11.19.10
kill them aaaaaall!
zé 11.19.10
It looks better this way.
NoSense 11.19.10
how is the ipad still working? Keys are still visible on lower half of the screen...
ggr 11.19.10
Not exactly the most environmentally sensitive piece, especially given the lackluster poorly controlled result.
joreg 11.19.10
Rich gen-xer. Cool lower shots look like Terminator T1000.
mstndvn 11.19.10
This are not so expensive products , I don't see any smashed/burned G5 Quadcore with all the RAM modules .... as well as the biggest cinema display
The moment I see that, I will consider this guy serious not just a freak wannabe that wants to get a low cost personal promotion from apple
The moment I see that, I will consider this guy serious not just a freak wannabe that wants to get a low cost personal promotion from apple
Kcahcay 11.19.10
amazing ..
real freedom is destroy what the people need.
real freedom is destroy what the people need.
filippo vaiNo 11.19.10
Very nice trigger point of this so called art BTW,
Smash my sons Ipod touch on the floor.
Dude you seem as questionable parent as artist...
You could have directly smashed the kid , you could try that for a change
Smash my sons Ipod touch on the floor.
Dude you seem as questionable parent as artist...
You could have directly smashed the kid , you could try that for a change
Smashmyballs 11.19.10
nice, realy like it. but i would not call it photos anymore
rio de janeiro 11.19.10
ITS FAKE!!! LOOK CAREFULLY...
Lissabon 11.19.10
These are beautiful color studies. Thanks for showing them
Jerry 11.19.10
michael tumpert must be a first class asshole...
Jaime Rodríguez Santiago 11.19.10
no matter what there will always be a moronic ego centered jerk to make useless lame pseudo arty crappy statement. period.
(if your wife tells you to get your head on the rail track next time be kind enough to follow the advice. no pictures needed though.)
(if your wife tells you to get your head on the rail track next time be kind enough to follow the advice. no pictures needed though.)
buzzoff 11.19.10
nice!, a mockery for the very symbol of today's advanced technology!
dmprijatna 11.19.10
surrealist expression to apple products!!
Nz 11.19.10
pretentious art fail. stupidity win.
JL 11.20.10
right direction
aristarkh 11.20.10
I wonder if some of the comments above (for and against Apple) were made by people who actually read what the aim of the project was:
"he's trying to make people think about their relationship with these universally beloved gadgets."
In one respect, the artist has succeeded, simply by looking at the comments thread, you can see he has made people think.
Unfortunately, I think he may have failed due to the types of comments above. I doubt there is a single person here who has actually about the implications, their own dependency on technology and what it means to them.
The emotional connection to an inanimate object, is sometimes quite disgusting:
"I couldn't live without my iPhone"
is a statement that angry comments should be made towards, not the artist or his act.
Furthermore, would the people here pay attention if it were a Ģ20, 8Gb media player from "Wallmart"? of course not, because that would hold no value to you, again the idea is to show you how much value you hold in these items as a juxtaposition to how much actual value the item has.
I urge the next person to comment, to actually have a look at the work and think about their own dependency on technology before making a careless judgement
"he's trying to make people think about their relationship with these universally beloved gadgets."
In one respect, the artist has succeeded, simply by looking at the comments thread, you can see he has made people think.
Unfortunately, I think he may have failed due to the types of comments above. I doubt there is a single person here who has actually about the implications, their own dependency on technology and what it means to them.
The emotional connection to an inanimate object, is sometimes quite disgusting:
"I couldn't live without my iPhone"
is a statement that angry comments should be made towards, not the artist or his act.
Furthermore, would the people here pay attention if it were a Ģ20, 8Gb media player from "Wallmart"? of course not, because that would hold no value to you, again the idea is to show you how much value you hold in these items as a juxtaposition to how much actual value the item has.
I urge the next person to comment, to actually have a look at the work and think about their own dependency on technology before making a careless judgement
www.terrybarriff.com 11.20.10
I fully understand the Artist's intention here. We are as a society immersed in technology. Arguably to an unhealthy degree. I myself value my Blackberry for how it can help to improve my quality of life. Being someone with processing and working memory problems, my gadget becomes an extension of my mind, in that it can perform the tasks that I often fail at. I also understand the Artist's passion in throwing his child's gadget to the floor and his frustration at how this technology can cause envy in people. I'm not advocating the Artist's actions, but he does have a very valid point in my opinion.
DaveLEWIS 11.20.10
It is just about "art" 's dependency on technology.
Quite common 11.20.10
@ terrybarriff.com
it would be nice not to patronize people the way you do mister how-to-make-your-brain-work-properly.
it is precisely the "he's trying to make people think about their relationship with these universally beloved gadgets." which is nothing but a very wallmart philosophical question.
the idea technological devices are prothesis to modern man is 70 years old new idea.
it would be nice not to patronize people the way you do mister how-to-make-your-brain-work-properly.
it is precisely the "he's trying to make people think about their relationship with these universally beloved gadgets." which is nothing but a very wallmart philosophical question.
the idea technological devices are prothesis to modern man is 70 years old new idea.
buzzoff 11.20.10
The core idea was good, the way it was presented was good but what's the point in contributing to the industrial wastes we can't even dispose of?
jesuiselegant 11.20.10
Stunning!
Steve 11.20.10
incoherent ramblings of an imbecile parading as an artist.
KRYTYK 11.20.10
Rather Da-da-esque in it's execution, pun intended. There was a gun involved at one point, right?
It is hard for me to take him seriously. After reading about the inspiration for his work, it is simply a visual temper tantrum.
I am sure Mr. Tompert will enjoy his 15 minutes of fame. Maybe 5 minutes more with a good publicist.
It is hard for me to take him seriously. After reading about the inspiration for his work, it is simply a visual temper tantrum.
I am sure Mr. Tompert will enjoy his 15 minutes of fame. Maybe 5 minutes more with a good publicist.
nelliej 11.20.10
I'm surprised that mdl hasn't commented on this. Then again mdl is a wanker mdl is a wanker mdl is a wanker mdl is a wanker... oh oh my apple keyboard must be broken
mdl is a wanker 11.20.10
Society is far too obsessed with technology.
All of these grumblings only reveal people's true greed and unhappiness with "modern life".
Let's go back to pencil, paper, and playdough. We'd all be much happier and content...
While we're at it, allow only original Scrabble rules. Proper nouns? The end is surely near.
All of these grumblings only reveal people's true greed and unhappiness with "modern life".
Let's go back to pencil, paper, and playdough. We'd all be much happier and content...
While we're at it, allow only original Scrabble rules. Proper nouns? The end is surely near.
sirassclown 11.21.10
"fed up with the quarrel, tompert said he grabbed one of the ipods and smashed it on the ground." What? inspiration? this does not get me thinking constructively about my relationship with these devices.
jono 11.21.10
right. next you're gonna smash up your kids and call it art.
gooner 11.21.10
We know he's not on Jobs' Christmas Card List. Could he be on Bill and Steve's?
Don Hopings 11.21.10
It's illegal to put stuff on train tracks.
Tim M 11.21.10
Not if you own the train and track it isn't.
Web 11.21.10
Quelle Idioteque!!
>Lacriman 11.22.10
someone is really jealous of apple...
kiran 11.22.10
Never seen Apple products looking better - nice one
Sty' 11.22.10
groovy.
anto 11.22.10
Why? This is utterly useless "art" and a waste of perfectly good mechanics. How creative to destroy something that someone else might actually need and use.
Anonoglinde 11.22.10
the majority of people who have commented here take themselves far to seriously.
ba+d 11.22.10
heheh i just love it!!!!
Tanu 11.23.10
Now THIS is modern art.
KellyAyo 11.23.10
All in the name of art of course...what a waste
sagat 11.23.10
this is fuckin sick looks unreal
shutup you wannabe art geeks fuckin nerdsssssssss
Don't kill the product i would have had it!!!! wah wah fuckin wah
shutup you wannabe art geeks fuckin nerdsssssssss
Don't kill the product i would have had it!!!! wah wah fuckin wah
Wilson 11.23.10
Heh. The reactions, as is always the case with something like this, are priceless. And to boot the images are stunning as well. Love it.
nurture/nature? 11.24.10
It's such a bore!! And it's been done million times better before by Nam Jun Paik and many others.. I hate the tribute to Apple which is just another project trying to surf on the fame wave of Macintosh!! And it truly is a waste of properly functional products that should have better be donated to people that can't afford a computer at all! Two thumbs down for this project leaving aside the danger of a train wreck due to the guys stupidity!! It's not art that's for sure!!!
Dh 11.24.10
the fact that we're all on our computers at this very moment spending time commenting on this, and the fact that he's using a camera and other technology to present this concept to us, says a great deal about technology as well. its ironic that he's criticizing the worlds dependance on technology through the use of other technology.
also i think you'd have to do more than simply smash ipods to get your idea across
also i think you'd have to do more than simply smash ipods to get your idea across
trix 11.25.10
I ran over my phone once. Am I a modern artist?
dsmith91 11.25.10
I quite enjoyed viewing this portrayal of resentment toward modern technology. Granted, technology has its benefits; but when we become so attached that these objects are a necessity rather than a mere tool then we've gone too far. What better an icon to depict this with than the over-glorified Apple brand. It is well recognized and its devout customer base is sure to get a rise out of this artists expression. And it seems that it worked. All of you complainers have proven yourselves entertained by the pieces in some way or another. I think it'd be interesting to see the result of this technological passion depicted. The emergence of these objects from a human heart that is eroding from the forces of nature. Maybe that would speak the point a little louder. But don't get me wrong... I love technology. It's truly a love hate relationship. Quite a dilemma.
Snizbatch 11.25.10
this is really food for thought...
nirajana 11.25.10
Apple worshippers/fans/fanatics must be crying in their closets when they see this.. and praying to Steve Jobs to forgive both Michael Tompert and Paul Fairchild for they know not what they have done.
pkisme 11.25.10
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