Remember the banana duct-taped to a wall that was sold for a hard-to-stomach US$120,000 at Art Basel Miami? We had thought that this banana was the craziest contemporary artwork. Now we discover something more absurd. Enter the invisible sculpture that nobody can see with their eyes.

An invisible sculpture created by Italian artist Salvatore Garau recently acquired by a private collector who paid a whopping 15,000 euros (US$18,000) for it during an auction.

If you’re one of those people who just can’t understand how someone can pay large sums of money for digital assets like video game skins, then the sale of Salvatore Garau’s immaterial sculpture is really going to do a number on your brain.

Titled “I Am,” the invisible work of art basically represents a void, a technically empty space that is actually occupied by the energy of the sculpture.

Does it sound like something you’d be interested in? No? Well, it’s too late anyway, as someone has already snatched it up by paying 12,000 euros (15,000 with auction rights) earlier this month.

Wondering what the new owner of this invisible sculpture will be getting for their money? Well, if we’re talking visible, tangible things, he will receive a certificate of authenticity that proves “I Am” is the property of the buyer.

So how does one keep an invisible sculpture? Well, the artist suggests storing the artwork in a special room, in a space free from obstruction, of about 150×150 cm. Special lighting and climate control are optional, since “I Am” is immaterial.

“The successful outcome of the auction testifies to an irrefutable fact: The void is nothing but a space full of energy, and even if we empty it and nothing remains, according to Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle that nothingness has a weight,” Salvatore Garau said. “It therefore has energy that condenses and transforms itself into particles, in short, in us! When I decide to ‘exhibit’ an immaterial sculpture in a given space, that space will concentrate a certain quantity and density of thoughts in a precise point, creating a sculpture that from my title alone will take the most varied forms. After all, don’t we give shape to a God we have never seen?”

Garau considers his invisible sculpture to be a perfect metaphor of our time. Besides, it has zero environmental impact.

Words to Learn 相关词汇

【难以接受的】 nányǐ jiēshòu de hard-to-stomach being unable to accept

【虚空】 xūkōng void a completely empty space

还记得那根用胶带粘在白墙上的香蕉吗？那根香蕉在迈阿密的巴塞尔艺术展上卖出了让人难以接受的12万美元的高价。起先我们认为这根香蕉是当代最疯狂的艺术品，而今才发现，真正荒诞的还在后面。来见识一下谁也看不见的“隐形雕塑”艺术品。

日前，意大利艺术家萨尔瓦多•加劳创作的一件隐形雕塑被一位私人收藏家收入囊中，后者在一次拍卖会上出价1.5万欧元（约1.8万美元）拍下了它。

如果你是那种不能理解为什么有人会花大钱购买游戏皮肤这种数字资产的人，那么萨尔瓦多•加劳的非实物雕塑将会让你脑洞大开。

这件无形艺术品名叫“我存在”，从技术上来讲就是一个空无一物的空间，其中充满了这个雕塑自身的能量。

听着像是你会感兴趣的东西？没有吗？好吧，反正已经太晚了，因为有人已经在本月初支付了1.2万欧元（加上拍卖证书共1.5万欧元）抢走了它。

想知道这座隐形雕塑的新主人花了这么多钱会得到什么吗？如果你指的是看得见的有形的东西，那么他将获得一份真品证书，证明“我存在”是他的财产。那么，要如何保存一件隐形雕塑呢？艺术家建议将艺术品放在一个特别的房间里，需要占据一个没有障碍物的空间，大约150×150厘米。特殊照明和温度控制可有可无，因为“我存在”并不是一件实物。

萨尔瓦多•加劳说：“拍卖的成功证明了一个无可辩驳的事实：虚空是充满能量的空间，即使我们清空它，什么也没留下，根据海森堡的不确定性原理，虚无也有质量。因此，虚无有能量，它能凝结并转化为粒子，简而言之，就在我们身上！当我决定要在一个给定的空间展示一件非实物雕塑时，这个空间将把一定数量和密度的思想集中在一个精确的点上，从而创造出一件雕塑，光从我的作品标题来理解，这件雕塑将采取最多样的形式，毕竟，我们不是也赋予了我们未见过的上帝以形状吗？”加劳认为他的隐形雕塑作品是对我们这个时代的一个完美隐喻。而且，这件艺术品对环境的影响为零。

(chinadaily.com.cn)