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Got a spare $10,000? This artist is looking for Apple Watch Edition donations

Got a spare $10,000? This artist is looking for Apple Watch Edition donations

That iThingy You're Wearing
March 19, 2015

We’ve heard about artists seeking donations from fans of their artwork, but this latest story is just crazy. Qinmin Liu, a China-born artist living in the United States, is looking for patrons to help her purchase 50 of Apple’s super-pricy golden Apple Watch Edition devices for a piece of upcoming installation art.

Surprisingly, people are already using the artist’s Google Form to express their interest in the project. Though if you’re interested enough to only offer $1, $10, or even $100 for Qinmin Liu’s work, think again: the project is seeking entire $10,000 donations for either a yellow gold or rose gold Apple Watch Edition, and anything less simply won’t do. So long as 50 donations come through, Qinmin Liu’s project will go ahead this summer.

Qinmin said: “Believe it or not, as an artist I couldn’t care less about the technology and price. I care more about individual behaviours, and want to explore the relationship between desire and action.” Theoretically, it all sounds interesting, but we can’t help wondering: is anyone seriously going to donate to this project?

I put this question to my colleague Bryan Wolfe and he reminded me of the famous “Million Dollar Homepage.” It’s also worth noting that folks have resorted to similar measures in order to pick up one of Cupertino’s $10,000 Apple Watch Editions for themselves, too (with growing success, we might add). But entire $10,000 Apple Watch Edition donations are surely going to be harder to come by from anonymous members of the public.

Something from the artist's portfolio.

Something from the artist’s portfolio.

You can find out more about the project by clicking this link, which will take readers over to the project’s Google Form. As of this minute Qinmin Liu is seeking offers of donation, rather than actual donations, meaning no money should change hands – at least, not yet. The artist is seeking 50 Apple Watch Edition offers by June 1, 2015, at which point the donation window will close.

Bizarre? Inspired? Let us know your thoughts on the project.

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