Rocking Out to Japanese Art
Who says artists don’t understand business?
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PrintIf we gave out awards at this blog, first prize would definitely go to Origami Boulder.
This online business sells wadded up pieces of paper disguised as traditional Japanese artwork.
Basically, it’s a guy in his bedroom crumpling up stationary and selling it over the internet for $10 a pop. For an extra five bucks, he’ll throw in an original haiku. Of course, the poetry is written on the paper boulder, so you won’t be able to read it without first destroying the artwork.
But clearly, his customers don’t really care about the craftsmanship. It’s the experience they want. Plus, the origami boulder makes a great conversation piece. That fact alone proves it really is art.
Here’s the kind of conversation we envision:
Man (to hot date): Check out my art collection.
Woman: It’s just a piece of trash.
Man: No, it’s origami boulder.
Woman: Oh, how chic. Let’s go to bed.
If you think ten bucks is a little steep for a discarded piece of paper, you can purchase the Performance Art option, which will only set you back $3. The artist wads up the artwork created just for you, and throws it directly into the waste basket. You receive no physical object, but you do get an email describing the performance.
The people at Origami Boulder (i.e. the guy in the bedroom crumpling up paper) don’t like it when you ask them tricky questions about profit margins and sales volumes. “I wonder if you ask Van Gogh how much he pay for paint, dumb dumb?” they reply testily.
Ha, ha. Don’t make us cut off your ear, funny guy.
This online business sells wadded up pieces of paper disguised as traditional Japanese artwork.
Basically, it’s a guy in his bedroom crumpling up stationary and selling it over the internet for $10 a pop. For an extra five bucks, he’ll throw in an original haiku. Of course, the poetry is written on the paper boulder, so you won’t be able to read it without first destroying the artwork.
But clearly, his customers don’t really care about the craftsmanship. It’s the experience they want. Plus, the origami boulder makes a great conversation piece. That fact alone proves it really is art.
Here’s the kind of conversation we envision:
Man (to hot date): Check out my art collection.
Woman: It’s just a piece of trash.
Man: No, it’s origami boulder.
Woman: Oh, how chic. Let’s go to bed.
If you think ten bucks is a little steep for a discarded piece of paper, you can purchase the Performance Art option, which will only set you back $3. The artist wads up the artwork created just for you, and throws it directly into the waste basket. You receive no physical object, but you do get an email describing the performance.
The people at Origami Boulder (i.e. the guy in the bedroom crumpling up paper) don’t like it when you ask them tricky questions about profit margins and sales volumes. “I wonder if you ask Van Gogh how much he pay for paint, dumb dumb?” they reply testily.
Ha, ha. Don’t make us cut off your ear, funny guy.
