⇗ Open Gallery

Another Originality

Although the endless reproducibility of digital artworks fulfils, in an exemplary way, Benjamin’s claim for the disposability of art for all, this development remains a stark contrast to the market and its premises for the creation of value: authorship, originality and scarcity are as essential now as ever. Thus, artists who, for good reason, prefer digital media for the production and distribution of their works regularly see themselves confronted with the anachronistic situation of being asked to sign their works in order to make them marketable. The signature is supposed to guarantee scarcity on the one hand, and an auratization of the work, through the physical touch by the master, on the other. Under the motto “Get the work for free. Buy the signature” Cornelia Sollfrank now suggests a consequential technical solution. While all works stay free and remain available for everybody, the artist offers a forgery-proof microchip to the prospective buyers of her anonymous-warhol_flowers. The works outfitted with a chip thus can easily be identified as 'originals'.