On the 10th of October Dover Street Market are promising their buyers “a rare blend of art and mystery,” in their sale of exclusive disposable cameras, pre-shot by famous artists with photos that are unseen until developed for the first time by the buyers. There is a catch: the buyer is forbidden to share their developed images anywhere online. Sceptics could dismiss this as merely wise publicity management, designed to maintain the hype around the pieces for as long as possible. But could this be a promising step towards a new way of considering art, by stepping back into a past where our relationship with the visual arts was more thoughtful, more private, and much more intimate?
Indisposable, as its name suggests, is snapping back at our culture of rapid consumerism and performative art viewing. There is no element of try-before-you-buy here: unlike the flexibility and accessibility we have become accustomed to, where every ostensible bargain can be confirmed with a quickly googled price comparison before sealing the deal, Indisposable asks for its consumers’ blind trust that the £500 they pay (all going to Save the Children) will come off well for them too.
And with this reconsidered retro approach to art, might we discover a more meaningful connection between ourselves and art? Meditating in front of a work made for only you is sure to be a more exciting, more stimulating experience than just passing by one of many works in the National Gallery. Could this, then, be a way to rediscover the intimate relationship between art and viewer, that intimate relationship that has been diluted by the ease of passing round pictures of works at lightning speed thanks to ever-improving technology?
One might wonder what the payoff is for purchasing an item of such prestige (artists on this project include Jeremy Deller, Martin Parr and Petra Collins) if there’s no way to show it off? Yet the real bragging rights are to the intimacy with the photographs. Being the exclusive owner of pictures taken for your eyes only, by a renowned artist? That’s surely bounteous with prestige – a fortune that promises to transcend the fickle nature of the social media trend cycle.
Of course, as it echoes a tradition in which art was enjoyed primarily by elites in their private sphere, the concept is in some ways deeply undemocratic, gatekeeping art for the buyers and whichever esteemed associates they deem worthy of inviting to experience it in person. Making a work of art invisible in everywhere except the private homes of those who can afford it means compromising any democratisation of art that has occurred since the rise of social media – no longer free and accessible to all, these shots will only be able to inspire to those with the odd £500 burning a hole in their pocket.
But the initiative to rethink our art consumption has to start from somewhere, and why not here? Repackaging the humble disposable photograph as a luxury is a promising move in a world that is always rushing to keep up with the latest new thing. I, for one, am hopeful for this thoughtful reconsideration of art consumption, and what it could mean for the art world. When new releases are overwhelming and the pace of the consumer cycle seems ever-increasing, Indisposable offers a reassuring counter-force. Returning to analogue technology, re-valuing that which is private and unreproducible, Indisposable promises the luxury of being able to connect deeply, intimately, with a piece of art.
image provided by IDEA