It tauts itself as “New Art for a New Medium” and part of the pursuit of “Art for Everyone, Art for Everywhere.” It’s Start Mobile, John Doffing of Start Soma’s new product.
Doffing set up Start Soma in 2003 to bring art to everyone by focusing on exhibiting the work of emerging and underground artists, and by keeping prices reasonable, claiming on his website that 95% of the pieces are under $1000. His next idea, a quite fabulous one, was the Painted Rooms Project in which artists were selected to do just that - at the Hotel des Artes. For the price of a hotel stay, patrons can spend time surrounded by the work of an up and coming creative.
Now Start Mobile is doing even better, at least price wise. You can get an original work for just $1.99. The catch is that it’s for your cell phone. 
While not quite as altruistic and grass rootsy as the taglines might have you believe, the venture does send out an oddly democratic signal. The company clearly has a genuine interest in underground illustrators, and street and comic artists who do get some sort of cut each time a work is sold. It is kinda fun to browse the site and view work by artists I’m not familiar with, as well as work by greats like Rinzen and Tim Biskup. While I’d love to own a Rinzen or Biskup and perhaps start a collection, I’m not convinced I’d want that collection to be held captive on my phone.
In summary, I agree with the banner on the site: “Art is good.” Democracy is also good. And making the art experience more accessible is good. Is purchasable cell phone art contributing to that cause? Time for you to chime in.
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POSTED IN GRAPHIC
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Yeah, I’m not so sure what I really think of this. At face value it seems like nothing more than a marketing ploy for art that seems, at face value, like nothing more than “cool” media images and hip, design-y stuff. I’m sure it’s gratifying to dress up your cell phone with something wicked rad, but you’ve just dropped 2 bucks on a tiny pixelated version of a generic Bush attack ad (Oooh, I’m so political, I have an anti-Bush image hidden on my tiny little cell phone) or a Space Invaders retread (Isn’t it ironic that I have arcade graphics on my Razr?).
I know it’s a digital world and all, but why waste your money gussying up your cell phone (which you’ll probably trade up in a couple of months anyway)? Many, if not most or all, of these artists have much cooler, much better work out in the real world, where it affects a greater public, and where the public can affect it.
In the end, it’s up to the consumer. Pretty up your little handset all you like, but don’t be fooled into thinking that you’ve done anything more than just that.
[as a side note: Found Magazine as artist, WTF?]
Why not waste two bucks on a work of art that you might only keep around for a couple of months? Sure beats wasting it on a Starbucks coffee that you will piss away within the next hour.
Wait a minute…. What happened to “Buy Less. Spend More”?!
btw what happend to the canvas ?
There was another company doing this, I thought Wooster Collective was doing it at some point as well…and I just don’t get it. To me it’s like paying for wallpaper for your desktop, who does that? It’s so easy to make your own, I don’t see how this company is staying in business.