What the heck is this?

[paladin]

Read the description also...I guess I'm not sophisticated enough to understand if this is a joke or for real... :confused:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Tom-Sachs-NASA- ... 1c236d9b54

[00max00]

Wow! $3000 a piece, must have been made from gold, but the knife seems legit.

[SpyderNut]

It's for real. :) This particular knife was a part of a one-of-a-kind exhibit created by the sculptor, Tom Sachs, in 2007.(Hence, the hefty price tag). Check this out:

TOM SACHS is a sculptor, probably best known for his elaborate recreations of various Modern icons, all of them masterpieces of engineering and design of one kind or another. In an early show he made Knoll office furniture out of phone books and duct tape; later, he recreated Le Corbusier's 1952 Unité d'Habitation using only foamcore and a glue gun. Other projects have included his versions of various Cold War masterpieces, like the Apollo 11 Lunar Excursion Module, and the bridge of the battleship USS Enterprise. And because no engineering project is more complex and pervasive than the corporate ecosystem, he's done versions of those, too, including a McDonald's he built using plywood, glue, assorted kitchen appliances. He's also done Hello Kitty and her friends in materials ranging from foamcore to bronze.

A lot has been made of the conceptual underpinnings of these sculptures: how Sachs' sampling capitalist culture, remixing, dubbing and spitting it back out again, so that the results are transformed and transforming. Equally, if not more important, is his total embrace of "showing his work." All the steps that led up to the end result are always on display. On a practical level, this means that all seams, joints, screws or for that matter anything holding stuff together, like foamcore and plywood, are left exposed. Nothing is erased, sanded away, or rendered invisible. On a more philosophical level, this means that nothing Sachs makes is ever finished. Like any good engineering project, everything can always be stripped down, stripped out, redesigned and improved.

The reward for work is more work.

--Mark van de Walle

http://tomsachs.org/works

[Sithus1966]

I didn't know we went to the moon in 2007! Did I miss something? Last I knew it was last visited in 1972. Seen it before, didn't sell then, won't sell now.

[Stuart Ackerman]

Yup, the 2007 on the moon date has confused me...until I read the whole spiel on the auction...

[Gunslinger]

$3,000!? Really!?

[paladin]

is it irony on the artist's behalf he that "remixed & transformed" one of Sal's most utilitarian/accessible models into something that could only be afforded by a 1%er? No offense, just wondering...

[dano]

1%'r? That's cute, if illogical.

He was selling these on his own website for $500.00...

[Ovalprocess]

He was selling these on his own website for $500.00...

Yup, they are right here:
http://tomsachs.org/item/nasa-knife



This page tells about the installation at Gagosian Gallery:
http://tomsachs.org/exhibition/space-program

Apparently, they were for sale direct from the gallery for $350, as reported on this thread:
http://www.spyderco.com/forums/showthre ... =Tom+Sachs

As was pointed out in this thread:
http://www.spyderco.com/forums/showthre ... =Tom+Sachs

"Tom Sachs, an artist living in New York with works featured around the world, is also a Spyderco fan. He requested a white Delica in a CombinationEdge for his creation of the "Space Program" a full scale reconstruction of man's first walk on the moon with Tom's twist. It debuted at the Gagosian Gallery in Beverly Hills, California in September of 2007.

Inspired by Tom's enthusiasm for white Spydercos, we've created a collection of some of Spyderco's classic designs in white. The White FRN Delica, Endura, Dragonfly and Ladybug will be available for a short time and in limited quantities.

For more information on Tom Sach's work and the Gagosian Gallery, please contact the gallery at (310) 271-9400 or visit their website at www.gagosian.com."

Spyderco Delica 4 White FRN ~ C11WH
http://www.spyderco.com/catalog/details.php?product=328

Spyderco Endura 4 White FRN ~ C10WH
https://www.spyderco.com/catalog/detail ... roduct=327

Spyderco Ladybug 3 White FRN ~ LWH
https://www.spyderco.com/catalog/detail ... roduct=329

Spyderco Dragonfly White FRN ~ C28WH
http://www.spyderco.com/catalog/details.php?product=357

[phillipsted]

I'm sorry, but I'm just not willing to pay $2050 for irony. $50 for a great knife, yes. But $2050 for irony? Not in this lifetime...

TedP

[The Deacon]

While I'm sure there are more than a few of us that are grateful to Tom Sachs for talking Spyderco into producing some white FRN knives, either because we like white or because it's the easiest color to RIT dye, I'd bet that, if this particular knife ever sells, it's to an art collector rather than a knife collector.

[Evil D]

"Never used or removed from box"

Hmmm....must be some kind of NASA transparent Spyderco box or something. That's high tech.

[Pockets]

So, where do we place bets on how long it'll take this "art" to sell?

[The Deacon]

Wonder if Mr. Sachs had NASA's permission to use their logo.

[SpyderNut]

Wonder if Mr. Sachs had NASA's permission to use their logo.

LOL. :) Not that it matters though, really, seeing that Uncle Sam (in its infinite wisdom) nixed our space program.

[Bill1170]

LOL. :) Not that it matters though, really, seeing that Uncle Sam (in its infinite wisdom) nixed our space program.

You have heard about the Curiosity Mars rover, haven't you? Done by NASA, presently roving Mars.

[chuck_roxas45]

You have heard about the Curiosity Mars rover, haven't you? Done by NASA, presently roving Mars.

So what's the rover carrying? :D

[Rwb1500]

So what's the rover carrying? :D

A Techno.

[On Edge]

… good to see that the artist's higher sensitivities and drive for purism did not eclipse his understanding that even an astronaut needs his Boy Scout totin' chip to be able to legally carry.

~ Edge

[chuck_roxas45]

A Techno.

Good point. :D