Dude Downloads $5 Million of Stolen Software to 1TB Hard Drive for Art Exhibit
Dude Downloads $5 Million of Stolen Software to 1TB Hard Drive for Art Exhibit
Posted 08/24/2011 at 5:34am
| by Paul Lilly
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Art is about freedom of expression, and it sometimes results in controversial pieces that challenge the social norms or intentionally push the boundaries of decency for one reason or another. But does there ever come a point when artwork crosses the line? A 1TB external hard drive sitting on a white pedestal at the Art 404 gallery begs that very question, the one you have to ask when someone crams $5 million worth of illegally downloaded software into a storage device and calls it art.
Credit goes to thenextweb.com for stumbling upon the "5 Million Dollars 1 Terrabyte" exhibit, which is a companion piece to "Google Search For Meaning," a pyramid shaped sculpture with a projector on the opposite side beaming a hacked version of Google Maps that drives through Street View on auto pilot.
Accompanying the $5 million piece of evidence art is a PDF file that lists all the illegally obtained software that's been stuffed into the hard drive, complete with shortened (TinyURL) links. A sample of what's on there includes $3 million worth of fiction books from 2003 to 2011, a science textbook collection worth half a million dollars, 124GB of copyrighted music, fonts, Adobe software, various game system ROMs, and more. The hyperlinks mostly reference pages on The Pirate Bay and MegaUploads, with a few other torrent sites littering the list.
Art 404, in case you're wondering, "is an online portal and exhibition space interested in the contemporary technological art movement. Through Art 404's exhibition space, Low Budget Gallery, Art 404 acts as a medium for artists to whow work as well as a place for globally accessible experimental art projects," the website explains.
So what's the verdict, is the 1TB hard drive an art piece or a crime scene on display?
Image Credit: art404.com
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thetechchild
August 25, 2011 at 10:37pm
It is art IMO. Even the question of whether or not it is criminal testifies to the fact that it is a profound piece of art; as all good artwork, it makes us think about society and human nature/rights. Art is any expression of the artist's feelings, thoughts, beliefs, etc. This is definitely that, as this 1TB drive shows the absurdity of pricing/restricting information/art quite strongly.
Their is also definitely effort of some kind put into this. Downloading 1 TB of different books, software, fonts, music, movies, and who knows what else, is not an easy task, I'd assume.
Although, to be honest, I'm quite disappointed that there's only 1TB of stuff, and that everything non-book only takes up 1/8 of the drive and accounts for only $1.5 million. Still, if they mass produced this thing with the data included, I'd probably be among the buyers just for the novelty of having $5 million worth of something. Plus, there's the added convenience of never having to look for your pirated downloads ever again.
codepath
August 25, 2011 at 6:41am
So, he invented art that de-preciates over time into obsolescence. Hmm. That's one way to go I suppose.
DasHellMutt
August 24, 2011 at 2:25pm
I would say its art but not particularly good art because it isn't very creative.
Annoyance
August 24, 2011 at 2:14pm
I have about 16M in my room, I think it's 1 or 2MB sticks of ram in its time would of been 6m or more to make 256MB of Ram over all my room 16m+
RUSENSITIVESWEETNESS
August 24, 2011 at 2:09pm
I remember a professor of mine bragging how he scored a couple CDs worth of Adobe fonts, back in the mid-90's. He only had to pay $750 (of course, the fonts retailed for thousands more than that).
Now there's this little thing called the Internet and another little thing called P2P . . . .
axiomatic
August 24, 2011 at 1:51pm
My opinion: It's art.
The artist is also not liable in any manner as they did not redistribute anything, they only downloaded it.
graydiggy
August 25, 2011 at 9:21pm
um... Yeah, It does make him liable. Downloading the stuff is and has been illegal for quite some time now... Where have you been?
Carlidan
August 24, 2011 at 1:28pm
If this art piece is to make a bold statement and get an reaction. It did it's job. Hope this piece makes us think about content and it's worth.
froggz
August 24, 2011 at 1:24pm
Artwork is suppose to make one think about what the artist is trying to convey to his audience, so I think the artist suceeded in that aspect. The fact that there's 5 mil worth of digital content is subjective due to the fact no one is using the software as it was intended. It's just a machine holding 1's and zeros.
fusobotic
August 24, 2011 at 11:30am
Shows how ridiculous it is that a vast amount of intangible information is considered to be worth millions of dollars. When something can be replicated with no effort, it shouldn't be worth anything either. Information isn't meant to have a price tag, and it can't be stopped from being spread freely.
Device Unknown
August 24, 2011 at 4:52pm
You must have not EVER created ANYTHING in your life worth selling.
fusobotic
August 24, 2011 at 7:45pm
Funny how you should say that... http://www.turbosquid.com/3d-models/3d-2010-chevy-chevrolet-camaro-model/472426 Even though I make money off these retarded modern copyright laws, I still hate them. An artist should be payed to keep doing what he loves doing, not for the product he makes. I pirate games before I buy them, just to see if the producer deserves my support. And as for software? I'll never buy a license at such outlandish prices.
Wingzero_x
August 29, 2011 at 5:59am
All that shows is you know how to use the tools created to do such craft. Sorry, but being able to use the tools has nothing to do with the time and effort the developers spent on creating those tools. When you develop your own software you can license it as you wish, until then, these developers have every right to charge what they want, and if people don't like that. Then don't buy, or use the software!
fusobotic
August 25, 2011 at 1:54pm
people that want thousands of dollars for something that costs nothing to reproduce are abhorrent.
TerribleToaster
August 26, 2011 at 6:01am
People who think that information costs nothing, are ignorant.
fusobotic
August 25, 2011 at 4:04pm
sure, here you go (seriously):
http://www.fileserve.com/file/q4nn6Qm/Camaro_2010_by_Fusobotic.zip
I don't care if you download it, use it whatever, you're only spreading my artwork. Even though it took me weeks to prefect, it was fun to do, and you'll never take away from the fact that I created it. If you like you could support me and buy it legit, and I can keep creating artwork, or you can just get it for free, your choice. Consumers buy to support the artist in creating more things, not to pay for the product they get in return. Hopefully I prove my point.
Works are meant to be viewed freely, and Artists are meant to be supported if it is desired that they create more works.
Cheers
TerribleToaster
August 26, 2011 at 6:20am
You are confusing terms. Most of the stuff on that drive (if any of it) doesn't qualify as art as you are using it as art is infinite in possibility, and thus the artists are the commodity more so than the work since the work is depreciated by the sheer number of possible works and how limited in extent they can affect anything; however, if I do research into piezoelectric materials, for example, and make a discovery, that was one of a finite number of discoveries made that have far reaching ramifications. That information is far more valuable than I would be in the eyes of others because not only are there others would could have done what I've done exactly as I have done it, but also that the research could have far reaching consequences that extend till the end of human civilization.
Also, speaking as a classical artist, I do not agree that works are meant to be viewed freely. Works are meant to be viewed as the artist deems fit.
If I don't want to show you any of my work, you should not be able to force me to do so. And if I decide I will only let people who have paid me millions of dollars to look at my work. And even if no one comes because of that crazy price, that is my choice, not yours or anyone's else’s.
Corfy
August 24, 2011 at 10:57am
I'm not 100% sure this is illegal. Granted, the software wasn't purchased, but it also obviously isn't being used.
Is downloading software but never installing it illegal? Or is it only illegal when you install it and use it?
cownaetion
August 25, 2011 at 12:27am
Let's steal your car, park it somewhere where no one will be able to use it, and find out.
Corfy
August 25, 2011 at 11:31am
But we aren't talking about a car or any other physical item, we are talking about digital files, which are easy to copy and transfer.
For a music file, it is easy to say, "I downloaded it but didn't listen to it," but that is hard to prove. For software, it is easier (maybe not easy, but easier) to prove that you downloaded it but didn't install it. Even the uninstall process leaves traces of the program behind.
I would think that until the program is installed, the license isn't being violated. And if the license isn't violated, then I would think it isn't illegal. And the harddrive is clearly sitting there unconnected to the computer or to power, so he isn't redistributing it.
fusobotic
August 25, 2011 at 7:34pm
I agree, I mean, most installation packages for bought software are the same as the trial version installer (this is true for adobe, autodesk, and almost all other high end programs), the only difference is whether you have a key to activate it or not. You're paying for a license not the software.
JeffDenver
August 24, 2011 at 10:49am
Displaying it is art. Acquiring the stuff illegally is still theft.
If I "display" 1 million dollars in a big pile in a museum, I could reasonably call it art. If I stole the money for my "art" from the wallets of everyone in town, it would still be theft.
roleki
August 24, 2011 at 8:15am
Great, way to put a dollar amount on 1s & 0s that aren't being used to any purpose.
big_montana
August 24, 2011 at 7:56am
I can see the next court case the RIAA brings against someone, and their defense will be "honest your honor, I was just building an art project!"
fusobotic
August 24, 2011 at 11:41am
and technically, wouldn't this fall under the mashup category? After all it's not just a copy of one thing, but a conglomerate of several other works, which is in reality, a new piece of original content all together. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but under new DMCA laws, aren't mashups of copyrighted content legal? just a thought, or maybe even a loophole...
MaximumMike
August 26, 2011 at 2:11pm
If this could be considered a mashup, then so could your book case. So, I suppose you could steal a bunch of rare books from the library and stick them in the bookcase. You could argue that this doesn't constitute theft because you didn't read them and that it also falls under fair use because you stuck them all in a bookcase, and that is a mashup afterall. You could argue that. But I don't think you would be successful.
cownaetion
August 25, 2011 at 12:29am
Wrong. Mashups create a new piece of work. This isn't a new piece of work, as each individual software package is still its own. If the software were all bundled together (such as actually merged to create a 'new' product), then perhaps but it wouldn't work either.
MaximumMike
August 24, 2011 at 7:33am
They should film the owners of all the stolen content taking turns beating the so called artist, and put that on display as art.
nealtse
August 24, 2011 at 7:01am
Yeah it's art. It's in the "found" objects genre where the significance is in its context, rather the the craftmenship of the piece. Pretty nifty commentary on how easy it is to acquire vast sums of retail data. I'd say he, or she can't find the exhibitor, gets into dangerous territory is when they tell you were they got the files.
praack
August 24, 2011 at 7:59am
I like that - have someone else submit it as a "found item"
Oh I happened to find a new 1TB external drive with all this stolen data so I can exhibit it as art for a potential prize or government funds (yes if in the US I don't doubt the "artist" applied for funding of the exhibit.
then walk away after with the stolen data for reuse
I can see the drive then being cloned and sold as artwork on the market
emzfrendcrisis
August 24, 2011 at 6:39am
First paint splatters and now this? The world is doomed and Di Vinci would be pissed at what we think art is
Wingzero_x
August 29, 2011 at 6:18am
Hell we knew art was doomed when Marvel hired Rob Liefeld to be a comic artist!
TerribleToaster
August 24, 2011 at 5:50am
There have been criminals where their crime was thought of as art before, I don't see why this can't be both.
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