Just as Apple made computers into desirable, designer objects, so companies such as Skullcandy and Beats by Dr. Dre have transformed simple headphones into things of beauty.
But can a pair of headphones be a work of art?
Well, apparently so.
Beats by Dr. Dre has collaborated with Snarkitecture, a New York-based art collective founded by Daniel Arsham and Alex Mustonen, to produce these (strictly) limited edition headphones.
The piece, which will be made available to buy in limited supplies from the Beats by Dr Dre website, combines the Beats Studio headphone with an existing work of art by Snarkitecture, Pillow – an object that looks like a soft white pillow, but it actually made from white cultured marble.
According to the press release, Snarkitecture’s approach ‘reimagines the Beats Studio headphone as a completely matte white object. By stripping away the familiar colors and logos, the headphones are reduced to their purest form. The result is an abstracted version that appears to resemble a plaster model of the original.’
But don’t worry – Oscar Wilde’s famous statement that ‘all art is quite useless’ does not apply here. The headphones are perfectly useable, while the pillow provides a novel and interesting place to rest them while they’re not on your head.
The folds and indentations of the pillows are cast from white cultured marble, creating a moment frozen in time. Together, the headphones and pillow offer a glimpse of Snarkitecture’s world, where the familiar becomes extraordinary.
Limited supplies (approx 1,000 are being made) will be available at www.BeatsbyDre.com beginning 9 June in the US, with Europe and Asia to follow.
London stockists will include Liberty and The Design Museum
