Some Very Expensive Air

"I am," it's said, is no one there.

In partnership with

Hope you had a good weekend! — Dan

Some Very Expensive Air

The painting above was created by Italian artist Salvatore Garau in 2003. Titled “Tramonto in rosso” — Sunrise in red — it can be yours, if you have a few thousand dollars lying around According to Artnet, it will hit the auction blog again in about a week. It’s expected to fetch between €2,500 and €3,500, or about $2,700 to $3,800. That’s pretty good, but he’s done better. For example, in May 2021, he sold a sculpture titled “Io sono” — “I am” — for roughly six times that, fetching €12,000 ($18,000).

Here’s a picture of the sculpture via Art Rite, the auction house that listed the piece. (The image from the site is big, and in the interest of being accurate, I didn’t resize it, so keep scrolling.)

If the image appears to take a while to load, there’s no need to check your internet connection or anything like that. Despite being called “I am,” the sculpture doesn’t exist, at least not in any tangible sense. It is only real in the viewer’s imagination.

Garau called his work an “immaterial sculpture” according to Artnet, explaining that “the vacuum is nothing more than a space full of energy, and even if we empty it and there is nothing left, according to the Heisenberg uncertainty principle, that nothing has a weight. Therefore, it has energy that is condensed and transformed into particles, that is, into us.” That doesn’t mean a lot to most people — myself included — but to at least a few fan of Garau and his work, it meant enough to fork over enough for thousands of dollars. (The work was only expected to fetch around $7,500 at auction, but multiple bidders were interested, pushing the price up.)

Despite the fact that “lo sono” doesn’t exist in real space, Garau still had instructions for how the winning bidder should properly show it off. Per the Independent, the ethereal work “must be displayed in a private room away from any obstruction. It also needs to be kept in an area that is about 5 ft long and 5 ft wide. Lighting and environment control are optional due to the fact that no one can see the work.”

But the buyer didn’t got home totally empty-handed. They received a certificate of authenticity, seen here (via Snopes), “in exchange for payment of $18,000, assuming they can't just imagine they paid,” per NPR.

Order Currency Online and Get It As Soon As The Next Day.

Planning your next international trip? Skip the hassle of bank visits and get your foreign currency delivered straight to your home. Traveling with cash ensures you never miss out when traveling. Order today to take advantage of today's great rates so you can enjoy all your trip has to offer.

sponsored

More About Invisible Things

Today’s Bonus fact: In 2001, authors Thomas and Cindy Senior published a book titled “The Joys Of Getting Older.” The 120-page paperback is an easy read — all the pages are blank. The book, unlike Garau’s creation, is a joke.

From the Archives: Air Plane: If you collect superhero toys, you can buy yourself a Batmobile — those are easy to find. But can you buy a toy version of Wonder Woman’s invisible jet? Kind of.

Support Now I Know!

Now I Know is supported by readers like you. Yes, you! Many of my readers donate a few dollars a month to help Now I Know grow and thrive. And in exchange, they get an ad-free version!

Interested in supporting Now I Know? Click here! 

And thanks! — Dan