iPod accessory turns up in fine art museum

I'm in Chicago right now visiting some of my friends. Yesterday we decided to go to my old workplace, the Art Institute of Chicago, which has one of the best collections of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art in the world. Imagine my surprise when I found myself staring at a first-generation iPod shuffle accessory.

Some of you may remember this accessory from back in the day when Apple made the first shuffle that looked like a white stick of Wrigley's gum. The accessory/piece of art is called iBelieve and is basically a T-shaped cap that turns your first-gen iPod shuffle into a Cross you can wear around you neck.

The plaque next to the artwork reads:

Scott Wilson
American, born 1969

iBelieve, 2006
iPod shuffle, plastic, and fabric
(including replacement cap)

Before relocating to Chicago in 2006 to set up his own studio, industrial designer Scott Wilson was a lead designer at Nike and IDEO. His innovative projects run the gamut from furniture to household products to high-performance sports equipment. iBelieve is part of a series of self-produced works and was inspired by the current popularity of the iPod. The conceptual design consists of a replacement cap, or what Wilson refers to as a "divine accessory," for the iPod shuffle. When snapped onto a shuffle, the attachment creates a cruciform shape, which enables consumers to profess their devotion to this omnipresent electronic device. Conceived as a tongue-in-cheek commentary on consumer culture, Wilson took advantage of viral marketing techniques and posted the design to a blog, which received 250,000 hits in one day as a result.

I've always known about the various online Apple museums, but who could have imagined that a cap for one of Apple's worst-designed iPods would some day be hanging in the same museum with the likes of Van Gogh's Bedroom in Arles and Edward Hopper's Nighthawks?

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I'm in Chicago right now visiting some of my friends. Yesterday we decided to go to my old workplace, the Art Institute of Chicago, which...

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El in AZ

"...who could have imagined that a cap for one of Apple's worst-designed iPods..."

Worst designed? That stick of gum still serves me. I strap that bulletproof plastic around my neck while doing yard work, washing the car, working out... Whatever. It's nice to have a piece of low stress tech, not caring whether it gets scratched, dropped, dirty or sweaty.

I love new & shiny as much as any Apple fan. My iPhone never sees the light of day without its Speck candy shell case and I've been known to clean my Apple kit with the same soft cloths, creams & polishes I use on my motorcycles. All that aside, that first-gen shuffle is a keeper.

I did damage one when I forgot it was sticking out of a PC at work with shoe-level USB ports. I moved my feet and heard cracking plastic, but even now, it still works. Worst designed? I think not.

February 27 2010 at 6:32 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

2 replies to El in AZ's comment

kiltbear64

Thanks. I had the same reaction. Its simplicity was literally awe inspiring. Plus it functions better than its smaller siblings. You can hold on to the thing.

February 27 2010 at 7:18 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

FightTheFuture

i use mine as a keychain and for transferring assignments.

sure - a SanDisk Cruzer thumbdrive is smaller and has more storage, but the original iPod Shuffle is an icebreaker.

February 28 2010 at 1:40 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Steve

Isn't photography prohibited in that museum?

February 27 2010 at 6:03 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

2 replies to Steve's comment

SIP

Easier to photograph with phone-camera than a DSLR. With all the noise in the picture, the photo was likely taken by an iPhone (or other 2-3mp phone-camera without flash).

February 27 2010 at 6:20 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

aparkhill

Photography is allowed for items in the permanent collection, taken in existing light.

February 27 2010 at 8:16 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply