By choosing an iPod, song-book, and dance-studio setting Kaartikaiy highlights the importance of art-making to his life and sense of self.
The painting is set in a dance studio. The metaphor of art as a tool for reflection is conveyed by the wall of mirrors. A studio is a space for raw creativity. Unlike a performance, time is spent looking inwards to hone one’s technique and ideas. It is like the pages of his song-writing book, where concepts are born.
As, Kaartikaiy, pinches the iPod away from his body the iconic white, Apple, headphones become nerves connecting hand and brain, hearing and touch. It is held in a staged, artificial way, encouraging viewers to look for symbolic meaning beyond the gadget’s utility.
An iPod is only one object, yet holds a vast, diverse, and personalized music-library. An iPod is an auditory world in the palm of your hand. It is elegant and simple. A single element navigates you through the collection. The minimalist design personifies its spiritual embodiment of creativity and emotional resonance.
The iPod makes it easy to choose and edit a music-library that is large, but limited. We regulate content and curate playlists over time. It is a vessel that organizes and contextualizes our consumption of an art collection. A song’s meaning is enhanced by its association with others. Collecting is a prominent way humans make identity visible.
Brands shift consumer loyalty from music ownership to streaming platforms. Kaartikaiy’s iPod symbolizes his single-focussed consumption of music, evangelizing it’s meaning, embodying his possession of it.
I interviewed, Rebecca Collins, about her UCL PhD research on material consumption. She noted that some of her subjects’ find their cell phones personally meaningful, not for function or status.
These meanings echo how, Kaartikaiy, values his iPod. It is an extension of himself, the face of his music-world, and proof of his object permanence. The scuff-marks and personalizations convey his own biography and individuality. His iPod accompanies him through time, like a reliable friend. Replaying songs connected to important events is nostalgic. Musical choices express who we are and want to be.