12 More Stunning Examples of Mobile Phones as Art

Earlier this year we took a look at one dozen amazing examples of how mobile phones can be used as the subject of art. In some cases, the phones themselves were used to create sculptures and 3D art. In other cases, paintings and drawings depicted the mobile phone as a subject in an effort to make statements about the role that mobile phones play in society. In all of these examples, the art was all about the phone.

You might think that it was difficult to find twelve different pieces of artwork that focused on the mobile phone. However, the mobile phone is actually a fairly common subject in modern art. Art is designed to represent real life and the mobile phone is an important part of life today. From films to sketches, the mobile phone features prominently in today’s artwork because it features prominently in our daily lives today.

Since there are so many different artists out there who have made the mobile phone a subject of their art, it’s a subject that warrants continued attention. Here’s a look at twelve more stunning examples of mobiles phones as art:

1. Dialtones (A Telesymphony).

This is a really amazing example of the use of the mobile phone in an interactive performance art piece. It’s essentially a concert created by the artists using the mobile phone sounds of the audience members. Each audience member registers his phone upon arrival and new ringtone melodies are generated for the phone. Seating arrangement is based upon tickets issued in connection with these melodies. During the performance, live performance artists dial up to sixty phones at a time to create an amazing mobile phone concert in the audience. This art event took place back in 2001 but was so stunning that people are still talking about it.

2. Creative People On Their Phones.

One of the most popular art subjects related to mobile phones is the photography of people who are talking on the phone. This is intended to represent the important role that mobile phones play in society today; people are always on their phones! This image relies on a fisheye photography lens to emphasize the individual on the phone, lending creativity to the photo’s perspective while also getting rid of any background distractions that would take away from the phone as the image’s subject.

3. Finnish Pavilion Project.

This was a multi-media art project completed in Germany in 2000. Old mobile phones were artistically decorated by children to make the phones look like birds. The bird-phones were then placed into an artistic background resembling a tree. The phones had been programmed with bird calls that occasionally rang from the art exhibit.

4. Phonetic Faces Art.

Phonetic Faces is an image mixer designed for the creation of mobile phone art in public spaces. Images are mixed on the phone and broadcast in the public space. The most recent exhibit took place at “Art in Mobile” in Amsterdam in March of this year but these exhibits have been happening in different places since the turn of the 21st century.

5. TXTual Healing Exhibits.

TXTual Healing is an interactive performance art piece which uses the SMS message functions of mobile phones to create art on the exterior of public buildings. People who wish to participate are given a phone number to which they can text anything that they’d like to text and the message will appear in real time on the public art space.

6. Cell Phone Disco.

This is another interactive performance art piece but it’s one which is designed specifically to reveal to us the unseen happenings of the mobile phone that exist but that we never see. The art piece creates a visual image of the electromagnetic activity that occurs when a phone call takes place in the vicinity of the installation. This creates a visual artwork that represents the real-life activity occurring when we use our phones.

7. New Work by Rob Pettit.

This artist is one of the most well-known cell phone sculptural artists in history. He has created numerous spiral sculptures using recycled mobile phones and continues to elaborate on his original designs with new works of art.

8. Sand Art.

Some of the most amazing art in the world are the sculptures and castles made of sand that are constructed so carefully but last for such a short period of time. This one is of the infamous iPhone. This one was created last summer by an innovative artist on the beach of North Carolina.

9. Ericsson Tower Tube.

This is an example of functional art work that was launched last year. It takes the traditional cell phone base station and turns it into a sculptural work of art that actually makes it an attractive part of the landscape rather than an eyesore. It’s essentially the wave of the future in modern architecture (and it’s eco-friendly, too!)

10.  Cement Mobile Phone Sculptures.

These sculptures are among several similar cement gadget sculptures created by artist Will Coles. The artist makes various models of cement mobile phones, inscribes them with meaningful creative text messages and then glues them to sidewalks throughout urban areas to be discovered by people on their daily commutes.

11. Ghandi With Mobile Phone.

This mobile phone sculpture was displayed by the Acion Gallery London earlier this year. Four artists from India were asked to design works of art that represented Ghandi as a cultural icon. This red sculpture of Ghandi on a cell phone is designed to represent the many changes that have taken place in India since Ghandi’s time.

12. Artistic Cell Phone Pockets.

The Joyce Manett Studio produces a line of one-of-a-kind cell phone pockets decorated with original abstract art. These are functional in the sense that they are used to store the cell phone. However, they are also works of art that should be recognized for their unique creativity as well. In contrast to the typical cell phone accessories that are sold in stores, these are crafts that are unique to the artist who makes them.