a tool to deceive and slaughter
Intriguing conceptual art piece by Caleb Larsen, titled 'A Tool to Deceive and Slaughter'. It consists of a shiny black box connected to the web, which will put itself up for auction on eBay. With every new owner this process repeats itself, so that the "sculpture exists in eternal transactional flux".
The work was based on Robert Morris' 'A Box with the Sound of its Own Making' and Jean Baudrillard's writings on the art auction, which he characteristically described as the "crucible of the interchange of values, where economic value, sign value and symbolic value transfuse according to the rules of the game".
Ironically, Larsen receives 15% on the work's value increase, so you could also call this an artistic pyramid scheme... In his defense, see Larsen's comment on this Wired article. For more background, see his book 'The Value of Nothing' (PDF), where he explains how the contract with each buyer is an integral part of the work, ensuring their "continued participation".
And for the current auction, see Atooltodeceiveandslaughter.com.