@monkpictures
Are you familiar with the Instagram account @monkpictures?
@monkpictures is an Instagram account that produces and publishes “Receipt Drawings”—drawings made on the surface of receipts from restaurants and cafés.
Although nothing is written in the account’s profile, the true identity is the British artist “Jonathan Monk,” who has already published a book of works titled “Restaurant Drawings.”
The motifs of the drawings are works by artists highly acclaimed as contemporary art masters, including On Kawara, Christopher Wool, Sol LeWitt, Andy Warhol, and Alighiero Boetti.
The way the works line up seems to make Instagram function as a gallery, where viewers can appreciate previously published works while layering references to famous artists of the past on their smartphones.
Sales Project
The comments posted alongside each artwork image include a number in euros equal to the amount on the receipt. In other words, you can purchase the “Receipt Drawing” for the same amount as the receipt. Buyers, in addition to simply purchasing an artwork, share in the food and drink experience of the artist through the purchase of the “Receipt Drawing.”
※As of November 11, 2018.
If you find a work you like, followers can express their intent in the comments section and purchase it—but the comments flood in the instant @monkpictures posts, and are filled within seconds.
To win this first-come-first-served competition, you need to type as short a message as possible, so short messages like “Me!”, “Mi”, “🙏🏻”, and “😍” line up.
Even using Instagram’s notification feature, it’s a fierce battle.
The Scramble
I have been using the notification feature and constantly checking the Instagram account, but I never seem to catch the timing of a post. As of November 2018, there are over 5,700 followers, and it’s like a game of musical chairs where many followers compete for a single seat at that very moment.
And then, in the middle of the night on October 29, 2018, I finally won the fierce first-come battle.
It came suddenly at around 1:28 AM.
The Instagram photo posted was of a work by the famous Christopher Wool.
Without even having time to properly examine the image of the work, I quickly typed “Me!”
A little later, when I reloaded the comment section to check the posts, on my phone screen my comment appeared as the second from the top, only one second behind. Before I could regret “So close, second place…!?” a DM arrived shortly afterwards. The message was as follows:
The Wool is yours – please follow up via ○○○○○○○ (email address)
“The Wool is yours”… I did it!!
that was quick… just forward your mailing address and we go from there – until then jm
The receipt was from a café called Van Hoa, located in Berlin, Germany.
The receipt was confirmed to have been used during the day on October 12.
Looking at the shop’s official site, it appears to be a “café” that also serves Vietnamese pho, cola, and lime soda, based on what was ordered.
Receiving the artwork—a “receipt” that captures a slice of the artist’s daily life—by paying for the meal from Japan and receiving it across borders is a very strange sensation. Nevertheless, I was extremely happy to have won the scramble, and I spent a very satisfying time.
Process from Posting to Receiving the Work
Here is a chronological summary of the actual process from posting to receiving:
- @monkpictures posted on Instagram: 1:28 AM on October 29, 2018
- Immediately posted “me!”: right after the post
- DM arrived and my winning was confirmed (in English): 3–4 minutes after posting
- Contacted the specified email address in English: 1:36 AM on the same day
- Reply email arrived: 1:41 AM on the same day
- Sent shipping address: around 1:45 AM on the same day
(No communication during this interval) - (Artwork shipped from Berlin on October 31, 2018)
- Arrived by international registered mail (could not receive due to absence): November 10, 2018
- Received at home: November 11, 2018
- Thank-you message and payment confirmation by email: November 11, 2018
- Payment processing…
Artwork Arrival
The safely delivered artwork was received in the following condition.
※The tracking barcode sticker has been removed.
The cardboard was signed in pencil: “UNTIL THEN JM.”
You can clearly see he treats it strictly as an “artwork.”
The receipt was thin paper like “thermal paper,” similar to those we receive in Japan.
Care must be taken with storage, as fading, oxidation, and yellowing/browning from aging are conceivable.
Summary
It was a rather strange and precious experience, unlike anything typical.
Including the entire purchase scheme, every aspect involved in the artwork contains a physical “experience,” which was etched deeply and memorably into me.
Monk’s Japanese gallery, “Taro Nasu,” has previously held the Douglas Gordon & Jonathan Monk exhibition “PARIS BAR” with a “restaurant” theme.
The theme there was the sharing of experience through “food,” with time as a major element. It is art established through sharing the concept of time as much as possible with the viewer.
This Receipt Drawing also allows one to relive Monk’s dining experience by paying the amount on the receipt.
It is connected to the world through the platform of Instagram, and the users who receive the works become participants in the shared experience.
I feel that this kind of activity may spread to other artists as well, but the significance of what Monk has pioneered as a forerunner is great, and it will be deeply etched into the users who engage with his works.
