About the Work
“Urn Burial” is a video poem by Mike Egan, an artwork composed of fifty-one illustrated slides of a single phrase, "Everything is garbage," translated into fifty-one different languages, excluding English, and set to music, a non-repeating synthesizer composition in A major by the artist. “Urn Burial” is named in deference to Hydrotaphia, by Sir Thomas Browne, considered to be the most sublimely beautiful piece of English literature in existence. “Urn Burial” was exhibited at the Eli Ping / Frances Perkins Gallery on 125th Street in Harlem, New York in 2016. It was the last show before the gallery was demolished. Created on free software, and projected with stolen equipment in a dying building, “Urn Burial” concerns the nature and universal beauty of garbage. Speaking in many languages to as many people as possible, the video presents a message of radical acceptance in a simple truth. Everything, even our bodies, becomes garbage. Even art pretends to not be garbage. But garbage is the most futuristic thing. Even as we cast it aside, garbage defines us, lending itself to excavation and archeology, and thus becoming our history. The drama of deciding what is and what is not garbage is a gorgeous fantasy, but garbage is truth. If everything is garbage, then we are truly free.
“Urn Burial” is Egan’s first NFT. As an electronic artwork, it drops like tears in the rain, crystallizing the tension between what we value, and what we let go.
“Meaningful, meaningless, meaningful, meaningless, this is the wave that washes through our lives and creates its inherent tension." Karl Ove Knausgaard, My Struggle, 2015.
"But who knows the fate of his bones, or how often he is to be buried?" Sir Thomas Browne, Urn Burial, 1658."
Through the certificate, the collector of the NFT will receive access to "Critters", a brand new song from Mike Egan.
This NFT carries a Verisart Certificate of Authenticity, a blockchain certificate providing proof of the artist's verified identity and additional context about the work.
The closing time noted at the top of the auction page indicates when the first lot will begin to close. The countdown timer on the artwork pages will display the end time for the lot. Each lot closes in 2-minute increments and will be extended by 15 minutes if a bid is placed within the 15 minutes before the lot’s scheduled closing time.
Kindly note that the entered amount represents your current Bid amount. All bids placed on Artsy are final and non-retractable.
Gas fees can vary depending on network demand and are non-refundable even if you are outbid, for more information see our FAQ.
THE BID PRICE IS INCLUSIVE OF SALES TAX. IF YOU ARE THE WINNING BIDDER AND SALES TAX DOES NOT APPLY TO YOUR PURCHASE, YOU WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ENTIRE BID PRICE AND WILL NOT BE ENTITLED TO A REFUND OF SALES TAX.
0x44dcebb4374f7e01ba415c7be243f6c66636ea1c
225
Non-fungible token
- Mike Egan
- American, b. 1982
Mike Egan (b. 1982 Great Lakes, IL) is an artist, writer, gallerist, and musician. He graduated from the University of Texas (BA, 2004) and the School of Visual Arts (MFA, 2007). He is the owner and creative director of Ramiken, an art gallery founded in New York City in 2009. His first solo exhibition, “Drinkability”, under the pseudonym Yummy Tussin, was shown at Ramiken in 2015. “Urn Burial,” Egan’s second solo exhibition, was shown at Eli Ping Frances Perkins Gallery in 2016. His third solo exhibition, “Lana” at Meredith Rosen Gallery, was in March 2021. His forthcoming solo exhibition, “Mary,” at Meredith Rosen Gallery, will open in the fall of 2022.
About the Work
“Urn Burial” is a video poem by Mike Egan, an artwork composed of fifty-one illustrated slides of a single phrase, "Everything is garbage," translated into fifty-one different languages, excluding English, and set to music, a non-repeating synthesizer composition in A major by the artist. “Urn Burial” is named in deference to Hydrotaphia, by Sir Thomas Browne, considered to be the most sublimely beautiful piece of English literature in existence. “Urn Burial” was exhibited at the Eli Ping / Frances Perkins Gallery on 125th Street in Harlem, New York in 2016. It was the last show before the gallery was demolished. Created on free software, and projected with stolen equipment in a dying building, “Urn Burial” concerns the nature and universal beauty of garbage. Speaking in many languages to as many people as possible, the video presents a message of radical acceptance in a simple truth. Everything, even our bodies, becomes garbage. Even art pretends to not be garbage. But garbage is the most futuristic thing. Even as we cast it aside, garbage defines us, lending itself to excavation and archeology, and thus becoming our history. The drama of deciding what is and what is not garbage is a gorgeous fantasy, but garbage is truth. If everything is garbage, then we are truly free.
“Urn Burial” is Egan’s first NFT. As an electronic artwork, it drops like tears in the rain, crystallizing the tension between what we value, and what we let go.
“Meaningful, meaningless, meaningful, meaningless, this is the wave that washes through our lives and creates its inherent tension." Karl Ove Knausgaard, My Struggle, 2015.
"But who knows the fate of his bones, or how often he is to be buried?" Sir Thomas Browne, Urn Burial, 1658."
Through the certificate, the collector of the NFT will receive access to "Critters", a brand new song from Mike Egan.
This NFT carries a Verisart Certificate of Authenticity, a blockchain certificate providing proof of the artist's verified identity and additional context about the work.
The closing time noted at the top of the auction page indicates when the first lot will begin to close. The countdown timer on the artwork pages will display the end time for the lot. Each lot closes in 2-minute increments and will be extended by 15 minutes if a bid is placed within the 15 minutes before the lot’s scheduled closing time.
Kindly note that the entered amount represents your current Bid amount. All bids placed on Artsy are final and non-retractable.
Gas fees can vary depending on network demand and are non-refundable even if you are outbid, for more information see our FAQ.
THE BID PRICE IS INCLUSIVE OF SALES TAX. IF YOU ARE THE WINNING BIDDER AND SALES TAX DOES NOT APPLY TO YOUR PURCHASE, YOU WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ENTIRE BID PRICE AND WILL NOT BE ENTITLED TO A REFUND OF SALES TAX.
0x44dcebb4374f7e01ba415c7be243f6c66636ea1c
225
Non-fungible token
- Mike Egan
- American, b. 1982
Mike Egan (b. 1982 Great Lakes, IL) is an artist, writer, gallerist, and musician. He graduated from the University of Texas (BA, 2004) and the School of Visual Arts (MFA, 2007). He is the owner and creative director of Ramiken, an art gallery founded in New York City in 2009. His first solo exhibition, “Drinkability”, under the pseudonym Yummy Tussin, was shown at Ramiken in 2015. “Urn Burial,” Egan’s second solo exhibition, was shown at Eli Ping Frances Perkins Gallery in 2016. His third solo exhibition, “Lana” at Meredith Rosen Gallery, was in March 2021. His forthcoming solo exhibition, “Mary,” at Meredith Rosen Gallery, will open in the fall of 2022.