Key-Ari Art

Keyboards are humble messengers, ferrying our thoughts, creativity and productivity. Each key tells a story from how it is smudged and faded to the dirt that gathers underneath.

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GROW OLD WITH YOU

"All I wanna do is grow old with you"  Quote from the song Grow Old With You from the Wedding Singer.  6 by 6 keys.

A custom order to commemorate a wedding first dance song.  

Hand-made from original keyboard keys salvaged personally.  Any smudges, dirt or fading are intentional and part of the aesthetic.  Set in wooden frame with white mat and glass front.

Frame 9 ⅞ inches by 9 ⅞ inches by 1 ¾ inches 

Art 4 ¼ inches by 4 ¼ inches 

SOLD

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COPY

"Everything's a copy of a copy of a copy".  Quote from the book Fight Club.  6 by 6 keys.

Hand-made from original keyboard keys salvaged personally.  Any smudges, dirt or fading are intentional and part of the aesthetic.  Set in wooden frame with white mat and glass front.

Frame 9 ⅞ inches by 9 ⅞ inches by 1 ¾ inches 

Art 4 ¼ inches by 4 ¼ inches 

SOLD

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MORE THAN KISSES

"More than kisses, letters mingle souls".  Quote by John Donne from his poem titled To Sir Henry Wotton.  6 by 6 keys.

Hand-made from original keyboard keys salvaged personally.  Any smudges, dirt or fading are intentional and part of the aesthetic.  Set in wooden frame with white mat and glass front.

Frame 9 ⅞ inches by 9 ⅞ inches by 1 ¾ inches 

Art 4 ¼ inches by 4 ¼ inches 

Available for purchase, order online

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Finding Artistic Inspiration Everywhere

Click here to read the full interview at Scotch & Stilettos

"Keyboards are humble messengers, ferrying our thoughts, creativity and productivity. Each key tells a story from how it is smudged and faded to the dirt that gathers underneath." - Ariel

Scotch & Stilettos recently sat down with Ariel Kemelman, a local artist who has taken recycled keyboard keys and transformed them into art. In the spirit of Computer Science Education week, we thought it was only appropriate to spotlight Ariel, who studied computer science in college. Read below for more on how he got started, what keeps him motivated and where he is going next!

S&S: Tell us how Key-Ari got started.

Ariel: A few years ago the IT guys at my company were boxing up old equipment to be thrown away. One of the boxes contained stacks of old keyboards, worn and dirty. I've been sitting in front of a keyboard for most of my adult life, at least 8 hours every day. At that moment I looked at them differently. Keyboards are humble messengers, ferrying our thoughts, creativity and productivity. Each keyboard tells a message from how the keys are smudged and faded to the dirt that gathers unseen underneath. I was inspired to create a story out of these mundane discarded plastic parts.

S&S: What was the first piece that you made?

Ariel: I tried to find quotes that related in feeling or concept to keyboards. My first inspiration was from the book 1984 by George Orwell. It's about a dystopian society where personality and creativity is censored. In the book, keyboards appear as a symbol in the form of the tedious and drone-like censors and propaganda editors. I used several quotes from the book and movie, but the first and one of my favorites was "sanity is not statistical".

Continue reading at Scotch & Stilettos

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SNOWFLAKE

"You are not a beautiful or unique snowflake".  Quote from the book Fight Club.  7 by 6 keys.

Hand-made from original keyboard keys salvaged personally.  Any smudges, dirt or fading are intentional and part of the aesthetic.  Set in wooden frame with white mat and glass front.

Frame 9 ⅞ inches by 9 ⅞ inches by 1 ¾ inches 

Art 5 inches by 4 ¼ inches 

Available for purchase, order online

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PI

This piece is a little irrational.  Pi to the 33rd decimal place.  6 by 6 keys.

3.1415926535897932384626

Hand-made from original keyboard keys salvaged personally.  Any smudges, dirt or fading are intentional and part of the aesthetic.  Set in wooden frame with white mat and glass front.

Frame 9 ⅞ inches by 9 ⅞ inches by 1 ¾ inches 

Art 4 ¼ inches by 4 ¼ inches 

Available for purchase, order online

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Photos from the Monroe Center Art Exhibit in Hoboken NJ on Sunday November 9, 2014.

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Monroe Center Art Exhibit 2014

The first exhibit of my art was held at the Monroe Center in Hoboken on Sunday November 9, 2014.  Enormous thanks to my beautiful wife for encouraging me to display my work and coordinating my event.

Thanks to all visitors who stopped by to enjoy my art.  It was a pleasure chatting and sharing my passion with you.  I'll be posting photos of the event shortly.

If you are interested in getting in touch with me, click MENU at the top left and use the "Ask me anything" feature.

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MAGIC SQUARE

Can you solve the magic square?  6 by 6 keys.

This isn't a "normal" or true magic square, but still a fun exercise with numbers.  Read more about magic squares:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_square

http://mathworld.wolfram.com/MagicSquare.html

Hand-made from original keyboard keys salvaged personally.  Any smudges, dirt or fading are intentional and part of the aesthetic.  Set in wooden frame with white mat and glass front.

Frame 9 ⅞ inches by 9 ⅞ inches by 1 ¾ inches 

Art 4 ¼ inches by 4 ¼ inches 

Available for purchase, order online

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THOUGHTS

"Thoughts crumble from my fingertips"  Original quote.  6 by 6 keys.

Hand-made from original keyboard keys salvaged personally.  Any smudges, dirt or fading are intentional and part of the aesthetic.  Set in wooden frame with white mat and glass front.

Frame 9 ⅞ inches by 9 ⅞ inches by 1 ¾ inches 

Art 4 ¼ inches by 4 ¼ inches 

SOLD

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MINCING

"Why can't I stop mincing my words?"  Original quote.  6 by 6 keys.

Hand-made from original keyboard keys salvaged personally.  Any smudges, dirt or fading are intentional and part of the aesthetic.  Set in wooden frame with white mat and glass front.

Frame 9 ⅞ inches by 9 ⅞ inches by 1 ¾ inches 

Art 4 ¼ inches by 4 ¼ inches 

Available for purchase, order online

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IMAGINE

"Everything you can imagine is real"  Quote by Pablo Picasso.  6 by 6 keys.

Hand-made from original keyboard keys salvaged personally.  Any smudges, dirt or fading are intentional and part of the aesthetic.  Set in wooden frame with white mat and glass front.

Frame 9 ⅞ inches by 9 ⅞ inches by 1 ¾ inches 

Art 4 ¼ inches by 4 ¼ inches 

SOLD

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ORDINARY

"Was there ever a time when this seemed ordinary?"  Quote from the movie 1984.  7 by 7 keys.

Hand-made from original keyboard keys salvaged personally.  Any smudges, dirt or fading are intentional and part of the aesthetic.  Set in wooden frame with white mat and glass front.

Frame 9 ⅞ inches by 9 ⅞ inches by 1 ¾ inches 

Art 5 inches by 5 inches 

Available for purchase, order online

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SANITY

"Sanity is not statistical".  Quote from the book 1984.  First piece ever made.  5 by 5 keys.

Hand-made from original keyboard keys salvaged personally.  Any smudges, dirt or fading are intentional and part of the aesthetic.  Set in wooden frame with white mat and glass front.

Frame 5 ½ inches by 7 ½ inches by 1 ¾ inches 

Art 3 ½ inches by 3 ½ inches

Available for purchase, order online

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HUMAN

"It's staying human that's important."  Quote from the movie 1984.  6 by 6 keys.

Hand-made from original keyboard keys salvaged personally.  Any smudges, dirt or fading are intentional and part of the aesthetic.  Set in wooden frame with white mat and glass front.

Frame 9 ⅞ inches by 9 ⅞ inches by 1 ¾ inches 

Art 4 ¼ inches by 4 ¼ inches 

Available for purchase, order online

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LUNATIC

"Perhaps a lunatic is simply a minority of one".  Quote from book 1984.  7 by 7 keys.

Hand-made from original keyboard keys salvaged personally.  Any smudges, dirt or fading are intentional and part of the aesthetic.  Set in wooden frame with white mat and glass front.

Frame 9 ⅞ inches by 9 ⅞ inches by 1 ¾ inches 

Art 5 inches by 5 inches 

Available for purchase, order online