File:Bathtub synth (2012) by Matt Brown. As Real As It Gets, apexart, 2012.jpg

Matt Brown
The Bathtub Synth
2012

References

• Rob Walker (2012). As Real As It Gets, organized by Rob Walker, November 16 - December 22, 2012. apexart. "For decades, Steven M. Johnson made his living in the future-trends department of an automaker, and spent spare hours drawing and explaining a staggering variety of "inventions." This imaginative work has since gained appreciation from the design press, though his proposals often say more about society and human nature than about product progress. (Amusingly, some have come true: Johnson depicted pre-torn clothing many years before "distressed denim" became trendy.) In a similar spirit, Matt Brown actually builds and packages his fanciful goods, which tend to be positioned as rare artifacts of a past that never occurred. His Bathtub Synth, supposedly emitting hyper-relaxing sound waves best enjoyed by a fully submerged bather, is one example."
• Kelly Faircloth (11/19/12). FAKE SALE: For Real? Betabeat Goes Fake Shopping for Made-Up Brands - “I want people to have a double-take reaction.”. BetaBeat.com. "“As Real as It Gets,” a new exhibition at Tribeca’s apexart, is about fictional brands made flesh, as it were, and we weren’t alone in our confusion. Shortly thereafter, we saw curator Rob Walker, former “Consumed” columnist at the Times Magazine and author of Buying In: The Secret Dialogue Between What We Buy and Who We Are (Random House 2010), wave a couple away from one of the installations―a baby blue “bathtub synthesizer,” for making music while bathing, explaining that it wasn’t actually functional."