Famous Paintings ‘Updated’ With 21st-Century Gadgets By Kim Dong-Kyu (26 Pics)


Kim Dong-Kyu is a South Korean artist who offers a fresh take on iconic paintings by reimagining them from a present-day perspective. In 2013, he created a project titled "Art X Smart" exploring our relationship with new technologies and the impact they have on modern society. 


The absurdly funny and thought-provoking artworks take us to a utopian reality where ancient and current times meet. According to the artist, 'Art X Smart' shows us how smartphones have disrupted the values we once considered important in our daily lives before becoming addicted to these 21st-century devices.


Even though the project dates ten years back, its relevance has not diminished with time. "Art X Smart" continues to provoke audiences around the world to contemplate the role of technology in shaping our present and future. What are your thoughts about these artworks? Share them in the comments!


More info: artxsmart.tumblr.com


#1 "When You See The Amazing Sight" Based On "Wanderer Above The Sea Of Fog" By Caspar David Friedrich (1818)


ART X SMART Project by Kim Dong-kyu, 2013.

"If you see the work of Caspar David Friedrich, 'Wanderer above the sea of fog', you can feel various emotions through a man standing tall across the landscape of Mother Nature. But in the picture I changed, you can only see him thrusting his smartphone camera to the fabulous scenery, just like a modern person."


Image credits: Kim Dong-kyu


"The world is addicted to smartphones. It seems that there are no other things that people have obsessed over and kept at hand in human history. I have a keen interest in this phenomenon and have struggled with how to criticize it without being too serious or harsh," Kim Dong-Kyu explained.


#2 "Selfie" Based On "Portrait De Marie Therese Walter" By Pablo Picasso (1937)


ART X SMART Project by Kim Dong-kyu, 2013.


Image credits: Kim Dong-kyu


#3 "Check" Based On "The Angelus" By Jean-François Millet (1857-59)


ART X SMART Project by Kim Dong-kyu, 2013.


Image credits: Kim Dong-kyu


"We spend a significant amount of time using smartphones, and we now live in a world where even refrigerators, washing machines, gas stoves, and cars are connected to them. I wanted to demonstrate how our daily lives have changed, and also how absurd the figures in classical paintings look when drawn with modern smart devices. They are together yet disconnected, not only from the landscape but also from the people around them."


#4 "Multi Touch Zoom" Based On "The Ancient Of Days" By William Blake (1794)


ART X SMART Project by Kim Dong-kyu, 2013.


Image credits: Kim Dong-kyu


#5 "His Room" Based On "The Bedroom" By Vincent Van Gogh (1888)


ART X SMART Project by Kim Dong-kyu, 2013.


Image credits: Kim Dong-kyu


"Smartphones are meant to enhance connection and communication, but in reality, it seems that only disconnection and superficiality remain."


#6 "The Scream" Based On "The Scream" By Edvard Munch (1893)


ART X SMART Project by Kim Dong-kyu, 2013.


Image credits: Kim Dong-kyu


#7 "Relax" Based On "Girl In The Garden" By Mary Cassatt (1880-82)


ART X SMART Project by Kim Dong-kyu, 2013.

"We can find a lovely girl sitting in a flower garden, but in my work, there is only a teenage girl, cutting herself off from the world by smartphone. The flower garden was put in the shade."


Image credits: Kim Dong-kyu


#8 "Sunday Afternoon" Based On "A Sunday Afternoon On The Island Of La Grande Jatte" By Georges Seurat (1884–86)


ART X SMART Project by Kim Dong-kyu, 2013.


Image credits: Kim Dong-kyu


#9 "Music For Dreaming" Based On "The Dream" By Pablo Picasso (1932)


ART X SMART Project by Kim Dong-kyu, 2013.


Image credits: Kim Dong-kyu


#10 "Always In My Hand" Based On "In The Conservatory" By Édouard Manet (1878-79)


ART X SMART Project by Kim Dong-kyu, 2013.


Image credits: Kim Dong-kyu


#11 "Balcony" Based On "Man On A Balcony" By Gustave Caillebotte (1880)


ART X SMART Project by Kim Dong-kyu, 2013.


Image credits: Kim Dong-kyu


#12 "Kiss (The New One)" Based On "The Kiss" By Gustav Klimt (1908-09)


ART X SMART Project by Kim Dong-kyu, 2013.


Image credits: Kim Dong-kyu


#13 "Luncheon" Based On "The Luncheon On The Grass" By Édouard Manet (1862–1863)


ART X SMART Project by Kim Dong-kyu, 2013.


Image credits: Kim Dong-kyu


#14 "The Card Player" Based On "The Card Players" By Paul Cézanne (1894–95)


ART X SMART Project by Kim Dong-kyu, 2013.


Image credits: Kim Dong-kyu


#15 "Girl With A Pearl Earring And An iPhone" Based On "Girl With A Pearl Earring" By Johannes Vermeer (1665)


ART X SMART Project by Kim Dong-kyu, 2013.


Image credits: Kim Dong-kyu


#16 "The Last 2g Phone User" Based On "The Last Supper" By Leonardo Da Vinci (1495-98)


ART X SMART Project by Kim Dong-kyu, 2013.


Image credits: Kim Dong-kyu


#17 "Calling" Based On "Alphonsine Fournaise" By Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1879)


ART X SMART Project by Kim Dong-kyu, 2013.


Image credits: Kim Dong-kyu


#18 "Please" Based On "Saturn Devouring His Son" By Francisco Goya (1819-23)


ART X SMART Project by Kim Dong-kyu, 2013.


Image credits: Kim Dong-kyu


#19 "Old Man In Sorrow" Based On "Old Man In Sorrow" By Vincent Van Gogh (1890)


ART X SMART Project by Kim Dong-kyu, 2013.


Image credits: Kim Dong-kyu


#20 "Got It All" Based On "Mary Cassatt" By Edgar Degas (1880-84)


ART X SMART Project by Kim Dong-kyu, 2013.


Image credits: Kim Dong-kyu


#21 "Her Mirror" Based On "Rokeby Venus" By Diego Velázquez (1647–51)


ART X SMART Project by Kim Dong-kyu, 2013.


Image credits: Kim Dong-kyu


#22 "Hot Issue" Based On "The Birth Of Venus" By Alexandre Cabanel (1863)


ART X SMART Project by Kim Dong-kyu, 2013.


Image credits: Kim Dong-kyu


#23 "In A Café" Based On "L’absinthe (Glass Of Absinthe)" By Edgar Degas (1876)


ART X SMART Project by Kim Dong-kyu, 2013.


Image credits: Kim Dong-kyu


#24 "Don’t Take The iPad In The Bathroom" Based On "The Death Of Marat" By Jacques-Louis David (1793)


ART X SMART Project by Kim Dong-kyu, 2013.


Image credits: Kim Dong-kyu


#25 "News Of Kidnapping On Facebook" Based On "Over The Town" By Marc Chagall (1917-18)


ART X SMART Project by Kim Dong-kyu, 2013.


Image credits: Kim Dong-kyu


#26 "Wearable" Based On "Oath Of The Horatii" By Jacques-Louis David (1784)


ART X SMART Project by Kim Dong-kyu, 2013.


Image credits: Kim Dong-kyu