'Art x Smart' by Dong-Kyu Kim

‘Girl with a pearl earring and an iPhone,’ 2013 / after ‘Girl with a pearl earring’ by Johannes Vermeer, 1665.

‘When you see the amazing sight,’ 2013 / after ‘Wanderer above the sea of fog’ by Caspar David Friedrich, 1818.

‘Always in my hand,’ 2013 / after ‘in the conservatory’ by Édouard Manet, 1878-9.

‘The Scream,’ 2013 / after ‘The Scream’ by Edvard Munch, 1893.

‘Her Mirror,’ 2013 after ‘Rokeby Venus’ by Diego Velázquez, 1647–51.

‘Luncheon,’ 2013 / after ‘The luncheon on the grass’ by Édouard Manet, 1862–1863.

‘The Last 2G Phone User,’ 2013 / after ‘The Last Supper’ by Leonardo Da Vinci, 1495-98.

‘Relax,’ 2013 / after ‘Girl in the Garden’ by Mary Cassatt, 1880-82.

‘Sunday afternoon,’ 2013 / after ‘A sunday afternoon on the island of la grande’ by Jattegeorges-pierre Seurat, 1884–1886.

In his recent project ‘Art x Smart’, Korean illustrator Kim Dong-Kyu combines famous historical paintings with images of 21st century technology. I call it a fusion of the modern day with classical moments from art and history, resulting in one massive head f… I mean head spin. And I like it. The works are also a piercing comment on the way smartphones have dramatically changed today’s social interaction. Apart from being absurdly funny, the series also draw attention to our relationship with new technologies and their influence on modern society.

Some of these images are pretty ridiculous but it seems so familiar these days – the swiping, scrolling, grammin’ (that’s Instagramming for all you “non-users”), and regular selfies find their way into paintings by Vermeer, Picasso, Manet and Van Gogh – as if the action was of second nature to them, like it is for us.