Spamtrap, a Guillotine For Junk Email May 10, 2007

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Here's an emotionally satisfying piece of performance art, an installation called "Spamtrap" by artist Bill Shackelford. Its sole purpose is to entrap spam email into its Pentium II PC that's connected to a wireless network, print out the messages, and then unceremoniously rip them all to shreds, accumulating into a big pathetic pile of rubbish.

Part of the fun is the artist's luring of the spam by posting email addresses on numerous websites and bulletin boards. And, as spam messages are received, their addresses are sent to various blacklists on the Interwebs in an attempt to spare others the craptastic suffering from such detritus. Of course, the pile of shredded paper is recycled to alleviate any guilt or bad karma.

Take the jump to see the grisly executions, as well as a few observations.

"Spamtrap" - watch the video

There's something truly gratifying about seeing this spam physically executed right there in front of you. This reminds us of a malevolent boss from long ago whose picture adorned a dartboard at home, and became our whipping post for venting daily frustrations. Sometimes destroying such effigies can be a catharsis, exactly what's needed against such seemingly unwinnable battles. – Charlie White

Artist's Page [Bill Shackelford, via boing boing]