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Contemporary art has gone through numerous stages, such as New Realism, Fluxus, Battle Elephants, Arte Povera, Neo-Expressionism, Transgressive and Synaaesthesia — just to name a few.

Well, we have a new movement, people:

Rootkit art.

Rootkit-with-color

Pictured is Sunbelt’s good friend Wayne Porter, with rootkit art behind him:

Porter says, “People simply couldn’t visualize the first rootkit painting and the number of queries hitting my inbox overwhelmed me, even ZDNET tried to clarify the matter. I decided to do this particular rootkit, while recovering, in full color to help people visualize the dangerous nature of the threat. I realize this might anger many rootkit art purists who feel that rootkits are invisible by nature and should stay that way, but I really don’t know any other way to capture the elusive and potentianally dangerous nature of the rootkit so that non-technical users and e-commerce professionals can understand its significance.”

Porter goes on to say this will be his last rootkit painting, but he is planning a 350 foot-tall sculpture around the set of tools made famous by Sony BMG as well as instant messenger crackers and other companies. “I haven’t decided on whether to use oxygen or carbon monoxide to create the sculpture, although I am leaning towards oxygen as it is much safer. Still oxygen has two common allotropes so there is still an artistic decision to be made.”

Many art critics have suggested Porter use a mercaptan in his planned rootkit sculpture (a chemical that has a sulfur like odor) to give it the distinct and unpleasant rotton egg smell that is mixed with dangerous gases so that people can be alerted to leaks.

Link here.

Alex Eckelberry