Probably not too many folks are familiar with the term “golden hammer,” which refers to the habit of obsessively using a familiar tool for every job, no matter how ridiculous. But you may have heard the related phrase, “when all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.”
Since 2000, Japanese artist Tatsuo Horiuchi has been creating stunning pictures with a golden hammer the rest of the world calls Excel.
While this practice might sound absurd, the results are a beautiful testament to the values of patience and a willingness to extract every last drop of functionality out of your tools.
Yes, these really are spreadsheets.
The obvious question is, “why?” to which the 73 year-old prize-winning artist has replied that he was inspired by the graphs he saw other people make in Excel, and that devoted graphics applications were too expensive for him.
Just wait until he gets a Creative Cloud subscription.
For more images and info on Tatsuo Horiuchi, check out Kotaku.com and antena3.com (Spanish).
This article was last modified on May 13, 2013
This article was first published on May 13, 2013
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Actually, Mike, my obvious question was “How?” Cool find that has me thinking…
My obvious question isn’t “why”. It’s “how”.