Hardcore Apple Inc. worshippers may already consider the iPhone a work of art. But artists in Japan are trying to get even the nonbelievers to see it that way.

The iPhone Case Exhibition 2010, which kicked off over the weekend in Yokohama, is Japan's first art fair featuring cases for the Apple device, the event's organizers say. The cases were created just for this event by 100 people, including artists, designers, architects and others, including a pastry chef and a radio DJ.

During the first two days alone, the free event attracted about 15,000 visitors, says Hiromi Yuzuki, the producer of the exhibition. In addition to the typical iPhone customers in their 20s and 30s, many kids, elderly people and foreign tourists have stopped by, she says.



一款机器人造型的iPhone保护套

Some of the cases fit perfectly into the Japanese concept of kawaii, or 'cute,' exemplified by Hello Kitty. Others are chic, like one made by a traditional leather craftsman, or scary, like one by a special-effects makeup artist. All of them are one-off pieces not found at stores, but about half are for sale, with prices ranging from 3,000 to 63,000 yen (roughly $35 to $745).

Ms. Yuzuki said that the simple, flat shape of the iPhone--perhaps the closest to a canvas a phone can get--also makes its cases suitable for painting and other forms of art.

'Some of these cases are really interesting, but I don't think I'd actually use any of them,' said Satoru Watanabe, 28, who came to the exhibition after hearing about it on Twitter.

'I like the simple design of the iPhone, so I prefer a case that doesn't ruin the original appearance,' he said, as he photographed an exhibited case with his own iPhone 4.

'The idea is to make art more accessible,' said Ms. Yuzuki. 'And the iPhone is a good platform, because people already customize it by downloading apps and choosing the case they like.'

In Japan, a vast majority of iPhone users put the phones in cases, according to Elecom Co., a company that makes accessories for computers, mobile phones and audio equipment.

Ms. Yuzuki added that this exhibition works also because many people in Japan--especially in major cities like Tokyo and Yokohama--know about the iPhone even if they don't use it themselves. The iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4 received huge publicity at the time of their releases in Japan, when many people camped outside stores for days to be the first one to buy them.

苹果公司的忠实拥护者也许已经把iPhone看做是艺术品了。但日本的艺术家们正试图让非拥护者们也这样认为。

2010 iPhone手机保护套展览大会（The iPhone Case Exhibition 2010）上周末在横滨拉开帷幕，据组织者说，它是日本首个以苹果手机保护套作为主要展品的艺术展览会。保护套由100人为本次展览会专门制作，包括艺术家、设计师、建筑师等，还包括一位面点师和电台主持人。

展览的制作人Hiromi Yuzuki说，仅在刚开展的前两天，本次免费展览就吸引了约15,000人次。除了20多岁和30多岁的iPhone常规用户外，还有很多孩子、老人和外国人也驻足观看。

有些保护套充分融合了日本人喜欢的可爱风格（kawaii），例如Hello Kitty。有些很别致，例如由一位传统皮革工匠制作的作品，还有的是惊悚风格，例如一位特效化妆师的作品。所有保护套都是商店里找不到的独一无二的产品，但其中有一半是出售的，价格在3,000到63,000日圆不等（大概35美元到745美元之间）。

Yuzuki说，iPhone简洁平滑的外观,或许堪称是最接近画布效果的一款手机，也使其保护套能够适合绘画及其他形式的艺术作品。

28岁的Satoru Watanabe说，有些保护套真的很有趣，但我觉得我不会用它们中的任何一款。他是在Twitter上听说本次展览的消息的。

Watanabe说，我喜欢iPhone的简洁设计，所以我比较喜欢不会破坏它原始外观的保护套。他边说边用自己的iPhone4拍摄一件正在展览的保护套。

Yuzuki说，本次活动的理念就是让艺术能够更贴近大众，iPhone是一个很好的平台，因为人们已经通过下载应用程序及挑选喜欢的保护套来使其更加个性化。

据专门制作电脑、手机和音频设备配件的公司宜丽客（Elecom Co.）说，在日本，iPhone的大多数用户都将其放在保护套里。

Yuzuki补充说，本次展览能够成功也是因为很多日本人，尤其是在东京和横滨这种大城市，都知道iPhone，即使他们不使用。iPhone 3GS和iPhone 4在日本发布时获得巨大的公众反响，当时有很多人为了第一个买到新产品，连续几日在店铺外扎帐篷等候。