Retro design, particularly '80s fare, has become popular in recent years and now Motorola is harnessing one of the era's legends to boost its once prominent mobile profile.
[seealso slug="1980s-subway"]
Futura, one of the most well-known and respected graffiti artists of the early days of hip-hop, is working with the mobile phone maker to release a limited number of a special edition Moto X Pure Edition.
The smartphone, released in the U.S. last year, is a 5.7-inch Android handset (also known as the Moto X Style) and is distinctive because it's offered in a wood casing, in addition to metal and plastic.
The special edition phones were on display last week in lower Manhattan, near Futura's old art stomping grounds where he once collaborated with fellow art legends Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring, two artists who also made the transition from street-based graffiti to high-end galleries.
Known by some as Futura 2000, the artist actually began his rise in the '70s and then rose to mainstream prominence in the '80s when he work began showing up in some of New York's more cutting-edge galleries.
The special edition phones, 30 in all, each make up a part of a canvas-sized work (see below) and sell for $349.99 through Stefan's Head, a service that sells limited edition products via text (in this case, the number is 646-759-0904).
No details were released on just how many of the specially painted phones are still left, but to get a sense of Futura's art world demand, consider that just a few years ago one of Futura's original paintings sold for more than $56,000.