...as art. For $10,000. The art work in question is titled "Fresh Air," and it's part of Franco's recently-announced Museum of Non-Visible Art (MONA), a digital exhibition space designed to feature ideas rather than physical works. Here's the description from the MONA website:

The Museum of Non-Visible Art is an extravaganza of imagination, a museum that reminds us that we live in two worlds: the physical world of sight and the non-visible world of thought. Composed entirely of ideas, the Non-Visible Museum redefines the concept of what is real. Although the artworks themselves are not visible, the descriptions open our eyes to a parallel world built of images and words. This world is not visible, but it is real, perhaps more real than the world of matter, and it is also for sale.

For sale, indeed. "Fresh Air" was purchased as a Kickstarter incentive (for some reason, Franco is seeking help from the public to fund MONA— because, you know, he's totally broke). The description of "Fresh Air" posted under the Kickstarter incentive reads:

This is a unique piece, only this one is for sale. The air you are purchasing is like buying an endless tank of oxygen. No matter where you are, you always have the ability to take a breath of the most delicious, clean-smelling air that the earth can produce. Every breath you take gives you endless peace and health. This artwork is something to carry with you if you own it. Because wherever you are, you can imagine yourself getting the most beautiful taste of air that is from the mountain tops or fields or from the ocean side; it is an endless supply.

Of course, the woman who bought "Fresh Air" is a self-described "new media producer"— and I bet she had no idea that when you buy air from James Franco, your name will spread across the internet like an extra-special kind of VD. You can read an interview with the woman who purchased "Fresh Air" over at Huffington Post.

See the Kickstarter video for Franco's MONA, after the jump.

(h/t)