Can unsightly smudges and fingerprints on smartphone screens be beautiful? New York-based artist JK Keller seems to think so.

JK is the man behind iPhone Oil Paintings, a blog dedicated to creative smudges made on iPhone screens. Essentially, he uses his fingers to make swirls and twists, which create interesting effects when placed under a light. JK periodically updates his Tumblr blog with animated GIFs that display the effects—plus a weird animation that shows JK rubbing his iPhone all over his face.

Hey, who are we to judge?

This isn’t the first time JK used Apple gear in unusual ways in the name of art: He previously posted a very bizarre poetry and scat session performance by Siri and an OS X app that uses the Finder's labels feature to turn the contents of a folder into a psychedelic experience.

While the clean freak inside me would still rather wipe my iPhone into a blank canvas, some of these “paintings” are quite captivating, particularly “iPhone Oil Painting #3” and the fast-paced “iPhone Oil Painting #2”.

But is it art? We'll let you debate that in the comments. You can check out all of JK’s designs over on his Tumblr blog.

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