WTF !?…
What is an NFT? Some of us have never heard that name. Many have no idea what it is about. A minority amongst us kind of understand but struggle to see the purpose. A tiny minority is really interested. Everything is normal : this is a revolution in the art world.
It’s a property deed (of a digital image in this case) that is registered and traceable on a blockchain. If you buy one, you own that deed, even if you don’t own the image rights and can’t prevent this image to be copied. Just like when you buy a limited edition print in the physical world.
Interest for the art world and its communities?
NFTs make art accessible for more collectors and its transactions transparent at last for artists. They let artist follow the life of the artwork. If value grows, they can earn a part of it base on a royalties % they set by themselves at first.
Ther is a blooming community of artists and collectors building up as we speak. At first, it was mostly driven by speculative motivations and artistic interest of most pieces was debatable. It’s maturing fast. We see first example of good curation work through galeries, museums and platforms like Objkt.one. Many renowned figurative artists like Tania Rivilis joined the party. That made me feel confident it was time to jump.
Should I participate ?
I’m passionate about both art and innovation. I had to go and explore from inside. This is a quite intriguing world I have to confess. Every step is new. You don’t get it all but you go ahead. That’s what happen when you have a first time at something, right? I took 6 months to listend to specialists and artists I respect before creating my genesis collection. I wanted a blockchain that would be accessible and energy-efficient block chain. I went to tezos and joined Objkt, the largest art platform there. All that was left for me to do was to choose how to approach it from an artwork standpoint.
What should I create ?
As I come from the ‘physical” art world, I thought about a way that could tick the following 3 criteria
- The piece doesn’t exist in the physical world
- It is a true reflection of my art
- It is not artificially augmented, just for the sake of looking like an NFT
Before art is abandoned
The moment when you decide to stop is a key decision in the making of an artwork. “Art is never finished, only abandoned” said Leonardo Da Vinci. Thta’ sbecause indeed, there is always this temptation of continuing further the creation process. Either because you’re curious to explore the potential improvements. Or just to prove yourself (or your audience) that you are technically capable of going further.
Not surprisingly, that happens each time I do a painting. There are at least 5 stages where I stop and take a break because I’m not sure if it will get better further. Can I make it more interesting? Could it loose it creative strength? When that happens, I leave the canvas in a croenr of my studio until the day I decide to put it on the easel again… or to sign it.
I thought I could make an NFT of those 5 stages. None of them is available in the physical world. It’s the core of my creative work. And I’m proud enough of each of them as I was almost decided to sign them.
« Take five »
Beyond the connection with the 5 stages, the collection name comes from 2 inspirations. “Take five” means “take a 5 minutes break”. As before you decide to stop or go. It’s also the title of an iconic jazz song, which happens to be distinctive because of its unorthodox quintuple time.
This music track based on this super innovative rythm became a jazz standard. May be the fate of the NFTs in the art world?