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👋👋👋 Setting the mood for a thread about art and tech with an album I’ve been playing on repeat for a few days now. Check out “Kids at Play-EP” by @LouisTheChild. Listen from start to end it’s brilliant 🙌.
Got it playing? Ok let’s go 👇
Got it playing? Ok let’s go 👇
Started this journey in Austin last week for the Consensus conference. It was a well put together event with presence of both top platforms and top artists from around the world. Never a dull moment at these things + the epitome of the 8-2 (am to am 🫣) work day.
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Left feeling a humbling amount of excitement and support for what we have been building and will continue to build at @artblocks_io. I see this beautiful space continue to expand and evolve and remain so bullish on everyone grinding hard to cement web3 as standard in society.
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Also left with a burning desire to implement a handful of “crazy ideas” from this journey that JUST DON’T SEEM THAT CRAZY ANYMORE. It’s a real pleasure working with such a passionate and talented team at AB and I can’t wait to see some of these things come to life!
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Shit’s crazy out there though. Feel awful for folks that are getting hurt in deFi. People are excited about the future of finance just as much as we are excited about the future of art and tech. Both technologies will persevere regardless and will just need some time to heal.
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From a tech founder perspective I think these uncertain feeling times will reveal people’s true colors and highlight those building from love an passion. Passion is an unstoppable force that drives innovation. It fuels us to do our best regardless of economic incentives.
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This will apply at the artist and the collector level as well! Pay close attention to what your contemporaries are doing.
We often (even arrogantly) refer to times like these as catalysts to filter out folks that are in it for the wrong reasons. This feels wrong to me now.
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We often (even arrogantly) refer to times like these as catalysts to filter out folks that are in it for the wrong reasons. This feels wrong to me now.
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Instead I think that times like these cause real passion and curiosity to bubble up to the top of the conversation. I hit my 5yr anniversary in this tech last week (🤯, ❤️ you @larvalabs). We are only just now starting to transcend the crypto echo chamber in the arts.
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I’m leaving a special week of phenomenal conversations with just about every persona in the art world. Still in disbelief that I have been granted the privilege of entering into this discourse and proud to be an ambassador for art and tech here. Hope you share my pride too.
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One of the main take aways from this experience is that the art world needs some time to heal too. The way the art world was introduced to our technology was abrupt and aggressive, with nothing but price leading the narrative. This is caustic to people committed to the arts.
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I spent hours and hours highlighting the technology that we are all so passionate about. And how it powers art and artists and collectors in ways that were simply unimaginable before. This has become something so much more powerful than even I imagined when building AB.
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On just about every conversation I found myself wishing that there had been an audio recording to capture it. 30 minute chats went for hours and literally every tiny little crevice of this technological shift was explored. Every single one. It was just amazing.
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I am leaving beautiful Switzerland feeling a tremendous level of success in bridging gaps. Maybe it is because things are calming down in crypto? Or people felt “at home” simply because they were in their comfort zone. But I felt people were being genuine in their curiosity.
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I had honestly never felt more “in demand” in my life. I like to practice humility and so pls understand how hard it is for me to say that. I say it to inspire confidence into each and every one of you that is participating in this journey in any capacity. It was incredible.
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Artists: people are excited to meet you and learn about your practice and your approach. They want to hear more about your medium and less about the authentication tech we are all so proud of. This is a really great sign as the tech itself loses conversational relevance.
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The market settling will potentially derail any added perceived value provided by blockchain tech to artworks. This must happen eventually as we approach the “billions of NFTs served” milestone. The value of the art MUST primarily be based on the content, the art itself.
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Collectors: people want to hear about your connection to the art. Why it speaks to you. Why did you acquire it. What do you see in the artist that makes you want to not just show the art on your phone but on your wall or even participate in an exhibition.
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Can confirm that being curious about the tech is a perfectly good reason here, especially as the traditional art world starts to come to appreciate the idea of acquiring provably authentic digital content using decentralized ledgers versus jpegs attached to emails.
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Technologists: Many people are excited about innovation but still processing the very rudimentary concept of blockchain authenticated artworks and need a little time to simmer with that before you hit them with more of our coveted “lego blocks” that we thrive in exploring.
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Tech innovation in the arts is best kept to the web3 focused conferences until it has led to the production of of actual works of art that utilize the technology. Not a proof of concept, but art by artists with intent and purpose. Tech is exciting when materialized in art.
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To the dozens of people I interacted with out there, ranging from a simple handshake or rambling late night chats, thank you for your time, energy, support, and enthusiasm. I’m feeling pretty comfy for what is to come.
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To the handful of organizations and institutions that expressed anything from a quick complement to entering into meaningful dialogue and even partnerships, thank you for appreciating the value that many of us nerds think we are bringing to the art world.
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We all win when we work together and I’m leaving Basel enlightened by all of the opportunities to amplify the dialogue between the artists that help us find meaning in this world and the lucky collectors that get to participate in that gift. The future is so bright.
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PS: I encourage collectors and artists in the web3 space to include a purely art forward event in your travels. Whether it is an art fair (not dominated by crypto) or a meetup in far west Texas 😉, you belong, and deserve to be immersed in, and contribute to the purely art convo.
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6529 @punk6529
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Jun 17, 2022
great thread