Bonhams in London is set to auction off a set of five paintings minted as NFTs from the hand of former South African president Nelson Mandela. The collection, entitled “My Robben Island”, consists of five watercolour paintings that depict the 18 years Mandela spent incarcerated on Robben Island, a now-inactive offshore prison near Cape Town.
Mandela completed the five paintings after stepping down from the presidency in 1999. The collection also features a piece called “The Motivation”, a handwritten text that explains his visualisations of the harsh prison island where he served his time during the South African struggle to end Apartheid. All six of the works include Mandela’s signature.
It is true that Robben Island was once a place of darkness, but out of that darkness has come a wonderful brightness, a light so powerful that it could not be hidden behind prison walls, held back behind prison bars, or hemmed in by the surrounding sea … The most fantastic dreams can be achieved if we are prepared to endure life’s challenges.
Extract from ‘The Motivation’, by Nelson Mandela
Robben Island cell. Source: The Guardian
Makaziwe Mandela, daughter of the former president, said the watercolours, all of which were painted in 2002, represent “the triumph of the human spirit”. She added that offering the artworks as NFTs was a way to reach new audiences: “My dad was all about creating an accessible society. This is a way of democratising his art.”
Robben Island church. Source: The Guardian
NFTs to be Sold on Nifty Gateway
Giles Peppiatt, director of modern and contemporary African art at Bonhams, has said that the digital arts reach “new audiences that probably don’t go to art galleries and museums”.
These are people who live a lot of their lives through their phones, through the internet, and who have large amounts of money at their disposal – and they are collectors. They are becoming a more and more important part of the art market.
Giles Peppiatt, director of modern and contemporary African art, Bonhams
The paintings will be offered at auction on March 9 on the Nifty Gateway NFT platform, over a six-hour period at a fixed price of US$3,495 for the entire collection, or US$699 for an individual work. Hopefully, the works will fetch prices far beyond the likes of Gary Vee’s hand-drawn doodles, which sold for US$1.2 million last year. But if you’re not convinced they will, you could always short the NFTs.
Boy George, arguably the first openly gay pop star of the modern era, has announced the launch of an NFT collection aptly entitled CryptoQueenz, timed to coincide with the release of seven new songs.
The writer and performer of hits such as Karma Chameleon, Church of the Poison Mind and Do You Really Want to Hurt Me? will unveil 9,999 unique non-fungible tokens on the CryptoQueenz site and OpenSea from March 1:
Be my valentine? 🌹
The original avatar of an avatar; "I created myself out of cardboard & glitter".
We are excited and proud to release this video to celebrate the launch of the CryptoQueenz by Boy George NFT collection.
— TheCryptoQueenz by Boy George (@thecryptoqueenz) February 14, 2022
Three Charities to Benefit from Sale of NFTs
Part of the proceeds from the sale of each NFT will help support the LGBTQ+ community, with two per cent of profits also allotted to the Elton John AIDS Foundation and Shelter, a separate British charity for the homeless, in perpetuity.
Each NFT will include the face of the famous Boy George artwork Scarman, along with samples of his renowned hat collection:
— TheCryptoQueenz by Boy George (@thecryptoqueenz) February 14, 2022
“As a creator and artist I’ve long been interested in the different mediums which can act as a canvas for self-expression,” Boy George said. “NFTs and digital art are a great example of this and help to democratise the stuffy art world for everyone”.
“I hope this project will help to bring a little colour and joy into everyone’s lives whilst also helping to support the LGBTQ+ community, which I’m very proud to be a part of.”
Boy George Identifies as a ‘Crypto Maniac’
Boy George, who fronted the ’80s band Culture Club, first expressed his interest in NFTs last year when he signed a deal with trading site Crypto.com to produce content for its new NFT platform.
I think life turned me into art. I’ve painted myself into a corner. I love metaphors and mystery and crypto sounds like klepto, so that makes me a crypto maniac.
Boy George, musician/artist
Speaking of maniacs, Boy George was possibly gazumped last month by fellow singer Ozzy Osbourne who launched his own NFT collection called CryptoBatz, so named for an infamous moment in the former Black Sabbath frontman’s career when Osbourne bit the head off a bat during a 1982 live performance in the US.
Both, however, were beaten to the punch by Australian pop-rap star Tones and I, whose appearance on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine last July was turned into an NFT.
As announced via Twitter, Deepak Thapliyal, CEO of cloud blockchain infrastructure firm Chain, purchased CryptoPunk #5822 directly from CryptoPunks developer Larva Labs’ own online marketplace:
Thapliyal also tweeted that he leveraged DeFi protocol Compound Finance to pay for his CryptoPunk, telling Compound founder Robert Leshner: “Thanks to Compound I am able to still [hold] ETH while buying this. Basically long’d ETH to punk-in.”
Accusations of Money Laundering Erupt on Twitter
Within 24 hours of the sale, accusations erupted on Twitter of a money-laundering exercise, suggesting both buyer and seller were interchangeable:
CryptoPunk #5822 fetched the fourth-highest price ever for a single NFT. Beeple’s “Everydays: The First 5,000 Days” topped the tree at US$69.3 million last March, followed by last week’s sale of artist Pak’s “Clock” NFT to AssangeDAO, as reported by Crypto News Australia. Coming in third is Beeple’s “Human One”, which changed hands for US$29 million in November.
CryptoPunks get the Sotheby's treatment. Our next #SothebysMetaverse sale 'Punk It! 104 CryptoPunks. 1 Lot.' will be a landmark LIVE Evening Auction on February 23. A truly historic sale for an undeniably historic NFT project. pic.twitter.com/LAu6j8Atu3
Sotheby’s describes Punk It! as its “most important and historic NFT project”. The auction, in which all 104 CryptoPunks will be sold as a single lot, will mark Sotheby’s first dedicated live evening auction for NFTs.
The live evening auction will also bring together the physical and digital in an unprecedented showcase for NFTs and digital art with a presentation on par with the most significant and high-profile sales for Contemporary and Modern art.
Sotheby’s press release
The Punks set to go on sale were all acquired together last July in a single transaction on the blockchain by an anonymous collector, “Ox650d”. This also means that all 104 Punks have the exact same provenance, which makes this collection unique.
What Are CryptoPunks?
CryptoPunks is a collection of 10,000 NFTs released in 2017 by Larva Labs, all of them pixelated portraits of punk rock-inspired faces. Each NFT in the collection is unique and sports various traits and accessories. The collection has become one of the most successful of its kind, with a current floor price of 67.5 ETH, or about US$217,000. Since its launch in 2017, the Punks collection has generated about 683,000 ETH in sales volumes (over US$2 billion).
Single CryptoPunks have sold for astronomical amounts of money. VISA, for instance, paid a whopping US$150,000 to buy a Punk of its own. But if you think that’s a lot of money, the current record price paid for a CryptoPunk at auction is a staggering US$11.8 million.
If you don’t quite have a cool US$12 million casually lying around, DegenData announced last month it would be auctioning off CryptoPunk #5761 along with the business IP and all supporting assets attached for a mere 420 ETH (US$1.36 million).
Culture Vault has an impressive roster of local and international artists including Reko Rennie, Shantell Martin, Serwah Attafuah, Adam Briggs, Romance Was Born and Stephen Ormandy.
Culture Vault – a new curated platform and creative agency that presents and sells high-quality NFTs and helps artists and cultural brands navigate the blockchain – launches its Web3 platform this month followed by a physical-meets-digital (phygital) exhibition called “The Future is Phygital”, presented at Sydney’s Verona Studios from March.
Warhol – The Richard Bernstein Estate
The Culture Vault platform (Culturevault.com) has been purpose-built to bridge the gap between the traditional art world and the crypto community. It consists of a curated platform and creative agency, offering a one-stop shop for both first-time NFT buyers and seasoned digital art collectors to acquire a curated selection of premium NFTs from some of the world’s leading artists. Culture Vault’s creative agency works with cultural brands and institutions to create, mint, sell and display their NFTs on chain – helping them to drive revenue, and foster community engagement and connection in new ways.
Works by (from left) Gary Heery, Shantell Martin, Fearless Prophet, Stephen Ormandy.
The curatorial direction of the platform is led by Arts-Matter, an arts and cultural programming platform which has relationships with many of Australia’s leading cultural figures. Culture Vault curates a selection of premium NFTs created by leading artists spanning the cultural gamut – from fine art to film, music, dance, graphic design, architecture, sculpture, food and fashion.
The excitement around NFTs is undeniable, and over the last year we’ve seen an increasing number of artists and brands wanting to jump on the blockchain bandwagon. To date, finding high-quality digital art while trying to navigate crypto technology can be frustrating and confusing. Enter Culture Vault – a platform purpose-built to bridge the gap between the traditional art world and the crypto community. We think Culture Vault has the unique ability to combine insider art-world knowledge and accessibility with a deep understanding of crypto technology and the D-gen community
Sean Tolkin, CEO and founder of Aus Merchant and co-founder of Culture Vault
The platform can give artists and collectors crypto advice, tackling the issue of how artists and brands should best manage their royalty payments. “Some of our artists want to keep their newly earnt royalties in crypto and others want liquidity, in which case we give them the opportunity to immediately cash out into fiat,” says Sean Tolkin, CEO/founder of Aus Merchant and co-founder of Culture Vault. Culture Vault’s holding company is Aus Merchant, a Sydney-based crypto currency exchange specialising in investment management, secure wallet infrastructure and a crypto payment gateway. “Aus Merchant’s expertise in compliance means that Culture Vault has a team dedicated to making sure their artist’s funds are secure, and purchases are legitimate and above board,” Tolkin adds.
Works by The Huxleys and Fallen Fruit.
Culture Vault’s inaugural physical exhibition, “The Future is Phygital”, will present a selection of NFTs created by 12 of its founding artists. The digital artworks will be displayed on framed digital screens, allowing cultural enthusiasts and NFT collectors to transcend the online format. Guests will be able to purchase NFTs through QR codes at the exhibition, while enjoying live performances and music by special guests.
Culture Vault is set apart from other NFT platforms in its dedicated professional support for artists and brands to assist with their entire crypto journey – from setting up their smart contracts and crypto-wallets, to advising them on pricing and edition numbers, paying their gas fees, minting their NFTs, instructing them on how to use Discord (the social media platform preferred by the crypto community), and providing them with an opportunity to cash out their royalties into the currency of their choice.
“When we built Culture Vault’s Web3 platform, we identified a few key priorities – ease-of-use, the environment, putting our artists first, and being welcoming to non-crypto-natives,” says Sam Linas, managing director and co-founder of Culture Vault. “Our site is designed so traditional art world collectors can easily navigate the space, but the crypto natives will appreciate our leading tech and functionality.”
“The Future Is Phygital” will be open to the public in March at Verona Studios, 17 Oxford St, Paddington, Sydney from 10am-5pm. Works will be available for sale ranging from A$250 (approx 0.05 ETH) to $250K (approx 50 ETH).
Art NFT collections are propelling the art world into the modern age using the power of blockchain technology. Cultural art collectors can now own digital artwork as NFTs (non-fungible tokens) to verify ownership and display them in virtual galleries.
Digital Art’s New Frontier
2022, the art industry is now entering a new digital age, allowing artists to create and sell their pixel based art and 3D animations from anywhere around the world. We have seen a dramatic rise in the number of art NFT projects fueling a new appetite to modern art. Not only are there new opportunities for artist to sell, but NFTs also offer the possibility for collectors to purchase art at online auctions and also resell in secondary NFT marketplaces.
Enter Cultural Art
Cultural art focuses on making art from cultural traditions to highlight traditional forms of style and artistic expression. To help you discover great new digital cultural art we’ve compiled a list of ten popular collections from around the globe.
Mark Winklemann, better known as Beeple, is a giant in the NFT space. One NFT collage propelled Beeple into the record-breaking spot of “third most-valuable living artist” with his piece selling for US$69 million.
The American-based artist has both an extensive and well-deserved net worth and social media following. His collection of work is immense, with individual pieces embracing sci-fi and steampunk themes. The works are composed of bright, fluorescent colours, and are truly intriguing to look through. Some of these individual works have been compiled to form the collage that boosted Beeple into the public eye.
Hashmasks is unique in the sense that the collection has been put together through the efforts of 70 different artists. Each of the NFTs in this collection are “the first travellers of Earth”, and comprise various masks, skin and eye colours, and props. The masks have taken strong inspiration from the 1980s works of Jean-Michel Basquiat.
According to the creators, the Hashmasks “forgot their names by the time they arrived to Earth”. This allows collectors the unique opportunity to name their own Hashmasks. To do so you will need to be in possession of name-changing tokens (NCT) – the native Hashmasks currency.
Though the real artist behind the XCOPY name remains anonymous, we do know that XCOPY is a London-based creator presenting a series of distorted visual loops. These somewhat disturbing, yet intriguing, GIFs established XCOPY as one of the pioneers of the cryptocurrency art scene.
If you are sensitive to flashy imagery, XCOPY may not be the artist for you, with quick-moving pixels and bright colours creating truly mesmerising art pieces. You may either not be able to look for too long or have trouble looking away. As for the imagery itself, the pieces are quite dystopian with most featuring macabre, distorted faces. This collection won’t appeal to everyone but there is evidently an immense amount of skill and thought behind each piece.
Blake Kathryn’s work has found a balance between the conceptual and the commercial. Exploring the music, fashion and tech industries, her pieces are extremely ethereal and dreamlike. Kathryn’s vibrant futurist aesthetic is easy to get lost in.
The Los Angeles-based artist’s multidimensional creations have led to several high-profile collaborations across various industries, some of which include Fendi, Smirnoff, Jimmy Choo, even Paris Hilton. Kathryn’s collection feels like scenes from an open-world RPG, which may be due to her main inspirations being science fiction, anime, cinematography and architecture. She is currently working to raise awareness for lesser-known creators.
Giant Swan is a Melbourne-based artist utilising virtual reality technology to explore 3D sculpting. His pieces truly are captivating; featuring glass-like consistencies, they often depict humanoid figures in various surreal backgrounds. Giant Swan creates these environments through extensive depth experimentation and repetitive layering.
Outside of Giant Swan’s NFT creations, he has been an art and experience director for several projects, recently having his works displayed in Melbourne, Miami and Shanghai exhibitions.
Micah Dowbak, aka Mad Dog Jones, operates out of Ontario, Canada, to create beautiful cyberpunk-style pieces of the mundane. Described as bringing a “fresh thematic to the metropolitan aesthetic”, Mad Dog utilises Japanese animation style to make the ordinary seem extraordinary.
His pieces begin as a rendered hand-drawn image or photograph, which is then illustrated over to achieve a gorgeously colourful aesthetic. Mad Dog’s fame extends beyond his NFT success, however. He has had several collaborations with high-profile names including Connor McGregor, Maroon 5, the Jabbawockeez, and Run the Jewels.
FEWOCiOUS takes the spot in this cultural art NFT collections list as the youngest artist. At only 17, high school student Victor Langlois found success and, a year later at just 18, FEWOCiOUS has become the third-best-selling NFT artist.
Langlois’ art is said to “create snapshots of [his] memories and a mirror into [his] heart”. Originally, Langlois used art in middle school as a tool to beat boredom, which soon turned into a means to process growing up. FEWOCiOUS’s pieces are caricatures consisting of bright colours and linework – carrying over his childhood interest in doodling and transforming it into sought-after artworks.
Refik Anadol – inspired by Blade Runner‘s landscapes.
Inspired by the landscapes of Blade Runner, Refik Anadol uses AI, architects, musicians, neuroscientists and data scientists to develop his works. Combining the physical and virtual worlds, Anadol presents kinetic artworks that appear to have the consistency of sand.
Recently, Anadol has collaborated with NASA, using millions of the space agency’s photographs and inputting them into AI technology to result in an AR sculpture and an NFT room. The immersive technology of this NFT room is making history, such a room allowing viewers to simultaneously interact with technology, space, and art.
The name Hackatao itself has a meaning as distinctive as the art pieces the so-named artist creates, with ‘Hack’ standing for discovering what is hidden under the skin, and ‘tao’ meaning yin and yang. Hackatao’s works encompass some of the main issues plaguing society, the environment, and crypto. They also explore art, psychology and history through the various symbols in the collection.
The bulk of Hackatao’s works consists of humanoid creatures called ‘podmorks’, decorated with doodles. Most of the podmorks are feminine creatures and come in GIF style, moving gently on loop.
Coldie – a collection built around Warren Buffett.
Coldie, an award-winning artist featured among an array of exhibitions, conferences and auctions, has a collection of stereoscopic 3D art built around the face of billionaire Warren Buffett. The imagery is subject to digital distortion and offers a comic-like vibe.
Coldie’s collections are blockchain-themed, aiming to offer a visualised representation of the “disruptive industry”. The main theme listed behind the Warren Buffett collection is the billionaire’s investment in gold without recognising the digital value of Bitcoin – which Coldie describes as “digital gold”.
Conclusion
NFTs are providing a plethora of opportunities to artists and buyers alike. Traditional artists can transform their work into NFTs, allowing them to grow their fanbase and increase their buyer pool. Collectors, on the other hand, can visit the works of artists on the other side of the globe and expand their collections into the digital world.
If you are new to the concept of NFT collecting, you can start smaller. NFTs cater to various budgets, and you don’t have to start at the top to become a collector. Alternatively, you can now own NFTs in video games and across various other intriguing projects. Regardless, NFTs are seeing extreme growth of late, moving away from the niche into the mainstream. This is a space that rewards creativity and provides an inherent feeling of community to those involved.
Cultural art collections are expanding in this digital community, connecting more artists than ever before. Anyone with internet access and an artistic mind can leverage the blockchain however they see fit. This list merely offers you an idea of what can be done with NFTs, allowing you to enter the space with the confidence you need to complete further research. This space is a completely new approach to the art industry, and understanding the founding pillars will help you to positively interact with art globally.
🤝 Join us in welcoming none other than… @warnermusic to The Sandbox! 🎶
Their LAND will be the first of its kind in the #Metaverse which will feature live concerts & music experiences from WMG’s huge roster of musical talent!
According to Sebastien Borget, chief operations officer and co-founder of The Sandbox, the partnership “brings the open metaverse one step forward in the direction of fan-owned and community-driven initiatives”.
We’re shaping The Sandbox as a fun entertainment destination where creators, fans and players can enjoy first-of-a-kind immersive experiences and be more closely connected to their favourite musical artists through non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
Sebastien Borget, chief operations officer and co-founder, The Sandbox
Warners the First Major Music Label in the Metaverse
The unprecedented initiative, which marks Warners’ first foray into the NFT metaverse, will see WMG digital land in The Sandbox host concerts and other live experiences featuring artists represented by the label. The Warners roster includes Ed Sheeran, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Coldplay, Madonna, Charli XCX, Kylie Minogue and Rita Ora.
The Sandbox will provide some of those artists with another outlet to engage with fans, experiment with virtual entertainment, and generate new revenue streams while reaching a global community.
Sandbox Now Rivals Decentraland
Digital land remains in high demand, and consistent high trading volume in The Sandbox has made it one of the most competitive rivals to Decentraland in the metaverse sphere. According to the company, The Sandbox will hold a LAND sale in March to allow music fans to buy LANDS adjacent to the WMG property.
During a single week in late November, investors purchased more than US$100 million worth of virtual land, the majority of it coming from The Sandbox.
Other Metaverse Musical Projects
In December, another new project called Animal Concerts announced the formation of a virtual touring company to host virtual live music events in the metaverse. Through that project, artists can earn up to 50 percent of revenues from both ticket and NFT sales.
Earlier this month, a new blockchain-based music platform built for creators and investors was announced, intending to address the biggest challenge facing artists in the music industry today: raising capital. Opulous, as it’s called, allows fans to bankroll their favourite artists by harnessing the power of DeFi. They can also benefit from music sales as part copyright owners, thanks to NFTs.
All of which helps goes some way to prove that the world of NFTs is not all about mindless frivolity and outrageous prices.
The Picasso family plans to auction off more than 1,000 digital copies of a never-before-seen ceramic work by the Spanish artist, with the collection divided into multiple drops from January 28.
Marina and Florian Picasso with Pablo’s prized ceramic work. Source: bloomberg.com
The first collection consists of five limited sets of 200 NFTs entitled “Visage de Couleur” and will be sold via the family’s own marketplace, “ManAndTheBeat.com”, before the final collection of 10, titled “Visage de Lumière”, is released via Nifty Gateway.
The collection released by the family will be further commemorated by Florian’s new song Tomorrow, which also features soul singer John Legend and rapper Nas, set for release on February 4. Marina will extend the NFT drop into March by partnering with an auction house for the sale of a one-of-one NFT paired with an exclusive piece from her private collection.
A portion of the proceeds from Picasso’s family NFT project will be donated to Nurse Heroes – a charity devoted to keeping nurses in the workforce – as well as Carbon180, a climate-focused NFO.
NFTs and Fine Arts Mesh
Blockchain and art enthusiasts are continually able to enjoy the two worlds come together. Last year, Australian multimedia artist Dave Court became the first in his field to stage a physical NFT exhibition. Court decked out an ordinary brick house in colours and light as part of a unique art installation. The house has since been demolished, but collectors can still purchase a digital piece of it online.
One Maccas quarter-pounder and cheese? That’ll be US$1.1 million. Cash or credit? Please make payment to the attention of TarantinoNFTs.com.
Just when you thought the non-fungible token world couldn’t get any crazier, director and screenwriter Quentin Tarantino’s first Pulp Fiction NFT has sold for that exact eye-watering figure, despite the best efforts of Miramax – the film studio that produced the 1994 cult classic – to block the sale.
You Want (French) Fries With That?
In November last year, as reported by Crypto News Australia, Tarantino announced he would auction off seven Pulp Fiction scenes as NFTs. On January 24, SCRT (Secret) Labs announced that the first of these, named for a scene in the film where a character explains how in Paris a McDonald’s cheeseburger is known as a “Royale with Cheese”, had sold for US$1.1 million to crypto collective AnonDAO.
And the winner of the ORIGINAL 'ROYALE WITH CHEESE' SCREENPLAY NFT is @AnonsNFT, who bid $1.1M! 🥳🥳
We received a lot of great bids on the first NFT in the collection, but Anons took the prize.
However, Miramax immediately filed a lawsuit claiming intellectual property rights over the content. “Whatever limited rights Mr Tarantino has to screenplay publication, they do not permit the minting of unique NFTs associated with Miramax’s intellectual property,” lawyers for the studio said in a statement.
All seven scenes in the Pulp Fiction series offer Tarantino’s original handwritten screenplay from the film as one-of-a-kind NFTs. In collaboration with SCRT Labs, the scripts come with audio commentary from Tarantino explaining each scene’s significance.
Next Cab off the Rank: ‘Pumpkin and Honey Bunny’
Upcoming auctions of the remaining six NFTs will last for 24 hours or until the target price is reached. Scenes include: “Pumpkin and Honey Bunny”, “Foot Massage”, “Check Out the Big Brain on Brett”, “Captain Koons Monologue – The Gold Watch”, “Bring Out the Gimp”, and “Last Scene: Coffee Shop – Ezekiel 25:17”. Auctions run until January 31 through the Tarantino NFTs site.
The worlds of fashion, design and crypto intersect in a new collaboration between Adidas Originals and Prada that will feature user-generated content and creator-owned art.
Adidas Originals and Prada have invited their respective audiences to contribute anonymised photographs to the non-fungible token (NFT) project on the Ethereum-compatible Polygon network.
Digital Artist to Create Mass-Patchwork NFT Design
New York City-based digital and new media artist Zach Lieberman will compile 3000 joint community-sourced minted NFT artworks into a single mass-patchwork NFT design. Contributors will retain full ownership rights over their individual NFT tiles, and participation in the project – dubbed adidas for Prada re-source – is free.
An example of Zach Lieberman’s interactive art. Source: the verge.com
Contributors whose tiles are featured in the final project will have the chance to earn a form of royalty on the secondary market, according to the joint Adidas-Prada release:
Owners of each individual NFT will receive a percentage of the auction sale of adidas for Prada re-source each time it is sold, in perpetuity. This new structure of shared ownership, made possible by Web3 technology, represents a cultural shift towards creator rights which is core to the crypto arts movement.
Adidas-Prada release
Proceeds to Go to NPO Slow Factory
The completed NFT will be auctioned on SuperRare with most of the auction proceeds to go to non-profit organisation Slow Factory, which purports to assist marginalised people “to become climate leaders through regenerative design, open education, and narrative change”.
The collaboration with Prada follows the success of Adidas Originals’ Into the Metaverse, its debut NFT project launched last month, which minted 30,000 NFTs to more than 21,000 buyers.
