Let's Take A Quick Tour 🗺

Buckle up, art lovers! It’s the final week of October, and we’re taking you on a joyride through the on-chain art scene in NYC (and beyond).

Your tour guide today is Eminent. Look down south, and you’ll find a map of our hottest destinations, plus a little extra as usual. Let’s go!

• ARTNOIR Presents “Chopped and Screwed”

• Pumpkin Paint n’ Sip with SUBJECTIVE

• “The Golden Age” of On-Chain Art

• Exclusive Interview with Blac AI

• Art Spotlight 🔭

ARTNOIR Presents “Chopped and Screwed”

Our friends at ARTNOIR partnered with White Cube in NYC for the inaugural exhibition at the newly-opened gallery. “Chopped and Screwed” explored how artists use sourcing and distortion in contemporary practice to express a staunch resistance to established systems of power and value.

Similarly to the DJ’ing technique referenced in the show’s title, the works on display showed a deft ability to re-imagine and bypass extant hegemonic conditions. As a result, viewers were offered new perspectives on familiar ideas and notions, which definitely was a breath of fresh air—just like the new gallery housed in a building that dates back to 1930.

The show was curated by Courtney Willis Blair, the US Senior Director at White Cube, and the exhibition runs from October 3–28, 2023.

Pumpkin Paint n’ Sip with SUBJECTIVE

Come Wednesday, October 25th, we’ll be painting n’ sipping with the NYC art community. Painting sessions are a great way to get your creative juices flowing, whether you’re a hobbyist, a pro painter, or just looking to try something new.

This event is hosted by the folks at SUBJECTIVE, and we’ll tell you right now—they don’t miss! We’re going to be painting pumpkins, so it also counts towards practice points for Halloween 🎃

You’ll be provided with art supplies and your pick of beer or wine. Get ready to share inspiration and make fun new connections in the city. Reserve tickets here.

“The Golden Age” of On-Chain Art

2021 was a watershed moment in history, with the NFT boom fueling a cultural revolution that catapulted on-chain art into the spotlight. Two years later, it’s high time we celebrated and reflected on the future of this space, even as it continues to evolve rapidly.

And what better way to do this than in an environment curated to highlight conversations and shared experiences with some of the bright minds pushing the tape in this digital arena?

In collaboration with Mint Gold Dust (an NFT platform designed to best serve the needs of artists, curators, and collectors), this exhibition was hosted by SuperChief NFT Gallery in NYC on October 19, 2023.

“The Golden Age” featured artist talks during gallery hours (11 AM–5 PM), followed by a cocktail party (6 PM–11 PM).

On display were works by Acid Boy, Gisel Florez, Patrick Amadon, Panther Xhita, Excalibur, Pierre Gervois, Nathaniel Stern, and a host of other creative titans making waves in Web3. You just had to be there!

Exclusive Interview with Blac AI

This week, we caught up with a super talented artist who bends the powers of artificial intelligence to their creative will.

Blac AI hopped on a recent livestream of ours (they’re super fun, by the way), and the vibes were so immaculate that doing this interview was a no-brainer!

Eminent: Hi, thanks for joining us! Can you tell us a little about what inspires your unique flavor of creativity?

My inspiration comes from experiences in my life where I've pushed the boundaries of my consciousness and my overall understanding of the nature of this weird human experience we're all going through.

I typically start with explorations, then go into refinement. Process is a heavy component of my work, and I tend to be an over-thinker when it comes to the work I put out, putting in encrypted messaging, not-so-obvious symbolism, and references to Jungian theory, astral projection, Vedic practices, occult iconography, and more.

Eminent: What initially attracted you to the idea of putting your art on the blockchain?

I began this journey in Web3 when I came across AI image generation tools in late 2021. Then I developed a proprietary AI program and began creating art with AI for 5–6 months, even before getting onto Twitter.

When I came into the community of AI artists here, I realized not only the talent of the community but also the ability to immortalize contemporary art using the blockchain. I saw what NFTs had been and what they were known for, and I knew and believed that fine art would be the future—and here we are.

Eminent: What are your thoughts on the place of AI vis-à-vis creative expression?

After having countless conversations around AI and art in the last year or more, I have tried to come up with a concise definition for art in an attempt to establish a baseline understanding.

To me, I define it as "Art = Intentional Expression." Therefore, all things expressed with the intention of being art are therefore art. Regardless of medium, tools, beliefs, purpose, quality, religion, gender, etc., all things proclaimed as art are art.

Whether or not others like it, want to buy it, hate it, or don't get it is another question, but art is art. For me, AI allows the rapid ideation of conceptual explorations at scale, and for those here that utilize these tools at a high level of execution, they will tell you time and time again that the tools are merely starting points with a lot of development and post-processing that goes into final works. That's not the case for everyone, but it also doesn't matter in terms of definition; it's art if it's said to be art.

Eminent: How do you feel about the controversy surrounding the widespread perception of on-chain art as "NFTs" and that of AI art as "inauthentic"?

If art created in collaboration with AI is inauthentic, then we should burn all NFTs made with cameras—anything that used Photoshop, digital music, modern film—any art that was produced with tools other than pigment and a bamboo shoot on cave walls, perhaps.

If AI is inauthentic, then all 10,000 generative monkey PFP's are, too. If AI is inauthentic, so is your GM post using Twitter. AI is a valid tool for creating art, albeit disruptive, but disruptive art is progressive art. Progressive art movements have disrupted current trends for hundreds of years and will continue to do so; it's the nature of art itself.

Now, this doesn't mean it's inherently valuable. What makes art valuable is the expression and execution of the work, as well as the experience of the work. The value of all art is based purely on perception of value, and AI is no different.

For those that may disagree, I invite them to learn about how it works more intimately and, even more importantly, go try it for themselves. Go use the tools dismissed as valid creation vehicles, and try to create the things that incredible artists in the Web3 space are creating. I would guarantee they won't be able to do it by pressing a single button. Let's see how authentic they can be.

Eminent: 50 years from now, when people observe your art on the blockchain, what's one thought or feeling you would love to evoke?

Invoking any thought at all is always the goal of my work. Breaking patterns and expectations is the idealized experience of my art. If I had hope as to a specific feeling to invoke, I would hope it's a feeling of understanding a bit more of the nature of our reality and where they themselves understand their own position within this experience we call life. At the very least, I hope they think it's weird enough to stop scrolling and stare at it for more than 3 seconds.

Art Spotlight 🔭

This week’s spotlight is reserved for the outstanding artistic chemistry that is abundant but often undervalued in the crypto art space. Ladies and gentlemen, ✨ COLLABS ✨

Wanna get your art featured?

We love to showcase incredible creations by artists on our radar every single week. We’re always excited to talk about art and all things Web3. Submit your art to be featured here.

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