Immersion

https://foundation.app/studioknife/crypto-artist-s-routine-6111

This piece called “Crypto Artist’s Routine”  is by Studioknife and owned by Mondo. The piece was sold for 3.608 ETH. Instantly, I felt that this was a genius piece of art. It pokes fun at the stereotypical trope of the hyper-obsessed gamer child-man working in the basement of their parents house getting sunlight  once every two days. The ominous green and the intricacy of all the flashing technology  captured my attention at first glance. What really pulled it all together was the title which just made me literally laugh out loud. The more I looked around I was able to see the smaller details that the artist considered. Around the overwhelming scene of wires and monitors, there are small remnants of the crypto-artist daily routine including copious amounts of red bull, soda, cigarettes, and pizza. Initially, I found this piece to be humorous and then I began feeling pity for this generated figure. The man is easily triggered by the decline of the ETH price. This points to my personal feelings toward the destruction and dissatisfaction of the love of money. For me, I don’t think the practice of selling cryptoart is necessarily a black and white situation. However, it can easily be distorted by one’s perspective and devotion to the practice. A haunting symbol of this piece is the headgear, covering the person’s eye,  with a multitude of wires connecting to an unknown source. Without interpreting too much, I just assumed that it could represent a sort of obsession or puppeteering from an overarching theme. 

https://foundation.app/katherine/sparklepuregreen-nrg-leaves-7175

I despise this piece because it makes a profit out of someone just eating fruit. It is so strange to capitalize on something I do not consider art. It just seems too easy to get thousands of dollars out of a fruit-eating video. Interestingly enough, I looked into her website and found out she is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University.  To be fair, many youtubers also make a huge profit from making “mukbang’s” which are basically videos of them eating. This comes in many forms such as ASMR, food challenges, or tempting and deliciously arrayed banquets. I am guilty of participating in the mukbang culture, especially when I am dieting and need some motivation. These youtubers and streamers make thousands to millions of dollars by just eating, a popular pastime of people worldwide. However, there are many critics of the mukbang world, often calling it “glorified binge-eating” nudging into the consciousness of a community of those suffering or recovering from eating disorders. As I get back to the main point of this artist’s video, I would also like to point to OnlyFans or other fancam based networks. At the root of these websites and applications is the feticization of human figures or actions. I find this pretty atrocious and do not support it morally. This is the reason why I was repulsed by the simple video of this artist eating. It may seem like an extreme opinion but to me, I see some underlying hints that I just cannot stomach. 

https://superrare.co/artwork-v2/fiat-vs-bitcoin:-nbatopshotthis.-20819

This is an artwork by Jon Noorlander showing a figure representing bitcoin as this basketball player stomping multiple other players representing fiat. Fiat money refers to physical money- both paper and coinage. The contrast using the red and the lighter gold and green in this piece is phenomenal. Just like the first piece I found, I think this is a light and playful piece. Obviously, it is talking about a more complex issue about the rising influence of bitcoin over fiat currency. One thing I noticed that I would have changed, personally, are the paper money figures that leave a visible shape after being crashed into. I think it doesn’t give the satisfaction of defeat when there is some residue of a figure left rather than the idea of disintegration. 

https://www.hicetnunc.xyz/objkt/5946

This is an interactive artwork made by tz1Q4…3rX8G who I found a lot of interest in. This particular piece is relevant to our class because of the project we did with generative and interactive coding. I enjoy it because it doesn’t just exist as a still image that the buyer owns but it provides some interaction with anyone who views it. When you aren’t motoring the project, it orbits on its own. I think this type of design would attract certain types of people. 

These pieces almost read to me as artistic research. Two of these pieces are more entertaining and the other two appeal to niche audiences.