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2022年后, NFT还将在中国生存下去吗?Will NFTs survive in China past 2022?


What are NFTs and what is the hype surrounding it?

什么是 NFT,围绕它炒作又是什么?


NFTs, better known as non-fungible tokens allow for the ownership certification of digital assets using blockchain technology. For artists, it is a new revolution in creating a framework for protecting and selling their digital works throughout the blockchain ecosystem. 


NFT,又称非同质化代币,它使用区块链技术对数字资产进行所有权认证。对于艺术家来说,这是在整个区块链生态系统中,创建了一种框架保护和销售他们的数字作品,相当于一场新革命。


Recently NFTs have taken the world by storm with works of collectible digital art that are selling on auctions for millions with celebrities, influencers, and even large corporations dipping their feet into the market. With such big-name endorsements such as Gary Vee, Shawn Mendes, John Cena, and Paris Hilton happening, the price of NFTs has been, for the most part, fluctuating upwards providing a random yet favorable opportunity as a form of “investment”. 


最近,NFT 凭借可收藏的数字艺术作品风靡全球,各界名人志士甚至大公司都开始涉猎NFT市场,这些作品在拍卖会上被售出数百万美元。随着加里·维(Gary Vee)、肖恩·门德斯(Shawn Mendes)、约翰·塞纳(John Cena)和帕丽斯·希尔顿(Paris Hilton)等明星代言的出现,NFT 的价格在很大程度上一直在向上攀升,提供了一个随机但有利的“投资”机会。


At the same time, due to the volatile nature of certain blockchain cryptocurrencies tied to NFTs, winners win big and losers fall into a speculative cycle that only yields a zero-sum game.


但与此同时,与NFT 相关的区块链加密货币生来具有波动性,赢家赢了大钱,败者则陷入“投机”的周期,一无所获。



Cryptopunks NFT



While the world is speculating on the feasibility of NFTs as a form of investment, the Chinese government has firmly restricted the use of cryptocurrencies and banned monetary gains made from trading NFTs. The underlying factor behind this decision is not only the volatility of the crypto market itself but also the impact it may have on the local Chinese markets. Yet, NFTs remains widely popular in China and are being termed as Digital Collectibles rather than NFTs. With these underlying conditions in mind, it begs the question of the future of NFTs in China. 


当世界还在猜测NFT 作为一种投资形式的是否可行时,中国政府已经坚决限制加密货币的使用,并禁止通过交易 NFT 获得收益。这一决定背后的潜在因素不仅是加密市场本身的波动性,还包括它可能对中国当地市场产生的影响。然而,NFT 在中国仍然广受欢迎,它被称为数字收藏品而不是 NFT。考虑到这些潜在的现象,引发了关于讨论中国 NFT 未来的问题。


Chinese companies taking a chance

中国企业抓住机会

Bilibili’s NFT pigeon collection

B站的鸽德数字艺术头像


When searching about NFTs one often comes across the major gains artists and people have been making seen through the eye of the media machine which largely focuses on the big winners such as Beeple, CryptoPunk, and Bored Ape Yacht Club. Chinese tech giant Alibaba among other major Chinese companies such as Tencent, JD.com, and Bilibili has also taken an interest in these digital collectibles. During the 2021 Double 11 (Single’s Day) shopping festival, Alibaba showcased over 16,000 NFTs that were snatched up in a few minutes. 


在搜索 NFT 的消息时,人们经常会看到艺术家和人们从中获得巨大收益,这是媒体机构展示给我们看到的,这些媒体主要关注大赢家,如 Beeple、CryptoPunk 和 Bored Ape Yacht Club。中国科技巨头阿里巴巴以及腾讯、京东和哔哩哔哩等其他主要中国公司也对这些数字收藏品感兴趣。2021年双11购物节期间,阿里巴巴展示了16000多个NFT,几分钟内就被抢购一空。


The way this was possible was the differentiation in naming and the exclusion of cryptocurrencies as a way to avoid regulatory scrutiny. Companies emphasized that these were digital collectibles and these works are bought using the Chinese yuan. At the same time, these works of art cannot be resold on a secondary market like NFTs at the moment due to concerns for speculative pricing. In fact, Chinese companies have asked their users to report such activity.


这些成交的背后可能是因为NFT以其命名的差异化和加密货币的独特性质,可以避开监管审查。企业强调这些是数字收藏品,而这些作品是用人民币购买的。同时,由于对投机定价的担忧,这些艺术品目前无法在 NFT 等二级市场上转售。事实上,中国的公司已要求其用户报告此类活动。


Despite the government’s watchful eye, there may be hope for NFTs in China

尽管政府密切关注其动向,但 NFT 在中国仍存有希望


Chinese state-owned media Xinhua news has also released digital collectibles in the past year indicating a more open stance on NFTs than expected from the Chinese government. Furthermore, China’s Blockchain-based Service Network (BSN), a state-backed blockchain hosting network project established by the State Information Center, will be officially launching NFTs in China. BSN will provide the blockchain infrastructure for Chinese companies to develop and manage native NFTs using the BSN Distributed Digital Certificate (BSN-DDC).


中国国家媒体新华社在过去一年也发布了数字收藏品,表明中国政府对 NFT 的态度比预期的更为开放。此外,由国家信息中心建立的国家支持的区块链托管网络项目,中国基于区块链的服务网络(BSN)将在中国正式启动NFT。BSN 将为中国公司提供区块链基础设施,以使用 BSN 分布式数字证书 (BSN-DDC) 开发和管理原生 NFT。


While NFTs are generally traded with cryptocurrency and under a public blockchain, China’s NFTs will be much different. As mentioned, China has banned the use of cryptocurrencies and will require users of the technology to verify their identity as required by the law. The NFTs will be hosted on a regulated centralized blockchain allowing for regulators to track any illegal activities such as reselling or money laundering. The move will also drive Chinese users to adopt the central bank digital currency, the digital yuan, which will be the only accepted form of payment for these certificates in the future. 


虽然 NFT 通常是在公共区块链下用加密货币进行交易,但中国的 NFT 将大不相同。如前所述,中国已禁止使用加密货币,并要求使用该技术的用户按照法律要求验证其身份。NFT 将被托管在受监管的集中式区块链上,允许监管机构追踪任何非法活动,例如转售或洗钱。此举还将推动中国用户采用央行数字货币,数字人民币,这将是未来这些证书唯一可接受的支付方式。


Building a native NFT industry

打造原生 NFT 产业



China’s stance on NFTs indicates the investment in new technologies that redefine lifestyles and consumption. BSN’s blockchain network will not only be used as a way to certify Chinese minted NFTs but will also have applications in social, legal, and other settings where transactions and data become more transparent and trustworthy. While cryptocurrencies which also had enormous popularity in China was taken out of the picture, it is without a doubt that China’s plans for NFTs remain positive and forward-looking.


中国对 NFT 的立场表明了其将会在重新定义生活方式和消费的新技术方面进行投资。BSN 的区块链网络不仅将被用作认证中国铸造的 NFT 的一种方式,还将运用在社交、法律以及其他场景,力求将数据变得更加透明和值得信赖。虽然在中国非常受欢迎的加密货币被排除在外,但毫无疑问,中国的 NFT 计划仍然是积极和具有前瞻性的。


Despite the cautious approach to NFTs and news of a native NFT infrastructure, the future of NFTs in China will rely greatly on the buyers and companies who cannot cash in on these certified digital artworks due to legal restrictions. Whether or not China plans to open up this area to grow the industry, only time will tell.


尽管对 NFT 持谨慎态度,并且传出关于建设原生 NFT的消息,但 NFT 在中国的未来将在很大程度上依赖于由法律限制而无法从这些经过认证的数字艺术品上进行兑现的买家和公司。中国是否计划开放这一领域以发展该行业,时间会给出答案。




Translation 翻译 Rona Xia



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本篇文章来源于微信公众号: SHMADNESS

Liu Di 柳迪|In the Illusion of Familiar Places 在那似曾相识的地方

LEM NO.1


About the Artist

关于艺术家


Liu Di is a Chinese digital artist and photographer born in 1985 in Shanxi. He moved to Beijing to attend the Beijing’s Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA) and graduated with honors from his Master’s Degree in Photography in 2009. In 2010 he joined the “reGeneration2” international young photographers’ group exhibition which was exhibited in New York, Miami, Beijing, and other cities. Here he won the Lacoste Elysee prize among 80 other young photographers worldwide.


柳迪,1985年生于山西,是中国的一位数字艺术家、摄影师。2009年他移居北京,就读中央美术学院,获摄影硕士学位。2010年他参加了纽约的“reGeneration2”国际青年摄影师群展,该展在迈阿密、北京等城市展出。这次展览中他在全球80余位年轻摄影师中脱引而出,赢得了Lacoste Elysee 奖。


Digital Virtual Portrait


Using digital manipulation on photography and 3D animation, Liu Di’s works mix that which is real with the imaginary bringing about rich mental storytelling through stark contrasts of the familiar in unreal possibilities. Through contrast, the artist explores a complex culmination of our understanding of the world and challenges it with multi-layered imagery full of multiple interpretations and deeply philosophical, spiritual, and reflective thinking– The unsettling disruption of our reality reimagined through the artist’s mind.


柳迪的作品通过对摄影和3D动画的数字处理,将真实与想象相结合,通过熟悉与虚幻的鲜明对比,带来丰富的心理叙事。通过对比,艺术家探索了我们对这个世界所能理解的复杂极限,并用多重解释和深刻哲学、精神和反思来挑战创造一种多层次的图案,通过艺术家的头脑重新想象我们现实中令人不安的破坏。


LEM NO.5


LEM NO.3


LEM NO.2



“Even though we cannot define these worlds that we are looking at, it does not mean that in theory, they can’t exist. There is a possibility that they could, even if only in our minds.” 


“尽管我们无法定义我们正在观察的这些世界,但这并不意味着理论上它们不能存在。他们有可能做到,即使只是在我们的脑海中。”

– Liu Di 柳迪



LEM Part 2


Although Liu Di would go on to develop significant interest in art, he originally wanted to become a doctor. During his childhood, he would spend many days at the hospital where his mother worked by perusing medical publications that featured detailed descriptions and images of human anatomy, and hospital equipment. He would later incorporate these elements into his LEM series in 2019. Looking through these medical illustrations he would slowly begin to shift his focus and seek out knowledge to define his own visual language as an artist.


柳迪原本的理想是成为一名医生,后来对艺术产生了浓厚的兴趣,在他的童年时期,他会在母亲工作的医院度过许多时间,阅读医学刊物,其中包括那些人体解剖学和医院设备的详细描述和图像。后来在 2019 年,他将这些元素融入到他的 LEM 系列中。通过这些医学插图,他开始慢慢将注意力转移,并寻找知识来定义自己作为艺术家的视觉语言。


As Liu Di grew up, he immersed himself in the study of nature and the world beyond the Earth. He would enrich his curiosity of such concepts by reading books by sci-fi authors such as Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, Stanisław Lem, Liu Cixin, Han Song, Wang Jinkang, and Douglas Adams. He would further investigate iconic movies such Stanley Kubrik’s 2001: A Space Odyssey and Andrei Tarkovsky’s Solaris which left long-lasting impressions on his artistic direction. Using this, he would create his own visual stories that would quench his exploration of philosophy, spirituality, and the future to establish his own enigmatic universe.


随着年龄的增长,他沉浸在对自然和地球以外世界的研究中。他会通过阅读艾萨克·阿西莫夫、亚瑟·C·克拉克、斯坦尼斯瓦夫·莱姆、刘慈欣、韩松、王金康和道格拉斯·亚当斯等科幻作家的书籍来满足自己对这些概念的好奇心。他仔细研究了斯坦利·库布里克 (Stanley Kubrik) 的《2001:太空漫游》和安德烈·塔可夫斯基 (Andrei Tarkovsky) 的《太阳系》等经典电影,这些电影给他的艺术方向留下了持久的印象。利用这一点,他创造了自己的视觉叙事,建立了他对哲学、灵性和未来的探索,为自己创造的神秘宇宙奠定了基调。


The Weight of Oneself No.4

《自我的重量4号


The Weight of Oneself No. 5

《自我的重量5号


In April 2017, Liu Di debuted his first solo exhibition Break With Convention, which featured two parts of a trilogy of 3D animated videos titled, “The Weight of Oneself” (2017), and “A Stubbornly Persistent Illusion” (2017). The trilogy is a work in progress that the artist states as “three sentences with the same grammatical structure.” Following a similar artistic language, each of the three visual artworks features a different concept. In particular, The Weight of Oneself takes inspiration from the quote by Witold Gombrowicz, a polish writer, and playwright known for his philosophical analysis and imaginative work. The title of the first work comes from a quote by the polish writer who states: “The weight of each of our selves, depends on the size of the population on the planet. If humanity’s weight is constant, then each individual’s weight is equal to one divided by the number of people living at that time.”


2017 年 4 月,柳迪举办首次个展“打破常规”,展出了3D 动画视频三部曲《自我的重量》(2017 年)《顽固而持久的幻觉 》(2017 年)的两部分。三部曲是一部正在进行中的作品,艺术家将其描述为“具有相同语法结构的三个句子”。遵循相似的艺术语言,这三件视觉艺术作品中的每一种都具有不同的概念。尤其是《自我的重量》从 Witold Gombrowicz 的名言中汲取灵感,Witold Gombrowicz 是一位波兰的作家和剧作家,他以对哲学的分析和富有想象力的作品而著称。第一部作品的标题来自波兰作家的一句话:“我们每个人的重量,取决于地球上的人口规模。如果人类的体重是恒定的,那么每个人的体重就等于1除以当时的人口数。”


The exhibition also included a series of his photography exploring the clashing relationship between society and nature. Coming from the countryside and moving into the sprawling city that is Beijing, Liu Di was amazed and fascinated by the rapid environmental development with the urbanization process becoming a focal point to his artwork. Blending elements of landscape and nature photography with otherworldly figures, his artworks break the convention of what is real, redefining the way we look at the world. This would lead the artist to create the Animal Regulation series, a commentary on hyper-urbanization and its expense of it on our society and environment.


展览还包括他的一系列摄影作品,探索了社会与自然之间的冲突关系。从农村来到北京这个广阔的城市,柳迪着迷和惊讶于环境的快速发展以及城市化进程,这些成为他作品中的焦点。将风景和自然摄影的元素与超凡脱俗的人物相融合,他的作品打破了真实的传统,重新定义了我们看待世界的方式。正是这些促使艺术家创作《动物法则》系列,对超城市化和对我们的社会和环境的损害进行了评价。



“With a new awareness of our incomplete understanding of objective reality, we begin to doubt the narrow and limited subjective world. Only at this moment, can we get closer to what is real, and perceive the more lasting and valuable things beyond the trivialities of daily life.”


“随着我们对客观现实的不完全理解有了新的认识,我们开始怀疑狭隘和有限的主观世界。只有在这一刻,我们才能更接近真实,感知超越日常生活琐碎的更持久和更有价值的东西。”


– Liu Di 柳迪



ANIMAL REGULATION – NO.4

《动物法则4号》


ANIMAL REGULATION – NO.2

《动物法则2号》



ANIMAL REGULATION – NO.5

《动物法则5号》


ANIMAL REGULATION – NO.6

《动物法则6号》


ANIMAL REGULATION – NO.7

《动物法则7号》


ANIMAL REGULATION – NO.8

《动物法则8号》


Imaginary beings engulf the empty space surrounding decrepit structures and landscapes instilling a sense of the bizarre. This metaphorical visualization of China from the artist’s perspective is the result of the Animal Regulation series that explores a rather sensitive issue of China’s rapid urbanization. The artist balances social commentary with a disruptive touch. The grand beings that become the subject in the artwork represent the force of nature which persists in the most extreme of conditions. The artist states: “The appearance of huge animals points to the unreliability of common sense, showing the flaws in how we perceive the world.” 


虚幻的生物吞没了周围破旧的结构和景观的空旷空间,形成了一种奇异的感觉。“动物法则”系列从艺术家的角度对中国城市化的迅猛之势进行了一种隐喻的可视化,探索了这一相对敏感的问题。艺术家在社会评论与破坏性接触之间取得了一种平衡。作品中巨大的人物代表了在最极端条件下持续存在的自然力量。艺术家说:巨大动物的出现显示出了常识的不可靠性,展现了我们感知的缺陷


This type of unforgettable and powerful imagery is a trademark of Liu Di’s creative portfolio. Carrying thoughtful philosophical context and a vision of a dystopian future, the artist immerses the viewers of his works into a state of hypnosis. Coupled with cinematic imagery, the artist shines a light on intricate themes such as human and animal rights, urbanization, ecology, and the hegemony of technology. The culmination of his works is a conscious and careful look into human existence and the future it calls for.


这种令人难忘而充满力量的图像是柳迪的标志性创作。这位艺术家带着深思熟虑的哲学语境和对反乌托邦未来的展望,让观看他作品的观众沉浸在一种催眠的状态中。结合电影图像,艺术家点亮了人类和动物权利、城市化、生态和技术霸权等错综复杂的主题。他作品的结果是对人类存在及其所要求的未来仔细而有意识的观察。


Animal Regulation II No.10

《动物法则第二部10号》


Animal Regulation III No.16

《动物法则第三部16号》


Animal Regulation IV No.18

《动物法则第四部18号》


In A Stubbornly Persistent Illusion, the artist reinterprets Albert Einstein’s quote: “The distinction between past, present, and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion.” The second part of his video trilogy begins with a still-life, repeating a path of coordinated motion leaving the viewer to reinterpret the narrative in a way that reflects the multiple realities that are possible in our reality. There is no discernible start to the video which lasts about ten minutes. While each viewing defines one part of many complete stories, he emphasizes that the third and final visual work will mark the end as the complete oeuvre of the artist’s visual animation series.


《顽固而持久的幻觉》 中,艺术家重新诠释了阿尔伯特·爱因斯坦的名言:“过去、现在和未来之间的区别只是一种顽固的幻觉。”他的视频三部曲的第二部分以静物开始,重复一种协调运动的路径,让观众以反映现实中可能存在的多重现实的方式重新诠释叙事。持续约十分钟的视频没有明显的开始。虽然每次观看都意味着许多完整故事的一部分,但他强调第三个也是最后一个视觉作品将标志着艺术家视觉动画系列的完整作品的结束。


A Stubbornly Persistent Illusion No.1

顽固而持久的幻觉 No.1


For his last and final work, the artist is considering exploring themes surrounding the moon. He remarked: “The final episode will be about the Moon. Asimov wrote an article before the landing of the Moon, joining a scientific debate and predicting that the Moon would have hundreds of meters of dust on its surface, therefore space crafts would sink in the dust if they landed. Needless to say, this scientific prediction was false, because we eventually found out that the Moon has no atmosphere and dust particles do not have air pockets in between them, therefore our spaceships landed on solid ground. This revelation prompted me to conclude the series with a film about the surface of the Moon and Moondust.”


对于他的最后一件作品,艺术家正在考虑探索围绕月球的主题。他评论道:最后一集将是关于月球的。阿西莫夫在登月前写了一篇文章,加入了一场科学辩论,并预测月球表面会有数百米的尘埃,因此航天器一旦着陆就会沉入尘埃中。毋庸置疑,这个科学预测是错误的,因为我们最终发现月球没有大气层,尘埃粒子之间也没有气泡,因此我们的飞船降落在坚实的地面上。这一启示促使我用一部关于月球表面和月尘的电影来结束这个系列。”


With work underway on his final animation triptych, he continues to manifest futuristic fantasies with recognizable elements– dreams of an alternate or impending reality. While we may question whether these are actual possibilities or not, the artist does not ponder. He believes that such thoughts are subjective ideas and feels that it is his mission to show that which has not yet been imagined yet can be perceived as a possibility that lives in our minds.


柳迪最后一部动画三部曲的工作正在进行,他继续用可识别的元素来表现未来派的幻想——交替出现或即将发生的现实的梦。虽然我们可能会质疑这些是否会成为可能的现实,但艺术家并不会思考这些。他认为这样的想法是主观的,他认为他的任务是展示尚未被想象但可以被视为存在于我们脑海中的可能性。


For more info on the artist, please click here

有关艺术家的更多信息,请单击此处




Translation 翻译 Rona Xia



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本篇文章来源于微信公众号: SHMADNESS

Jivinci|Crypto Art Commentary 对加密艺术的评论

Sacrifice of IxChel. Jivinci


About the Artist

关于艺术家


Jivinci is a self-taught digital media artist based in Amsterdam. He worked in the Dutch music industry, helping to manifest the official identities for fresh musicians as an art director. Dissatisfied with the commercial nature of his work and the industry itself, he decided to shift his focus to his personal art and education. After acquiring newfound freedom through the creation of his personal work, in August 2019 he would begin experimenting with NFTs. Taking inspiration from tech, politics, and retro imagery he illustrates dramatic artwork that bounces between colorful and monochromatic, as well as classic and contemporary styles. 


Jivinci 是来自荷兰阿姆斯特丹的一位自学成才的数字媒体艺术家。他在荷兰的时候曾经在音乐行业工作,以艺术总监的身份帮助新生代音乐家获得认可。但后来他逐渐不满足于这份工作的商业性质和行业本身,他决定将重点转移到个人艺术和教育上,通过创作获得了新的自由,他在2019 年 8 月开始涉猎 NFT艺术。从科技、政治和复古意象中汲取灵感,描绘了在彩色和单色以及经典和现代风格之间跳跃的戏剧性艺术品。


Activism, Society, Technology

激进主义、社会、技术

No Peace Without Justice. Jivinci


While Jivinci’s artworks cover a seemingly broad list of themes, they are closely bound by society and the interest in blockchain technology. In No Peace Without Justice, Jivinci takes images from the works of Italian artist, Caravaggio and reimagines them within the context of police aggression against George Floyd, an incident that sparked outrage within the African American community and the world. Death, chaos, and brutality are all showcased with references to the aftermath that sparked a long-standing debate about the fight for racial equality. The artist alongside many others created NFT artworks surrounding these issues as a way to raise awareness and drive positive social change with regard to race and equality. Like many of the works created for this occasion, part of the proceeds was given to the #blacklivesmatter movement. 


Jivinci 的作品虽然涵盖了看似广泛的主题列表,但它们与社会和区块链技术的兴趣密切相关。在《没有正义就没有和平》中,Jivinci 从意大利艺术家 卡拉瓦乔(Caravaggio)的作品中获取灵感,在警察对乔治·弗洛伊德 (George Floyd) 进行攻击的新闻背景下对其进行了重新构想。这一事件在非裔美国人社区和全世界引发了愤怒。死亡、混乱和残暴都被展示出来,并因此引发关于争取种族平等斗争的长久辩论。这位艺术家与其他许多人一起围绕这些问题创作了 NFT 艺术作品,以此提高人们对种族和平等的认识并推动积极的社会变革。与其他很多为此事件创作的作品一样,部分收益捐给了#blacklivesmatter 运动。


Aside from the BLM movement, the artist also creates social commentary about the COVID-19 pandemic, media, and the political forces surrounding them in his works Dead’s Gambit, Hygienic Pandemic, and COVID-19.


除了 BLM 运动之外,这位艺术家还在他的作品 Dead’s Gambit、Hygienic Pandemic 和 COVID-19 中创作了关于新冠疫情、媒体和围绕它们的政治力量的社会评论。


Dead’s Gambit. Jivinci


Hygienic Pandemic. Jivinci


COVID-19. Jivinci


Exploration of the blockchain and technology are also heavily featured throughout the artist’s portfolio. In Jivinci’s Girl with The Ethering, he takes inspiration from Johannes Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring. It is the decentralized representation that questions “What if this Girl had the ability to escape her state and experience? Where would her conscious or unconscious take her?” 


对区块链和技术的探索也在艺术家的作品中占据重要位置。在Jivinci的《戴耳环的女孩》中,他从约翰内斯·维米尔 (Johannes Vermeer) 的《戴珍珠耳环的女孩》中汲取灵感。去中心化这种方式正代表了一种质疑,“如果这个女孩有能力逃离她的状态和经历怎么办?她的有意识或无意识会引领她去向何方?”


Blind Demon. Jivinci


In Blind Demon, Jinvinci emphasizes the struggles people face with regard to believing that bitcoin will provide global monetary freedom. The artist further expands his base of blockchain-inspired art by creating a fantasy-like universe focusing on subjects such as decentralization, trust, privacy, surveillance, and data through his works such as St. Etherean, Short the Banks, Ethexplorer as well as his collaboration piece with AlottaMoney, Saint Nakamoto.


在 Blind Demon 中,Jinvinci 强调了人们面临着比特币将提供全球货币自由的这一种挣扎。艺术家通过他的作品,如 St. Etherean、Short the Banks、Ethexplorer 以及他与AlottaMoney,还有Saint Nakamoto联合创作的作品,创造了一个像宇宙一样的幻想,进一步扩展了他的区块链艺术基础,专注于权力下放、信任、隐私、监视和数据等主题。


St. Etherean. Jivinci


Short the Banks. Jivinci


Ethexplorer. Jivinci


Mass Surveilance. Jivinci


Saint Nakamoto: Collaborating with NFT artist AlottaMoney

Saint Nakamoto:与 NFT 艺术家 AlottaMoney 合作

Saint Nakamoto. Jivinci x AlottaMoney


Since starting his NFT career, Jinvinci first interacted with AlottaMoney, an upcoming crypto artist whose works reference memes, sci-fi, and video games among others, in the comments section of an exhibition by Max Osiris held in Los Angeles. Unaware of the fact that AlottaMoney made digital art, he would be surprised to find out that one of his favorite artworks, Arnolfini Shrimp was actually made by AlottaMoney. Later he would reach out for collaboration using Twitter. Balancing the humor of AlottaMoney and Jinvinci’s darker and gritty style, the pair created Saint Nakamoto based on the speculated creator of Blockchain technology, the foundation behind NFTs. 


他的 NFT 职业生涯开启之后,Jinvinci 首次与AlottaMoney 进行了互动,AlottaMoney 是一位即将横空出世的加密艺术家,他的作品融合了meme、科幻和电子游戏等。Jinvinci在Max Osiris于洛杉矶举办的展览的评论里第一次接触他。在他不知道 AlottaMoney 其实是位数字艺术家之前,他就惊讶地发现他最喜欢的艺术品之一“Arnolfini Shrimp”实际上就是由 AlottaMoney 创作的。后来他在Twitter 上寻求两人合作的机会。AlottaMoney 的幽默和Jinvinci 黑暗和更粗粝的风格平衡在一起,两人根据区块链技术的推测创造者(NFT 背后的基础,也就是中本聪)创建了 Saint Nakamoto。


Arnolfini. AlottaMoney


Saint Nakamoto directly references the imagery of Italian painter Caravaggio’s Saint Jerome Writing, an oil painting which depicts Saint Jerome, a doctor of the church in Roman Catholicism translating the Vulgate, a Latin version of the Bible. Likewise, Saint Nakamoto shows Dorian Nakamoto in a similar setting with a modern twist. Hailed as a symbol for decentralized cryptocurrency and blockchain, Nakamoto is shown creating something on the computer while munching on a fiat currency sandwich, a play on the possibility of the democratized bitcoin overtaking the government regulated fiat currency. The humorous fantasy of the artwork is also reflected in its description:


Saint Nakamoto 直接引用了意大利画家卡拉瓦乔的 Saint Jerome Writing 的意象,这是一幅油画,描绘了罗马天主教教会的医生 Saint Jerome,他翻译了拉丁文版的圣经。同样,Saint Nakamoto 在类似的环境中展示了 Dorian Nakamoto,带有一种现代的风格。被誉为去中心化加密货币和区块链的象征,中本聪(Satoshi Nakamoto)一边咀嚼法定货币三明治,一边在计算机上创造一些东西,这是对将比特币民主化,带来超越政府监管法定货币的可能性的一种艺术发挥。作品的幽默幻想也体现在它的描述中:



St. Nakamoto is one of the most famous of the Bitcoin martyrs, condemned to secure the network and eat fiat sandwiches. His feast day has been celebrated since August 2008.


St. Nakamoto 是最著名的比特币殉道者之一,注定要保护网络并吃法币三明治。自 2008 年 8 月以来,人们一直在庆祝他的节日。


– Jivinci x AlottaMoney. Saint Nakamoto, SuperRare



On future of NFT market

关于 NFT 市场的未来

Saint Andreas. Jivinci


When questioned about the future of the NFT market Jivinci had a positive outlook with an emphasis on the need for education for stakeholders as well as a need for more established artists to join. Furthermore, Jivinci describes the current state of crypto art into two parts: art on the blockchain and art that will mature and evolve. Taking these elements he hopes that the crypto art can grow into a movement and community that is well educated in the creation, selling, and collection of NFTs in the future inside the digital organism that is blockchain.


当被问及 NFT 市场的未来时,Jivinci 持积极态度,他强调需要对持币者进行教育,以及需要更多知名艺术家加入。此外,Jivinci 将加密艺术的当前状态描述为两个部分:区块链上的艺术和即将成熟和发展的艺术。考虑到这些元素,他希望加密艺术能够成长为一种运动和社区,未来在区块链数字有机体中创造,买卖,收藏NFT作品的时候可以更成熟。



“I think we need to get a lot of more established artists to convince them to tokenize their artwork and authenticate their artwork on the blockchain. We need to educate people on how this could help them with their business or as an artist. So, I think education is one of the important things that we should look at.”


“我认为我们需要说服更多知名艺术家将他们的艺术品进行代币化,并在区块链上验证他们的艺术作品。我们需要教育人们这将如何帮助他们开展业务或成为一名艺术家。所以,我认为教育是我们应该关注的重要事情之一。”


– Jivinci



For more info on the artist, please click here

有关艺术家的更多信息,请单击此处




Translation 翻译 Rona Xia



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Ali Sabet|Find the value of digital art with NFT通过 NFT 定义数字艺术的价值


NFT, also known as the non-fungible token has erupted a movement for independent artists, celebrities, and companies to work with artists, musicians, animators, and other creatives to create works that are linked to the blockchain smart contract technology and Ethereum cryptocurrency. Artists such as Beeple, Fewocious, and more are raking in millions through NFT art sales and companies such as Alibaba are showcasing NFT art to reach a new wave of audiences today. With NFTs, the idea of monetizing and trading digital content is becoming more commonplace and digital art is realizing a newfound value among artists and collectors worldwide. So what does an NFT artist think about this? Here’s a look at NFT artist, Ali Sabet’s view on this phenomenon.


NFT,也称为非同质化代币,在独立艺术家、名人和公司之间创造了一场运动,让他们与艺术家、音乐家、动画师和其他创意人员之间进行合作,创作与区块链智能合约技术和以太坊加密货币相关的作品。Beeple、Fewocious 等艺术家通过 NFT 的艺术销售已经赚取了数百万美元,阿里巴巴等公司也正在展示 NFT 艺术,以吸引当今的新一批观众。有了 NFT,数字内容货币化和可交易的想法变得越来越普遍,数字艺术正在全球艺术家和收藏家中实现新的价值。那么 NFT 艺术家对此有何看法呢?NFT 艺术家 Ali Sabet 和我们分享了他的一些观点。


About the Artist

关于艺术家


Ali Sabet is an Iranian-American artist and designer. In 1998, he graduated from California State University, Fullerton with a degree in Communications/Advertising. He quickly jumped into the advertising industry and advanced to the role of Art Director at Foote, Cone & Belding (FCB), one of the top advertising agencies in the world. He would eventually establish his own branding agency, Sabet Brands alongside his artistic endeavors, blending both elements as part of his career.


Ali Sabet 是一位伊朗裔美国艺术家和设计师。1998 年,他毕业于加州州立大学富勒顿分校,获得了传播/广告学学位。之后他进入广告行业,并迅速晋升为世界顶级广告公司之一“ Foote, Cone & Belding (FCB)” 的艺术总监。之后他建立了自己的品牌公司 “Sabet Brands”,在他的艺术事业中融合了品牌的元素,这成为他职业生涯的一部分。




Sabet is a prolific painter and uses painting as an outlet for emotional expression. Through his journey, the expression of love, gratitude, and source energy have become the main themes for his artworks. Using Japanese brushes and Sumi Ink, the artist manifests a portfolio full of vibrant and energetic artworks full of fluidity and expressive strokes. 


Sabet 是一位多产的画家,他将绘画作为情感表达的出口。在他的艺术中,爱、感恩和源头能量的表达成为了作品的主题。使用日式毛笔和黑墨汁(Sumi Ink),他展示出一个又一个充满动感和活力的作品,其中充满了流动性和表现力的笔触。


Superstar Tokyo (2021) by Ali Sabet


Montblanc x Ali Sabet


Dyson x Ali Sabet


In 2016, Sabet presented his work at the Tokyo International Art Show and has since been creating NFT artworks. He has also worked with Montblanc, BMW, and other brands while also annually contributing some of the profits from his art for UNICEF, AIDS Services Foundation, PARS Equity Center, HearAid Foundation, and The American Cancer Society. 


2016 年,Sabet 在东京国际艺术展上展示了他的作品,此后一直在创作 NFT 艺术作品。他还与万宝龙、宝马和其他品牌合作过,同时每年也将他的艺术作品的部分利润贡献给联合国儿童基金会、艾滋病服务基金会、PARS 股权中心、助听器基金会和美国癌症协会。


Realizing the Value of Digital Art

认识到数字艺术的价值

Digital works by Ali Sabet

Ali Sabet的作品


Ali Sabet creates works by first outlining the works digitally, making his digital works the actual originals of his physical works. This was one of the main reasons Sabet was able to quickly jump into the world of NFTs and build demand for his work. Since February 2021, Ali Sabet has sold over 500 NFTs and has become one of the top 100 NFT artists globally. Using digital art, the artist advances the original copies of his works by adding in more details and applying different variations of colors. He states: “Because my original paintings (outlines) were done digitally, there wasn’t a huge difference when creating. People buy NFTs because they want the original copy.” 


Ali Sabet 首先以数字的方式勾勒出作品的原型,使他的数字作品成为最终成品的创作实体。这也是 Sabet 为什么能够迅速进入 NFT 世界并且可以快速建立起市场对他作品需求的主要原因。自 2021 年 2 月以来,Ali Sabet 已售出 500 多个 NFT,成为全球前 100 名 NFT 艺术家之一。使用数字艺术,艺术家通过添加更多细节和应用不同的颜色变化来改进其作品的原始副本。他说:“因为我的原画(轮廓)是用数字方式完成的,所以在创作时没有太大的区别。人们购买 NFT 是因为他们想要原始副本。”



Ali Sabet’s view of the art world is full of wonder and possibility, but like many artists, he is aware of the financial difficulties many artists face when starting off. For him, NFTs have been a revolutionary advancement for the art world that may free artists from conventional fine art practices that make artists depend heavily on gallery sales. In fact, an artist is driven to create and express through the process, but at the same time, they are wary of the restrictions on the physical sale and creative direction of their works. With NFTs, the artist has now been able to communicate directly with his collectors while taking more control of his branding and creation. 


Ali Sabet 眼中的艺术世界充满了神奇和可能性,但和许多同行一样,他也意识到艺术家们在起步时面临的经济困难。对他来说,NFT 对艺术界来说是一项革命性的进步。传统的美术创作严重依赖画廊销售,而NFT可以使艺术家们摆脱这种传统。事实上,艺术家在这个过程中是被驱使去创作和表达,但同时,他们也对作品的实体销售和创作方向的限制持谨慎态度。借助 NFT,艺术家现在可以直接与收藏家交流,同时更好地控制自己的品牌和创作。



“They have an input on some of the stuff that I put up. They’re grateful that they’re able to purchase a piece, which is insane to me.”


“他们对我提供的一些作品会有意见。他们又很感激能买到我的作品,这对我来说太疯狂了。”


– Ali Sabet



Gasoline (2021) by Ali Sabet


For those who make animation, short clips, and digital forms of art, monetizing the artwork as part of the fine art market had many barriers due to issues such as reproduction, provenance, the claim of ownership, and authenticity. With the help of blockchain technology, these issues are addressed and have been opening up a new avenue for artistic exploration with less financial burden. Beyond financial reasons, NFTs have been providing independent artists a wider audience that is not bound by physical location. The sale of an NFT is inclusive of the artist even when reselling, meaning the artist is given a portion of the secondary or tertiary sales, which is usually not the case for secondary sales at auctions or galleries.


对于制作动画、短片和数字艺术的人来说,由于复制、出处、所有权声明和真实性等问题,将数字艺术品作为传统美术市场的一部分进行货币化还存在许多障碍。在区块链技术的帮助下,这些问题将得到解决,艺术家们的财务负担会减轻,为艺术的探索开辟了新的途径。除了财务上的原因,NFT 还能为独立艺术家提供更广泛的受众,因为观众将不受空间位置的限制。即使作品在转售时,NFT 的销售也会将艺术家包括在内,这意味着艺术家可以获得二级或三级销售的一部分利润,而传统的拍卖或画廊的二级销售通常是另一种情况。


Energies and the Language of Love

能量和爱的语言


Lovescript “Heart Potion” (2021) by Ali Sabet


Poetry, calligraphy, and symbolism play a big part in Sabet’s paintings and NFTs with love and energy at the center of it all. Sabet’s LOVEQUALS Symbol is part of his custom calligraphy that can be deciphered throughout many of his artworks. This would further evolve into the Sabet LOVESCRIPT, a mode of self-reflection which was rooted in love. He recalls:


诗歌、书法和象征主义在 Sabet 的绘画和 NFT 作品中以爱和能量为中心,扮演着重要的角色。Sabet 的 LOVEQUALS 符号是他定制书法的一部分,可以在他的许多作品中看到。后来进一步演变成到 Sabet LOVESCRIPT,一种植根于爱的自我反射。他回忆道:



“I received a symbol from the ether. I called it LOVEQUALS SERVICE.  The word love looks like a person holding the equal sign. But it’s also made up of the number 1, omega, square root, and the equal sign. From alpha to omega, the Root of all is “LOVE”.  This divine discovery created a new layer and dimension to my work… In 2016 the repetition of the SABET LOVE SYMBOLS gave way to a mysterious script. One that I can write and paint in a fluent fashion but have yet to decode. This script has been called the SABET LOVESCRIPT and has culminated into what defines me as a person, brother, father, husband, and artist which is always rooted in LOVE.”


“我收到了来自以太的符号。我称之为LOVEQUALS SERVICE。爱这个词看起来像一个拿着等号的人。但它也由数字 1、Ω(欧米茄)、√(平方根)和=(等号)组成。从阿尔法到欧米茄,一切的根源都是“爱”。这个神圣的发现为我的作品创造了一个新的层次和维度……在 2016 年,SABET LOVE SYMBOLS 系列的重复让位于神秘出现的一个脚本。一个我可以流畅地书写和绘画的脚本,但我至今尚未解码。这个脚本被称为 SABET LOVESCRIPT ,并最终将我定义为一个根基为爱的人类、兄弟、父亲、丈夫和艺术家。”



Overcoming misconceptions of the NFT market

克服对 NFT 市场的误解

Quarantine Magic (2020) by Ali Sabet


When Ali Sabet first heard of NFTs, he was very skeptical of their future. Digital art was more associated with a freelance or labor-intensive work. He was also unsure about its future, but with the constant push from his friends, Sabet was able to realize the potential of NFTs. After witnessing the realized value of the digital artworks he had created for over 6 years, he has built a strong reputation within the NFT world and has come to appreciate its community.


当 Ali Sabet 第一次听说 NFT 时,他也对它的未来持怀疑态度。数字艺术更多地与自由职业或劳动密集型工作联系在一起。他也不确定它的未来发展会怎么样,但在朋友的不断推动下,Sabet 发掘了 NFT 的潜力。在见证了他 6 年多来创造的数字艺术作品的转化成的实际价值后,他在 NFT 世界中建立了良好的声誉,也开始欣赏起这个社区。



While NFTs have significantly changed the way the art market deals, it is not a market without risk.  Sabet cautions collectors to not invest blindly into NFTs just for commercial gains, instead, he pleads them to buy artworks that they really find value in. Does the work resonate with them? Do they understand the details of the work? What is the purpose of the work and why was it created?– Some of the questions a collector should ask. In a single artwork, there may be many questions that need to be answered and explained to a buyer. For such discussions with artists, Sabet recommends collectors to join free NFT discussions on the Clubhouse app where the collector and artist can directly communicate with each other.


虽然 NFT 已经显着改变了艺术市场的交易方式,但它并不是一个没有风险的市场。Sabet 告诫收藏家们不要为了商业利益而盲目投资 NFT,相反,他呼吁他们购买他们真正认为有价值的艺术品。这些作品是否能引起他们的共鸣?他们了解作品的细节吗?作品的目的是什么,为什么被创作?——这都是收藏家应该问的一些问题。在一件艺术品中,可能有很多问题需要向买家回答和解释。对于此类与艺术家的讨论,Sabet 建议收藏家在 Clubhouse软件里加入免费的 NFT 讨论,收藏家和艺术家可以在其中直接相互交流。


PIXOPOP CUTIE: Stitch Bunny #130 by Ali Sabet


For artists interested in creating NFTs, Ali Sabet hopes artists can pursue their own artistic endeavors rather than seeking out instant fortune and fame. He explains: “I remember making my Pixopop characters and hoping they would be the next Hello Kitty. It wasn’t until 20 years later that it really started getting recognition and now on NFT they are collectibles. The lesson is to do what you love and not worry about immediate success. You will be in awe at how it all comes together at some point…even if it is 20 years later!”


对于有兴趣创造 NFT 的艺术家,Ali Sabet 希望艺术家们可以追求自己的艺术尝试,而不是寻求即刻的财富和名望。他解释说:“我记得当时制作我的 Pixopop 角色,并希望它们成为下一个 Hello Kitty。但直到 20 年后它才真正开始得到认可,现在在 NFT 上它们是收藏品。我从此得到的经验是,做你喜欢做的事,不要担心眼前是否成功。有一刻你会惊叹,这一切在某个时候是如何结合在一起的……即使这一刻是 20 年后!”


Zero Resistance (2021) by Ali Sabet⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣


For artist and agency owner, Ali Sabet NFTs are not only about creating what he loves. It is also about creating impact and instilling a sense of healing and positive energy into the viewer. With the ever-growing number of NFTs and connections he has made with collectors and other artists in the community, he believes NFTs have forever changed the way we view and collect art. 


对于艺术家和广告人Ali Sabet来说, NFT 不仅仅是创造他喜欢的东西。这也是关于创造影响力并向观众提供治愈感和正能量。随着他越来越多的 NFT作品产出, 以及他与收藏家和社区中其他艺术家建立的联系,他相信 NFT 已经永远改变了我们看待和收集艺术的方式。



For more info on the artist, please click here

有关艺术家的更多信息,请单击此处




Translation 翻译 Rona Xia



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本篇文章来源于微信公众号: SHMADNESS

Victor Wong 黃宏達 | Machine-Art-Intelligence 机器.艺术.智能

Image 图片: Cathay Pacific. Victor Wong 黃宏達


Artificial intelligence has developed rapidly over the years and it is now in our daily lives. Whether we are using an app or searching for information online, it has become an integral part of life. With such advancements, artists have been merging technology with various art forms leading to new tools for artists to work with. Hong Kong artist, Victor Wong is one such artist expanding their artistic exploration with artificial intelligence. Wong created AI Gemini, the first artificial intelligence ink artist worldwide in 2018.


人工智能这些年来发展迅速,已经进入了我们的日常生活。无论是使用app上的应用程序还是在线搜索信息,它都已成为生活中不可或缺的一部分。随着这些的发展,艺术家们一直在将技术与各种艺术形式相结合,从而为艺术家们提供了新的创作工具。来自香港的黃宏達(Victor Wong)就是这样一位艺术家,他通过人工智能来扩展他们的艺术探索。在2018 年,黃宏達 创造了 AI Gemini,成为全球第一位人工智能水墨艺术家。


About the artist

关于艺术家

Image: 3812 Gallery. Victor Wong & A.I. Gemini

图片:3812 Gallery. 黃宏達和A.I. Gemini


Victor Wong is a Hong Kong artist known for his work in special effects. Wong graduated from the University of Washington in Seattle in 1989 and he would go on to establish a visual effects production company vfxNova. His company produced over 800 TV advertisements and designed special effects for over 100 films from Hong Kong and Hollywood, including Iron Man, Fantastic Four, Initial D, and more. He has won multiple accolades from JIAA (Japan), New York Festival, Hong Kong Film Awards, and the Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards. 


黃宏達是一位以特效作品而闻名的香港艺术家。他于 1989 年毕业于西雅图的华盛顿大学,之后创立了视觉效果制作公司 vfxNova。他的公司制作了 800 多个电视广告,并为来自香港和好莱坞的 100 多部电影设计了特效,包括《钢铁侠》、《神奇四侠》、《头文字D》 等。曾获得JIAA(日本)、纽约电影节、香港电影金像奖、台北金马影展等多项大奖。


In 2005 he was listed among Hong Kong’s Ten Outstanding Young Persons. In 2019, Martell honored him with the Martell Artist of the Year and Our Hong Kong Foundation presented him with an InnoStars Award for his emphasis on innovation and heritage preservation in his passionate artistic journey. His works are held by many key private collectors, including the Uli Sigg Collection in Switzerland.


他在2005年入选香港十大杰出青年, 2019 年,马爹利授予他年度马爹利艺术家奖,香港基金会授予他 InnoStars 奖,以表彰他在充满激情的艺术之旅中对创新和遗产保护的重视。他的作品被许多重要的私人收藏家收藏,包括瑞士的 Uli Sigg Collection。


Engineering an artist

“制造”一位艺术家


Image: 3812 Gallery. Victor Wong & A.I. Gemini

图片:3812 Gallery. 黃宏達和A.I. Gemini


Victor Wong’s conceptualization of the AI Gemini project began in 2015 when he was tasked to create an animation film based on the style of ink horse paintings by Xu Beihong. He imagined a pairing with this ink-based art style and a form of 3D technology. On the reasoning behind this development, he looked back to the history of art, remarking that artists would “choose the newest technology available to them at the time.”


黃宏達对 AI Gemini 项目的概念始于 2015 年,当时他受命创作一部基于徐悲鸿的水墨画“马”系列风格的动画电影。他想象了一种基于墨水的艺术风格和一种 3D 技术形式的搭配。关于这一创作手法背后的原因,他回顾艺术史,说艺术家会“选择当时可用的最新技术”。


Image: 3812 Gallery. Victor Wong & A.I. Gemini

图片:3812 Gallery. 黃宏達和A.I. Gemini


The artist breaks down the robot artist, AI Gemini (or Gemini as he calls it) into two parts, the artist and its inventor. He, the inventor is the brain that influences the traits that the robot will train to create and the AI itself will produce an artwork that not even its inventor can imagine. Over three years the artist trained Gemini in painting traditional Chinese landscapes which brought out various styles. Equipped with a robotic arm and an ink-loaded brush, the AI produced artworks freely. At the same time, through the programming and adjustments the artist made, they were communicating and transitioning from a technical perspective into an artistic one.


他将机器人艺术家 AI Gemini(或他称之为 Gemini)分为两部分,艺术家和发明者。黃宏達,作为发明者,是影响机器训练创造的大脑,而人工智能本身将产出甚至连发明者都无法想象的艺术品。三年多来,艺术家训练Gemini绘制中国传统山水画,展现出各种风格。配备机械臂和墨水刷,人工智能可以自由地制作艺术品。同时,通过他的编程和调整,他们正在从技术角度进行磨合,逐渐过渡到艺术的角度。



AI Gemini operates by converting geographical data into mathematical formulas and algorithms to generate a 3D image inked as a 2D image that is physically painted using a robot arm, ink, and paper. Each image takes about 50 hours to create. Victor fuels the AI on brush techniques, use of water, brush pressure, and more. He also provides real-time changes in humidity and temperature alongside some random data to challenge the AI.


AI Gemini 通过将地理数据转换为数学公式和算法来生成 3D 图像,该图像以 2D 图像的形式使用机械臂、墨水和纸张进行物理绘制。每张图像大约需要 50 个小时来创建。黃宏達在笔刷、水的应用、画笔压力等方面为 AI 提供动力。他还会制造湿度和温度的实时变化以及一些随机数据来挑战人工智能。


3812 Gallery. Victor Wong & A.I. Gemini. Escapism-0016-0016 (2018). Ink on paper 46 x 118cm.


3812 Gallery. Victor Wong & A.IGemini. Escapism-0013-0013 (2018). Ink on paper 46 x 118cm.



“Each time A.I. Gemini starts a fresh painting I like to introduce elements that could be potentially chaotic, feeding him random data. I have no idea what the drawing might look like until it is finished and the result amazes me every time…”


“每次 A.I. Gemini 开始画一幅新的作品,我喜欢引入可能潜在混乱的元素,为他提供随机数据。在完成之前我不知道这幅画会是什么样子,结果每次都让我感到惊讶……”


– Victor Wong 黃宏達



More than a machine

不仅仅是一台机器

3812 Gallery. Victor Wong & A.I. Gemini. The Fauvist Dreams of Gemini 03 (2020). Chinese ink, acrylic & gold paint on rice paper 69 x 47 cm.


The manner in which Victor Wong sees AI Gemini is eccentric in person but acceptable in concept. Wong’s respect for Gemini can be seen through his personification of the AI robot and the granting of creative authority over their collaborative works. Every artwork made with AI Gemini is signed by both ‘artists’ and the earnings from the sales of these works are reinvested into creating a new body for Gemini.


黃宏達看待 AI Gemini 的方式在个人看来很古怪,但在概念上又是可以接受的。他对双子座的尊重可以通过他对人工智能机器人的拟人化以及对他们合作作品的创作权威来体现。用 AI Gemini 制作的每一件艺术品都有他们俩的“艺术家”签名,而这些作品的销售收入再作为投资,用作为 Gemini 创造一个新的身体。


3812 Gallery. Victor Wong & A.I. Gemini. The Fauvist Dreams of Gemini 01 (2020). Chinese ink, acrylic & gold paint on rice paper 43 x 129 cm.



“It’s a collaborative process. A.I. Gemini won’t be able to draw without me feeding him the data and I can’t draw the kind of landscapes he does. He is not just a creative tool. I like to think of A.I. Gemini as my partner and soul mate.”


“这是一个协作的过程。如果没有我给他提供数据, A.I. Gemini无法画画,而我自己也无法画出他所画出来的那种风景。他不仅仅是一个创造性的工具,我更将 A.I. Gemini当作是我的伙伴和灵魂伴侣。”


– Victor Wong 黃宏達



3812 Gallery. Victor Wong & A.I. Gemini. Escapism 0005-0005 (2018). Ink on paper 46 x 118cm.


3812 Gallery. Victor Wong & A.I. Gemini. Escapism 0002-0002 (2018). Ink on paper 48 x 140cm.


Wong’s intricate engineering also adds a sense of sophistication to the robot. Like a human, it has a sense of looks, range of emotion, as well as and attention to its surrounding environment. In fact, many of the ideas surrounding AI racing through Victor’s mind link to emotional emulation. He ponders about the contradictory state of AI development as such:


黃宏達复杂的工程设计也为机器人增添了一丝精致感。像人类一样,它会关注外貌、情感的范围以及周围的环境。事实上,许多围绕 AI 的想法在黃宏達的头脑中都与情感模拟有关。他思考了人工智能发展的矛盾状态:



“Humans’ minds are so contradictory sometimes. We create AI so we can create something that can do without emotions. You can skip out the emotions and extract data. But on the other hand, we want AI to respond to us emotionally. That’s contradictory, right? I think that development is ongoing. It’s going to take less and less time for [AI] to respond, and that makes us fear that the machine is very closely human because it reacts like us. That is something that is going to happen. For me, that’s good because I can do more experiments.”


“人的思想有时候就是这么矛盾的。我们创造了人工智能,所以我们可以创造出不需要情感的东西。可以跳过情绪并提取数据。但另一方面,我们希望人工智能在情感上回应我们。这很矛盾对吧?但我认为这种发展是持续的。“AI” 响应的时间会越来越少,这让我们担心机器与人类其实非常接近,因为它和我们有相似的反应。这就是即将要发生的事情。对我来说,这很好,因为我可以做更多的实验。”



Taking Ink Art to the next level

将水墨艺术提升到一个新的水平

3812 Gallery. Victor Wong & A.I. Gemini. 7 Scholars Series (0001-0007) (2019). 122 x 296 cm. (Set of 7 works 118 x 34cm each artwork).


By 2019 Wong would show his Escapism series which held a collection of works created by Gemini followed by 7 Scholars series and his exhibitions, Tech-Ink Garden and Far Side of the Moon.


2019年,黃宏達将展出他的《逃避》系列,这个系列其中包括Gemini创作的作品《7位学者》,《科技墨水花园》和《月球背面〉。


The “7 Scholars series shows seven different vertical works made to represent the surface of steep cliffs with several ridges. The title takes inspiration to the seven sages from Chinese history who took to a life of drinking and poetry instead of holding their secure government jobs. The purpose of the works is to create a break from the chaos of the world. The audience is invited to let go of their stress and find positivity through the viewing experience. Images may be interpreted in many ways based on the mental interpretation that is unique for each person based on their experiences.


《7位学者》系列展示了七种不同的垂直作品,它们代表了带有几道山脊的陡峭悬崖的表面。这个标题的灵感来自中国历史上的七位圣人,他们没有担任安稳的政府工作,而是过着饮酒赋诗的生活。作品的目的是打破世界的混乱。他邀请观众通过观看体验从而释放压力,找到乐观的方向。作品可以根据每个人的经历而产生独特的理解,从而以多种方式进行诠释。


3812 Gallery. Victor Wong & A.I. Gemini. Far Side of the Moon 0004 (2019). Ink on paper 89 x 62cm.


3812 Gallery. Victor Wong & A.I. Gemini. Far Side of the Moon 0006 (2019). Ink on paper 89 x 62cm.


Far Side of the Moon” takes pictures from China’s probe, Chang-e 4, of the far side of the moon paired with observational data from NASA. The AI not only copies the data but makes its own interpretation of the craters and textures to form its own moonscapes. The artworks are made to emulate the style and feel of Chinese brush techniques while not exactly following the normal conventions of traditional Chinese painting. The gold color which is a new addition for the AI to experiment with led to the creation of aesthetically driven artworks that are distinct and pleasing to the eye.


《月球背面》展示了从中国探测器嫦娥四号拍摄的月球背面照片与美国宇航局观测数据的结合。AI 不仅会复制数据,还会对陨石坑和纹理进行自己的解释,以形成自己的月球景观。这些艺术作品模仿中国笔法的风格和感觉,却不完全遵循中国传统绘画的常规惯例。金色是人工智能新添加进去的一种实,它以自己的审美创造出了独特且赏心悦目的艺术作品。


3812 Gallery. Victor Wong & A.I. Gemini. Far Side of the Moon 0005 (2019). Ink on paper 89 x 62cm.


3812 Gallery. Victor Wong & A.I. Gemini. Far Side of the Moon 0003 (2019). Ink on paper 89 x 62cm.


The artist compiles the tech-art collaboration through the game-changing TECH-iNK Garden which has already been showcased throughout many cities around the world including London, Hong Kong, Taipei, Shanghai, and Nanjing. The event brings together the collective works from the Escapism” series, “7 Scholars” series, and works from “Far Side of the Moon”. The idea behind the collection is the concept of a Chinese garden, integrating the ideology of space in Chinese culture. It is a combination of 3D projects, 3D printed sculptures as well as AI. The title Tech-ink is derived from what Wong describes as a new movement that integrates both the artist and its robot AI, Gemini. By merging the two he is pushing the boundary for creative expansion and the exploration of the relationship between man and artificial intelligence.


这位艺术家通过改变游戏规则的《TECH-iNK 花园》作品,结合了技术与艺术,该作品已在世界各地的许多城市展出,包括伦敦、香港、台北、上海和南京。本次活动汇集了《逃离现实》系列、《七位学者》系列和《月球背面》的集体作品。该系列背后的概念是中国园林的概念,它融入了中国文化的空间意识形态。它是集3D 项目、3D 打印雕塑和人工智能的结合。“ Tech-ink ”的名称源自黃宏達描述的一种新浪潮,即结合艺术家和机器人“ AI Gemini ”。通过将两者合并,他正在将创意扩张,来探索人类与人工智能之间关系的边界。


3812 Gallery. Victor Wong & A.I. Gemini. Far Side of the Moon 0001 (2019). Ink on paper 89 x 62cm.


3812 Gallery. Victor Wong & A.I. Gemini. Far Side of the Moon 0007 (2019). Ink on paper 89 x 62cm.


With each iteration, Gemini is constantly evolving by the day with hopes from its creator of being able to create animated 3D inked landscapes in the future. As for the tech-ink movement, it is only the beginning of a new era into the evolution of art.


随着每一次迭代, Gemini每天都在不断地发展,其创造者希望能够在未来创建动画 3D水墨风景。至于科技水墨运动,这只是艺术进化新时代的一个开始。



For more info on the artist, please click here

欲了解更多她的作品,请点击这里




Translation 翻译 Rona Xia



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本篇文章来源于微信公众号: SHMADNESS

大悲宇宙 Dabeiyuzhou|元界的艺术 Art from the Metaverse

“Amitabha“ by Dabeiyuzhou

《阿弥陀佛》大悲宇宙

The metaverse has become widely popularized as the next evolution of the internet. It is not clearly defined but one can imagine it as a virtual space that is infinite and allows audiovisual interactions. This includes VR, AR, and interactive 3D digital spaces. These spaces can be inhabited by anything imaginable and some forms of the metaverse are combined with blockchain technology to trade digital assets through cryptocurrencies. This is why NFTs have also been under the spotlight in the art world. Starting with the vast daily art put out by Beeple and commercialized by top auction houses such as Christie’s and Sotheby’s, the world of NFT is bringing a whole new set of tools for artists to realize. Among the uprising digital artists, Dabei Yuzhou has become one of the most popular artists to join the crypto art movement from China.


作为互联网的进一次发展,元宇宙已变得广泛流行。它没有明确定义,但可以将其想象为一个无限的虚拟空间,并允许进行视听交互。这包括 VR、AR 和交互式 3D 数字空间。这些空间可以容纳任何可以想象的事物,并且某些形式的元宇宙与区块链技术相结合,通过加密货币交易数字资产。这就是 NFT 也一直受到艺术界关注的原因, Beeple 推出大量艺术品,并被佳士得和苏富比等顶级拍卖行商业化,艺术家们意识到NFT 的世界提供了一套新的工具。在崛起的这批数字艺术家中,大悲宇宙已成为中国最受欢迎的加入加密艺术运动的艺术家之一。





About the artist

关于艺术家


Artist Dabeiyuzhou

艺术家 大悲宇宙


Dabeiyuzhou is a digital crypto artist from Fujian that is represented by BCA Network. Known for his Buddhist-themed artworks, Dabeiyuzhou crosses cybernetic and machine-like visuals with traditional cultural elements. This has made him a prominent artist for the younger generation in China also leading to the moniker, “Oriental Cyborg”. His works explore themes of eastern religious concepts, transcendence, mutation, as well as the infinite possibilities of collaboration between humans and computers through digital art and the metaverse. His series such as “Future Fo”, “Text Gene Project”, “Virtual Butterfly” and more accompany his futuristic take on modern culture. He has exhibited at UCCA Beijing, World Blockchain Conference 2021, the 2021 China Blockchain Industry Summit, WWART Expo Shanghai 2021, and has collaborated with NIKE as well as comedian Li Dan.


大悲宇宙是来自福建的一位地下艺术家,BCA Network是他的代理公司。大悲宇宙以其佛教为主题的艺术作品而闻名,将控制论和机器般的视觉效果与传统文化元素相结合。这使他成为中国年轻一代的杰出艺术家,也使他获得了“东方仿生人”的绰号。他的作品通过数字艺术和元宇宙与计算机协作的无限可能性,探索了东方的宗教观念、超越、变异等主题。《未来仏》、《文本基因计划》、《虚拟蝴蝶》等系列作品突显了他对现代文化的未来主义看法。这些作品曾参展UCCA北京、2021世界区块链大会、2021中国区块链产业峰会、2021上海WWART博览会,并与NIKE及喜剧演员李丹合作。





Early days and the influence of Buddhism

早起时代以及佛教的影响

“Like a Secret” by Dabeiyuzhou

《犹如秘藏》大悲宇宙


Growing up, Buddhism and its traditional practices played a crucial part in his early development. His mother was a pious Buddhist. In 2008, Dabeiyuzhou went to Shanghai at the age of 20 to study next-gen game art. In 2010, looking for an escape from the pressures of life he picked up jade carving in Jieyang, Guangdong as part of his urge to build a deeper understanding of Buddhist culture. The artist would work on his jade works for a period of 9 months, ending with his first and last jade carving artwork. Since then, Dabeiyuzhou grew an interest in digital art which would lead his career to success.


在成长过程中,佛教及其传统习俗在大悲宇宙的早年发展间发挥了至关重要的作用。他的母亲是一位虔诚的佛教徒。2008年,20岁的大悲宇宙去上海学习次世代游戏美术。2010 年,为了摆脱生活压力,他在广东揭阳学习玉雕,以期加深对佛教文化的了解。他在玉器的世界中工作 了9 个月,这段生涯以他的第一件也是最后一件玉雕作品结束。从那时起,大悲宇宙对数字艺术产生了兴趣,这也将他印象了一份更成功的事业。


“Boy Bodhisattva” by Dabeiyuzhou

《童子菩萨接送图》大悲宇宙


Buddhism plays a significant role in understanding the art of Dabeiyuzhou. This can also be seen through his name which is a reference to the famous Buddhist hymn, the Great Compassion Mantra, Da Bei Zhou. Many of Dabeiyuzhou’s works feature visual representations of Buddha mixed with sci-fi elements that are displaced in empty spaces that are infinite. The futuristic elements of cyberpunk and the forms of Buddhism are paired in a form that is natural, symmetric, and at times envisioning a sacred feeling.


佛教对于理解大悲宇宙的艺术作品扮演着重要的作用。这从他的名字里也可以看出来,他的名字来自著名的佛教赞美诗《大悲咒》。大悲宇宙的许多作品都以佛像与科幻元素混合的视觉表现为特色,这些元素在无限的空旷空间中被置换。赛博朋克的未来主义元素和佛教的形式以自然、对称的形式配对,一种神圣的感觉跃然其间。



“Religion is a reassurance that makes people fearless when the mind is disturbed. …There are many things that rely on the help of the divine power in the dark, including everything I do now. I always feel that the gods are guiding me. “


“宗教是一种宽慰,让人们在思想受到干扰时无所畏惧。……有很多事情都依赖于暗中神力的帮助,包括我现在所做的一切。我总觉得神在引导我。“


– Dabeiyuzhou 大悲宇宙






The “Future Fo” Series

《未来仏》系列

Beijing UCCA. “Future Fo” by Dabeiyuzhou

北京UCCA. 《末来仏》大悲宇宙


While working in the gaming industry Dabeiyuzhou found his creativity being hindered by the limitations of work. Fed up with it all, he left his job and traveled to Xiamen where he would begin work on the aforementioned jade sculpture. However, during the creation, he realized that the physical creation of the work did not bring him satisfaction as digital manipulation did. With this in mind, he would blend the knife-cut textures with 3D manipulation software to create his “Future Fo” series. 


在游戏行业工作时,大悲宇宙发现自己的创造力受到了工作的限制。他 受够了这一切,于是辞去了工作,前往厦门开始创作玉雕。然而,在创作过程中,他意识到作品在物理层面的创作并没有像数字操作那样给他带来满足感。考虑到这一点,他将刀切纹理与 3D 操作软件相结合,创造出他的《末来仏》系列。


Future Fu by Dabeiyuzhou

《末来仏》大悲宇宙


The cold machine-like surface imposed on a visual representation of Buddha alters the context of religion in a contemporary way, creating a form that is translated from the binary code with which it may communicate from. In fact, this was the defining moment of the artist’s artistic composition and realization of his own future universe.


在佛陀的视觉表现上,加载了一种冷酷工业化的表现处理,这改变了宗教的背景,创造了一种从二进制代码转换而来,似乎可以与之交流的形式。事实上,这是艺术家创作和实现自己未来宇宙的决定性时刻。





The “Virtual Butterfly” Series

《虚拟蝴蝶》系列


Virtual Butterfly by Dabeiyuzhou

《虚拟蝴蝶》大悲宇宙


Using an AI algorithm as his collaborator, Dabeiyuzhou gives birth to an alien mix of butterflies each with distinct wings. The colors and patterns interchange with each new iteration, creating a rich database of virtual butterflies. The artist joins the process by providing feedback and selection of the final manifestations. He explains: 


使用人工智能算法,大悲宇宙创造了一种异形的蝴蝶组合,每只蝴蝶都有不同的翅膀。颜色和图案随着每次新的迭代而互换,创建了一个丰富的虚拟蝴蝶数据库。艺术家通过提供的反馈和最终表现形式的选择来加入这个过程。他解释说:


Virtual Butterfly by Dabeiyuzhou

《虚拟蝴蝶》大悲宇宙


”After feeding the system some basic data, it will start to simulate these data, and Another set of algorithms will supervise this process and compare the results with the template to determine and guess whether the products obtained to meet the requirements. Finally, I and the computer will screen out the results and become a molecule of the huge butterfly population.”


“在系统里输入一些基础数据之后,它会开始模拟这些数据,而另外一套算法会监督这个过程,将结果与范本进行比对,去判定和推测得到的产品是否符合要求,最后由我与计算机一同把结果筛选出来,成为庞大蝴蝶种群的一分子。”


Active since September 2020, the series has created more than 600,000 butterflies. The neural network AI has been evolving the selection and the artist believes that this process of co-creation at large scales allows for the investment into other artistic directions leveraging technology.


该系列自 2020 年 9 月开始一直在活跃着,目前已经创造了超过 600,000 只蝴蝶。神经网络 AI 一直在改进选择,艺术家认为,这种大规模的共同创作过程可以允许利用技术对其他艺术方向进行投资。


作品:大悲宇宙



“The most intuitive point is that technology has released human labor and creativity. In the ancient times when technology was not yet born, humans could only further improve their physical conditions after learning to make tools, and only then had time and opportunities to think more broadly…. While human beings are creating and upgrading technology, technology is also quietly transforming human beings. This is a mutual process, and it is also a chaotic and rising state: your consciousness will be changed by algorithms.”


“最直观的一点是,技术释放了人类的劳动力和创造力。在科技尚未诞生的远古时代,人类学会了制造工具之后才能进一步改善自身的身体条件,也才有时间、机会去思考更广博的议题…人类在创造、升级科技的时候,科技也在悄悄地改造人类,这是一个相互的过程,也是一个混沌的、不断上升的状态:你的意识是会被算法改变的。”


– Dabeiyuzhou 大悲宇宙






Selling on Sotheby’s with “The Beach with Poems”

在苏富比拍卖作品《有诗的海滩》


Dabeiyuzhou’s “The Beach with Poems” was recently sold through Sotheby’s Metaverse “Natively Digital 1.2” for $140,000. This was a historically significant event for China as it was the first time Chinese digital artists had taken part in the Sotheby’s auction. 


大悲宇宙的作品《有诗的海滩》近日在苏富比的元宇宙“Natively Digital 1.2”以14万美元的价格售出,这对中国来说是一个具有历史意义的事件,因为这是中国数字艺术家首次参加这种类型的苏富比拍卖。


Sotheby’s. “The Beach with Poems” by Dabeiyuzhou

《有诗的海滩》大悲宇宙


The work, “The Beach with Poems” is created in part due to the “Text Gene Project”, a special interactive undertaking for the artist. The process follows a form of garbled poetry in which participants can submit a sentence composed of up to 7 Chinese words to be added to a text gene library. The words are randomly arranged into new sentences in the form of modern Chinese poetry through technology. The artist then selects the newly generated sentences and vocabulary to compose the sonnet. He then may choose the content from the library of sentences to produce a graphical work.


作品《有诗的海滩》的创作部分归功于“文本基因计划”,这是针对艺术家的一项特殊互动作品。该过程遵循一种乱码诗歌的形式,参与者可以提交最多由 7 个中文单词组成的句子,以添加到文本基因库中。这些词通过技术以现代中国诗歌的形式随机排列成新的句子。艺术家随后选择新生成的句子和词汇来组成十四行诗。然后他可以从句子库中选择内容以产生图像作品。



The purpose of the “Text Gene Project” follows his artistic exploration of the collaboration between machines and humans. At the same time, the project further looks into the complex grouping of human consciousness that runs parallel to others. Every participant of the system provides insight into the collectiveness of human behavior like ants in a colony working together. Akin to this phenomenon, this collection of Chinese language creation becoming more complex leading to the artist’s initial question:


“文本基因计划”的目的是遵循对机器与人类合作的艺术探索。同时,该项目进一步研究了与其他人平行的人类意识的复杂分组。该系统的每个参与者都可以洞察人类行为的集体性,就像蚁群中的蚂蚁一起工作一样。类似于这种现象,中国语言创作的收藏变得越来越复杂,导致了艺术家面临最初的问题:



“The collaborative work of ants produces a “super-individual” of ant colonies with decision-making ability. Then if it is to use more complex language with effective information to collaborate with more complex people, then What will happen? I am also very curious…”


“蚂蚁的协同工作产生了具有决策能力的“超级个体”蚁群。那么如果是用更复杂的语言和有效的信息来与更复杂的人进行协作,那会发生什么呢?我也很好奇……”



To take part in Dabeiyuzhou’s “Text Gene Project”, please visit his website

有关大悲宇宙的“文本基因计划”,请访问他的网站





Translation 翻译 Rona Xia



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皮丽斯PplPleasr 丨为《财富》杂志制作NFT封面Making a NFT cover for Fortune Mag..

I Can’t Do This Anymore


The famous Fortune Magazine has also begun making an NFT magazine cover, and its first client is the protagonist of this article– PplPleasr. The cover is a tribute to the emerging NFT market, a departure from Fortune’s Wall Street-related style, and it features a number of well-known faces active in the NFT market.


大名鼎鼎的《财富》杂志竟然也开始制作NFT封面,而它的第一个委托人,就是本文主角——皮丽斯。这次的封面是对新兴起的NFT市场的致敬,一改往日《财富》与华尔街紧密相关的风格,新的封面包含了许多活跃在NFT市场的知名头像。

 

FORTUNE’s NFT Aug./Sept. 2021 cover art by PplPleasr.


Pplpleasr remarked: “The Fortune magazine was something that I think is a special moment for all of us because it sort of represents one of these pivotal moments of traditional media representing the entire community.”


皮丽斯说:“我认为《财富》杂志的关注对我们所有人来说都是一个非常特殊的时刻,因为这件事可以说是传统媒体和传统社会对NFT态度转变的关键标志。”

 


Pplpleasr, from New York, is so talented that even Apple wanted her on board. Her work as a digital artist is prolific, having previously created visual effects for commercials for films such as Batman v. Superman, Wonder Woman, and Star Trek, as well as Blizzard’s game cinematics.


皮丽斯来自纽约,她的确才华横溢,就连苹果公司也希望她能入职。作为一名数字艺术家,她的工作成果颇丰,在此之前她已经为《蝙蝠侠大战超人》、《神奇女侠》、《星际迷航》等电影的商业广告和暴雪公司的游戏电影制作视觉特效。


Jfish



BB Gojira


It can be said that her digital artworks are very good at finding a balance between realistic and absurd. Pplpleasr makes use of her super ability to draw by hand to create a strange new world for the audience. In this new world, cartoons, movies, religion, science fiction, traditional Chinese, and Japanese culture are all absorbed and unified in her unique ethereal style.


可以说,她的电子作品非常善于在现实与荒诞的极端中寻找平衡。皮丽斯利用超强的手绘能力,为观众打造了一片光怪陆离的新世界。在这一片新世界中,卡通、电影、宗教、科幻、中国和日本传统文化都被她吸收其中,并被统一在她独特的空灵的风格之中。


Meet Nyx


It is hard to imagine that the reason such an excellent artist entered the NFT market in the first place, was due to the unemployment caused by the pandemic. After losing her job, she started doing video artwork and uploading it to DeFi on the recommendation of a friend. DeFi is a collective term for financial products and services that are accessible to anyone who can use Ethereum– anyone with an internet connection.


很难想象,就是这样一位涉猎颇广的艺术家,最初进入NFT行业的原因,竟然是由于疫情大流行而导致的失业。在失业之后,她朋友的推荐下开始做一些视频工作并上传到DeFi平台。DeFi是一个集合词,指任何可以使用以太坊的人都可以访问的金融产品和服务。

 


Forbidden Snack


Dawn Nostalgia – Quick Sunday Doodle


Since then, Pplpleasr has not only gained many fans but also more and more companies and social groups have contacted her, asking her to accept video production commissions. Since then, her fame has grown with cumulative sales of her work exceeding $1.2 million to date.


从此皮丽斯一发不可收拾,不仅收获了很多粉丝,越来越多的公司和社会团体也开始联系她,希望她能接受视频制作的委托。皮丽斯名气逐渐变大,迄今为止,她的作品的累计销售额已经超过了120万美元。

 

Like many established NFT artists, Pplpleasr believes that the NFT market is still in its early days and has a lot of work to do. While not perfect, the NFT market is still the latest trend in the art market. Pplpleasr itself represents a way for young women to start their artistic careers here, which in itself is an inspiring story.


与许多业已成名的NFT艺术家一样,皮丽斯也认为NFT市场仍处在它的早起阶段,仍有许多东西需要完善。虽然还不算完美,但NFT市场仍然是艺术市场最新的风口。皮丽斯本身也代表了一种方式,年轻女性可以在这里开始自己的艺术生涯,这本身就是一件令人鼓舞的事情。


For more info on the artist, please click here

欲了解更多他们的作品,请点击这里






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黑桃组合Hackatao丨人们无法再回到NFT以前的时代 We can't return to the pre-NFT era

Nadia Squarci & Sergio Scalet (Hackatao)


Hackatao is an Italian art group founded in 2007. Before the group was formed, Sergio Scalet was a creative copywriter at an advertising agency, and Nadia Squarci was an art director. The two artists met in Milan, Italy, in 2006 and soon decided to form Hackatao.


Hackatao是一个来自意大利的艺术组合,成立于2007年。在组合成立之前,Sergio Scalet是一名广告公司的创意文案,Nadia Squarci是一位艺术总监。两位艺术家在2006年于意大利米兰相遇,志趣相投的两个人之后很快就决定成立Hackatao组合。

 

Heroines – Weight Of The World 女英雄-世界的重量


While Hackatao is not well known on social platforms, Hackatao has just 8,000 followers on Instagram, compared to Beeple’s 2.25 million followers (his work previously sold for nearly $70 million at the NFT Art Market). But that doesn’t stop Hackatao’s work from selling well on the NFT art market. They are one of the top three crypto artists.


虽然Hackatao在社交平台上并不算出名,相比于Beeple(之前他的作品在NFT艺术市场拍出了将近7000万美元的天价)在Instagram上拥有225万粉丝,Hackatao的粉丝量只有8000,但这并不影响Hackatao的作品在NFT艺术市场上的大卖。他们是加密艺术领域排名前三的艺术家之一。

 

The name represents the spirit of the artist, and the “Hackatao” comes from the superposition of two words. The word “Hack” represents the pleasure of digging deep into something and enjoying the process. “Tao” is derived from the core spirit of Taoism, China’s indigenous religion, symbolizing the harmony of Yin and Yang, and their works are constantly changing to a better state.


名字代表了艺术家的精神,Hackatao组合的名字来源于两个词的叠加。“Hack”这个词代表了一种乐趣,即深入挖掘事物,并享受这个挖掘的过程。而“Tao”则是源自中国本土宗教道教的核心精神,象征阴阳调和,他们的作品在不断变化之中达到更好的状态。


HACK of a BEAR – The Architect

熊的黑客-建筑师


Hackatao’s works focus on society, humanity, the environment, and the NFT art market in which they work on. Superficially, their work was heavily influenced by Andy Warhol’s pop art form, attempting to express themselves in surrealism and stream of consciousness. In terms of content, Hackatao combines many sources of thought, including religion, politics, nature, art history, contemporary art, psychology, alchemy, childhood memory, and other complex thinking systems


Hackatao的作品关注社会、人文、环境以及他们所身处的加密货币艺术市场。表面上看,他们的作品受安迪·沃霍尔的波普艺术形式影响很大,试图以超现实主义和意识流的形式来表达自己。而内容上,Hackatao则结合了众多的思想来源,包括宗教、政治、自然、艺术史和当代艺术、心理学、炼金术、童年记忆等复杂的思维体系。

 


Hackatao themselves admits that their work is in a “borderline state of order and chaos”. In Hackatao’s view, their art comes from their existence and it is a distillation of their individuality.


Hackatao他们自己也承认,他们的作品处于一种“秩序与混乱的临界状态”。在Hackatao看来,他们的艺术来自于他们的存在,是他们个性的升华。

 

QUEEN OF SILENCE

沉默女王


Hackatao’s entry into the NFT art market came from a very unexpected coincidence. In 2018, Sergio read an article about blockchain in Science magazine and immediately realized its value to the art market. Uniqueness is an important foundation of art, and blockchain technology can prove the uniqueness of digital works.


Hackatao之所以能进入NFT艺术市场,来自一个非常意外的巧合。2018年,Sergio在《科学》杂志上看到了一篇介绍区块链的文章,Sergio马上就意识到了这件事对于艺术市场的价值。独特性和唯一性是艺术的重要根基,而区块链技术恰好能做到对数字作品唯一性的证明。



“Although it did not talk about NFT and Art, we immediately thought that this technology was perfect for the certification and creation of something new for art. So, armed with all our curiosity, we set out to research, with the same approach with which we approach the creation of an artwork. We met Jason Bailey, curator, and popularizer, we believe the first one who has been able to define Crypto Art. He introduced us to the guys at SuperRare and so it all started with them and a few other artists.”


“虽然它没有谈论 NFT 和艺术,但我们立即认为这项技术非常适合艺术新事物的认证和创造。因此,带着我们所有的好奇心,我们开始研究,采用与创作艺术品相同的方法。我们遇到了策展人和普及者 Jason Bailey,我们相信第一个能够定义加密艺术的人。他向我们介绍了SuperRare 的人,所以这一切都是从他们和其他一些艺术家开始的。”

 


So in 2018, Hackatao entered SuperRare, a digital art marketplace based on Ethereum (a type of cryptocurrency), despite the fact that the NFT market was still heavily underrated by the traditional art market.


所以在2018年,尽管当时NFT市场仍然非常不被传统艺术市场看好,Hackatao还是进入了SuperRare平台,这是一个基于以太坊的数字艺术市场。



In the eyes of Hackatao, the biggest feature of NFT and Crypto Art is decentralization. Any artist can enter the international art market without being blocked by borders. This new paradigm provides unprecedented opportunities for many artists, especially those who are not yet famous.


在Hackatao的眼中,NFT 和加密艺术最大的特点是去中心化,任何艺术家都可以进入国际艺术市场而不受边境的阻拦,这种新的范式为众多艺术家尤其是尚未成名的艺术家提供了前所未有的机遇。

 

But at the same time, Hackatao also believes that the construction of NFT as an emerging market has just started, there is still a lot of work to be done, we need to build a new cultural model that is different from the traditional world.


但是同时,Hackatao也认为NFT这一新兴市场的建设才刚刚起步,还有许多工作需要完善,我们需要建设一个迥异于传统世界的新文化模式。

 

BIRD IN THE SHELL

壳中鸟


When asked about the future of blockchain technology, Hackatao responded this way: ” We don’t know if the world will be blockchain, but certainly, those who live and work in this new dimension have a hard time going back to the old logic. Once you understand the creative application power of blockchain and the founding values of cryptocurrencies, everything else seems complicated and obsolete. “


当被问到区块链技术的前景时,Hackatao这样回答:“我们不知道世界是否会是区块链,但可以肯定的是,在这个新维度中生活和工作的人很难回到旧逻辑。一旦您了解了区块链的创造性应用能力和加密货币的创始价值,其他一切似乎都变得复杂和过时。”


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瓦辛·卡特罗Vasjen Katro丨每日更新海报设计Create poster design everyday


End of Humanity

人类的终结


Not every artist has received systematic art education since childhood. Some people just have amazing artistic talent and can learn without any teacher. Obviously, Vasjen Katro from Albania is one such NFT digital artist.


并不是每个专业的艺术家都是从小就接受了系统的艺术教育,有些人就是拥有惊人的艺术天赋,可以无师自通。显然,来自阿尔巴尼亚的瓦辛·卡特罗就是这样一位NFT数字艺术家。


artist Vasjen Katro (Baugasm)

艺术家瓦辛·卡特罗 (Baugasm

 

Vasjen Katro is also better known as Baugasm. Up to now, he has published more than 600 digital posters of his own making, on his personal website under the name Baugasm and has maintained his passion for creation, media, and experimentation over the years.


瓦辛·卡特罗还有另外一个更为人熟知的名字——Baugasm。到现在为止,他已经以Baugasm的名字在个人网站上发布了600多张自己制作的电子海报,这些年来他一直保持着对创作、媒体、实验的热情。

 

Neue Machina – Free Font

新机器-免费字体


Vasjen Katro started out as a professional electronic music producer. But when it came time to make album covers for his own music, he found that the one he was trying to make was better than anyone else’s designs.


最开始的时候,瓦辛·卡特罗其实是一名专业的电子音乐制作人。但当他需要为自己的音乐制作专辑封面的时候,他发现自己尝试制作的封面比其他人设计的更好。



108


So Vasjen Katro started designing digital posters while writing music. He learned coding and UI and UX on his own from the internet and earned a degree in computer science and multimedia. Vasjen Katro had an amazing talent for software learning and a keen eye for graphics, and he gradually started designing covers for other artists and became a professional designer. Keep in mind that he had almost no previous design experience.


所以瓦辛·卡特罗在用创作音乐的同时开始海报设计。他从网上自己学会了编码以及UI和UX,并且获得了计算机和多媒体的学位。瓦辛·卡特罗有惊人的软件学习天赋和对图形敏锐的洞察力,他逐渐开始为其他艺术家设计封面,并成为一名职业的设计师。要知道,他之前的设计经验几乎为零。


Free iPhone X – Notchless Wallpapers

免费的iPhone X 无缺口壁纸



Vasjen Katro set up a personal Instagram account under the name Baugasm and started posting personal digital works. For two years, he kept up an extremely high frequency of updates – one digital poster every day! It was a challenge he had set himself. Once he accidentally broke two ribs, the first thing Vasjen Katro did at the hospital was ask his girlfriend to bring his computer to update his Instagram account. Of course, his efforts have paid off, and he has made rapid growth in these two years.


瓦辛·卡特罗在Instagram上以Baugasm的名字开设了个人账号,并且开始发布个人作品。他在两年的时间里,保持着超高强度的更新频率——每天一张!这是他对自己发起的挑战。曾经有一次他意外断了两根肋骨,然而瓦辛·卡特罗在医院做的第一件事,就是让他的女友带电脑来医院继续更新Instagram账户。当然,付出是有回报的,在这两年中他也获得了快速的成长。

 

Although Vasjen Katro himself does not consider his style fixed, his digital poster designs are still very recognizable. His designs are often abstract and bold, with a minimalist tone and large gradients of color, which together create a mesmerizing atmosphere.


尽管瓦辛·卡特罗本身不认为自己的风格是固定的,但他的作品依然具有非常高的辨识度。他的设计通常都非常抽象和大胆,基调是极简主义,色彩通常会采用大面积的渐变色,这些共同搭建了一种令人着迷的氛围。


Adobe Remix

Adobe 合成


 Baugasm Day 018 Y3


Vasjen Katro once had a good discussion about his own style and the relationship between designers and style: 


关于自身的风格以及设计师与风格的关系,瓦辛·卡特罗曾经有过很好的一段论述:



“ Personally I love colors, gradients, and typography, but I don’t like to call it a ‘style.’ I see it as a product, I believe artists and designers who have a certain style and get stuck with it, are boring. Their art or work will always be the same. I struggle with this a lot because I try to keep it fresh which is a challenge. I see it as a product, so I see it as something that has to evolve over time. Having a style is like getting married. I don’t have anything against marriages but you have to make a commitment and stick to it for a long time.”


“我个人喜欢颜色、渐变和排版,但我不喜欢称之为“风格”。我认为它是一种产品,我相信有某种风格并被它卡住的艺术家和设计师是无聊的。他们的艺术或作品将永远是一样的。我在这方面纠结了很多年,因为我试图让它保持新鲜,但这确实是一个挑战。我认为它是一种产品,所以我认为它必须随着时间的推移而发展。拥有一种风格就像结婚一样,我不反对婚姻,但你必须做出承诺并长期坚持下去。”



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艾瑞克·陈 ERIC Chan丨用编程作画 Drawing Through Computer Programming

The Metal Ox – Mother 

金属牛—母亲


Born in 1980 in Ottawa, Canada, ERIC Chan now works and lives in New York as a digital artist. ERIC Chan is better known as EEPMON.


艾瑞克·陈出生于1980年的加拿大渥太华,现在工作与生活在纽约,是一名数字艺术家。艾瑞克·陈还有一个更为人熟知的名字——EEPMON。


 

The word “EEPMON” is a variant of “APEMAN.” ERIC Chan states monkeys were his spirit animals. Not only was he born under the monkey zodiac in 1980, but it also represented his personality: playful, intelligent, fond of exploration and adventure, always breaking the rules, and entering a new life.


EEPMON这个词是猿人(APEMAN)的变体,艾瑞克·陈说猴子就是他的精神动物。不仅仅是因为1980年出生的他生肖属猴,也是因为猴子代表了他的性格:顽皮、聪明、喜欢探索与冒险,永远打破规则并进入新的生活。


Transformers: Unicron

变形金刚:宇宙大帝


ERIC Chan has been drawing since he was four years old and has a strong sense of color. But what really made him famous in the art world was his ability to creatively blend fine art and computer programming into new art forms. In part, this is because he graduated from Algonquin College in Canada with a degree in interactive multimedia design.


艾瑞克·陈从四岁就开始画画,并且对颜色有很强的感知能力。但真正让他在艺术界闻名的,是他能够创造性地将美术与计算机编程融合成新的艺术形式。某种程度上,这得益于他毕业于加拿大阿冈昆学院互动多媒体设计专业。

 


False Altars & Make Believe

虚假的圣坛与信仰


Gifted in drawing as a child, he studied computer programming as an adult at Algonquin College, which allowed him to revolutionize the combination of fine arts and digital design. At Ottawa’s art Gallery, for example, he used Google’s real-time algorithms for the weather to create ever-changing artworks.


从小就具有绘画天赋的他,成年后在阿冈昆学院学习了计算机编程,这使得他可以将美术与数字设计进行革命性的结合。举个例子,在渥太华的美术馆,他曾经利用谷歌天气的实时算法来创作不断变化的艺术品。

 

The computer side of things re-wired me, he said. “Now, when I sketch things out I’m also thinking programmatically, and when I am programming I am also thinking visually.” For ERIC Chan, the computer is his canvas, and programming is the act of painting. He is an artist of his time– a true digital artist.


 他说,“电脑方面的事情让我振奋。现在,当我画出草图时,我也在以编程的方式思考。当我编程时,我也在以视觉的方式思考。” 对于艾瑞克·陈来说,计算机是他的画布,编程即是绘画。他是属于这个时代的艺术创作者——一名真正的数字艺时代术家。



Iron Man and Captain America

钢铁侠与美国队长


Commissioned piece for MARVEL’s SPIDER-MAN as licensing assets created for Spider-Man: Far From Home movie. Client: Marvel Entertainment, NYC 

漫威蜘蛛侠的委托作品,作为《蜘蛛侠:离家很远》电影的授权资产。  客户:纽约漫威娱乐公司


 

ERIC Chan’s unique artistic style has also led him to collaborate with major companies and brands. His work has attracted major companies including Marvel, Canada Goose, and Microsoft Xbox. ERIC Chan’s Iron Man and Megatron drawings brought the artist to Marvel’s attention, and they liked his work and created a collaborative project with him.


艾瑞克·陈独特的艺术风格,也令他开始与一些大公司和品牌合作。他的作品吸引了包括漫威Canada Goose、Microsoft Xbox等在内的大公司。ERIC Chan钢铁侠和威震天绘画作品使得漫威公司开始注意到这位艺术家,他们喜欢他的作品并与ERIC Chan创立了合作项目。

 


In recent years, ERIC Chan has become more involved with the fashion world. He says this approach maximizes his creativity. Canada Goose has collaborated with ERIC Chan to produce a range of exclusive parkas. But ERIC Chan, who always likes to explore new things, says he has his eye on Hollywood and the entertainment industry and may be thinking about creating a new personal brand in the near future.


最近这些年,ERIC Chan开始更多的与时尚界结合。他说这种方式可以最大限度地发挥他的创意。Canada Goose与ERIC Chan合作生产了一系列独家派克大衣。但永远喜欢探索新事物的ERIC Chan,谈到他有关注好莱坞和娱乐业,也许考虑在不久的未来会创建一个全新的个人品牌。


For more information on the artist, please click here 

欲了解更多他的作品,请点击这里






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本篇文章来源于微信公众号: SHMADNESS

 
 
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