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Stitching Fragmented Reality with Photogrammetry Artist Dimitri Daniloff

November 27, 2022 by Arseny Vesnin in 2022

Arseny Vesnin (Twitter: @designcollector), founder of Designcollector Network (2003) and curator of the Digital Decade initiatives, exhibitions and online collaborations. Interdisciplinary mediator guiding artists and communicating the future of art. Based in Metaverse.

Dimitry Daniloff, Barcelona

“Imagery fascinates me because it questions our take on ourselves, and on our bodies especially. The growth of social media has created new ways to present oneself to others. In the quest for a perfect being, the modern Prometheus has given way to the spreading technical devices (filters, Photoshop, AI…) democratizing access to aesthetic surgery.”

What was your path to doing what you’re doing now?

I started to study Mathematics and Sciences at the university but quickly realized that what I wanted to do was photography or images. I first experimented with 4x5 view cameras and then turned to the practice of digital photography in early 2000 as I could see the possibilities that technology has to offer. In 2005 I was doing a first series “Cubisme” using digital photography mixed with 3D. And then the 2008 “The keeper” with Daft Punk and the augmented woman (a fully CGI girl). The technique is not the goal but a fantastic tool to create. My artistic explorations have brought me to combine aesthetics, work on textures, and deform the ordinary in order to invent a new social habitat. My work is breaking the rules of representation, physically propelling human beings into the virtual world. My encounter with photogrammetry a few years ago – a process consisting in taking measurements in space and building, through software, a 3D model from several viewpoints – has widened my possibilities. By creating a social canvas where bodies are voluntarily transformed, I play with our perceptions and reach augmented reality. New spaces appear at the borders of reality, and the viewer becomes its protagonist.

When you were growing up, was creativity part of your life, and how did you decide to focus on photography?

Yes, creativity has always been around me, my mother is a fashion designer and my father was a painter/sculptor.  My whole childhood has been surrounded by artists. I can remember a day I was probably around 11 and I did my first collage, a “robot” standing over the ocean with a yellow cab floating on the water.  The “robot” was actually from my parent record’s  Queen “News of the world” album cover that I cut out. That image must have been my first montage and was probably when I unconsciously decided to make images. My parents have seen the collage but never asked me what happened to their record.

PLAY STATION 2 - 2003-2007

Did you feel different at the time you realised yourself as an artist?

I don’t feel there is a moment I became an artist, but mostly that I was born an artist. Probably because of my surroundings as a kid.  I was lucky to be successful but I would have kept as an artist even without that success. I just don’t know how it is not to be an artist. For me being an artist is attached to a strong feeling of freedom.

Did you have an “Aha!” moment when you knew that direction and animation were what you wanted to do?

I can remember one of my very first tests (this is what you call your personal production in photo) back in 96 being in the studio with models, makeup artists, hair stylists, set designers, and assistants. The whole team was there to work on my vision. It felt so exciting. I really like to work with a team.

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You directed a photography set for Daft Punk back in 2008. Was it another breaking point in your career after the Sony Playstation projects? How does it influence your way of doing work now?

Yes after winning many awards with Playstation, Daft Punk was effectively a breaking point for 2 reasons. Artistically it opened my doors to the music industry and I was able to shoot with bands like Black Eyed Peas.  Technically because I was including a human CGI model in my images for the first time, it wasn’t very common at that time, and that was a new step for creating images.

Do you collaborate with other artists?

Collaboration is an important side of my work, as it is a great way to learn and share experiences. It is also a way to be complementary to my work as I like to explore the edges of photography or even other fields that I don’t know yet but am still very curious about. I was collaborating with a VR artist to make my first VR experience on a grant we won last year. The project was presented at “Les Ailleurs” a VR festival in Paris.

As a creative person, do you ever have those moments where you feel like everything you create is just shit?

Yes! Always. But this might be a good motivation to make it better. And sometimes it is shit but you need it to progress.

Have you taken any big risks to move forward?

Risk is part of the creative process, if you don’t take risks you won’t move forward. Stepping away from your comfort zone is the way to stay creative. My latest risk is photogrammetry, it is a huge change in the creative process. At the time of creating an image, I have to consider it in 3 dimensions and not anymore in 2 like I used to do with photography. But I found it fits perfectly the definition of my work, sculptor of reality.

Are your family and friends supportive of what you do? Who has encouraged you the most?

People around me are very supportive and I must thank them. And my parents have been more than supportive since day one when I told them I want to quit my studies at the university, and they agreed. 

Did you have a mentor? Who was it and how did they inspire you?

My mentors were Guzman, a couple of photographers that I assisted in New York back in the mid 90’s.  I learn a lot with them about creativity, managing a team and humanity.

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Is it important to you to be a part of a creative community of people?

I discovered the strength of the creative community when I moved to Barcelona 6 years ago. When I arrived I joined a studio with 3D artists, directors, graphic designers, and creative tech… it was so creative, with so much energy. This is where I discovered VR and photogrammetry. The creative community is a driving force. And now most of the artists that I met there are in NFT.

You’re already a successful and well-established photography artist, what made you pursue NFT art as a medium?

For 20 years I’ve been working with digital from early users with digital photography to next-generation digital imagery with photogrammetry, I do not see myself as a “photographer” but more a hybrid image maker so I find it logical to mint my work. Also, many of my images have been seen all around the internet so the NFT is the opportunity to share some iconic images and engrave them on the net.
Beyond that NFT is a revolution in the artistic world, it’s the recognition of the true value of digital art, giving back the ownership to the artists through the smart contract. Art galleries might have to review their rules. I wouldn’t miss this revolution.

What inspired the work in your first NFT drop?

The first NFT drop will be the series I shot with Daft Punk for Lemon Magazine. 6 images in a single edition, no other copies have been sold until now and no other copies will be sold. These images will only remain in the blockchain.  When thinking about Daft Punk I had this coming to mind: Does the intervention of machines/masks on our bodies enable us to get closer to whom we truly are? So I proposed the magazine shoot them integrating a 3D cyborg woman into the existing pictures, thus proposing my own vision of an augmented human being. 
For the little story, the cover was a Daft Punk tribute to David Bowie's “Heroes” album cover. But I recently discovered on the net that a few years later, in 2014, David Bowie shared the photo on his FaceBook account during the London Music Week Award. And magazines published the image the next day saying that he was wearing Daft Punk’s helmet. But I can confirm it wasn’t him but Daft Punk. 

What are your short plans for the next NFT drop?

That’s Human Unlimited. These images were originally produced between 2018 and 2019 as I was exploring photogrammetry and breaking the rules of photography. Special thanks to Tamal de Canela for the 3D support. They are now available as 1/1 NFTs on Superrare and Digital Decade.

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Read more about the drop

What advice would you give to someone starting out?

Why should you do photography when you can do photogrammetry? I truly believe in the potential of photogrammetry. Imagine that from one take in photogrammetry you can make a photo, a video, a 3D interactive model, a VR experience… And creatively more intuitive than any other tool.
Photography is dead. 

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If you could go back and do one thing differently, what would it be?

Nothing. I assume what I am and what I did.

Do you have any unrealised or unfinished projects?

So many. I like to have them around, some projects need time. You drop them and then take them a few years back.

Dimitridaniloff.com
November 27, 2022 /Arseny Vesnin
Dimitri Daniloff, Interview, NFT
2022

HOFA DAO

November 11, 2022 by Arseny Vesnin in 2022

The House of Fine Art Gallery London presents HOFA DAO

The HOFA DAO membership program is a decentralized ecosystem bringing together the works of 100 leading contemporary artists, influential digital creators, and collectors. The DAO will be governed by its members, providing voting rights to both artists & collectors on future acquisitions via NFT membership drops and through its governance token, ARTEM Coin.

100% of the revenue from the DAO passes will go into future acquisitions - voted by its members.

 
  • 3 drops with a total supply of 3,333 unique DAO passes

  • governance and voting rights on acquisitions of DAO art

  • DAO membership with fractional ownership of the entire art portfolio from 100 internationally acclaimed artists

  • the DAO art portfolio is exhibited across leading art fairs worldwide (Art Miami, KIAF Seoul, Istanbul contemporary, Art Dubai)

  • profits from the DAO art sales are distributed via smart contract to DAO members, artists & patrons

  • learn to earn (l2e) program with rewards

  • access to exclusive VIP events

Mint DAO Pass

Read Whitepaper

November 11, 2022 /Arseny Vesnin /Source
HOFA, NFT
2022

Anton Marrast

Psychedelic Surrealism

Searching for psychedelic surrealism with Anton Marrast

November 05, 2022 by Arseny Vesnin in 2022

We have been following Anton Marrast merely since the start of Designcollector in the early 2000s. His way and manner to visualise surrealistic thoughts you may already see in your dreams are truly captivating and mind-bending. He defines his style as "psychedelic surrealism".

In 2011 we asked Anton to create a piece for our first and hence the last iPad edition of Designcollector Magazine. In 2022 we decided to share this work with NFT art collectors and now it is available in 10 editions on a standalone smart contract $DigitalDecade. It was created as a logical development of the Digital Decade collaborative platform we run since 2013 by delivering annual exhibitions and events.

Today we sit with the artist and talk about his career, please meet:

Anton Marrast

(Woman Falls Into The Dark Side Of a Dream, the early 2000s)

What was your path to doing what you’re doing now?

That’s a tough one right off the start! Life? Went to art school, and was told art is not something I could make a living with. Got lost in the search for alternatives, went graphic design way, realized I’d rather make art, switched to illustration and doing it now for about 13 years

 

When you were growing up, was creativity part of your life, and how did you decide to focus on illustration?

Haha, well, yes, creativity was quite a part of my childhood. As an activity, a child would be introduced to. You know, I was attending primary art school and also a wood carving class which wasn’t part of that art school. I also had a chance to attend sports school but decided not to as I was quite a homeboy. I believe any child has creativity as a part of their life.

 

Did you feel different at the time you realised yourself as an artist?

Can’t remember actually! I felt relief when I realized I might never have any more fights with the client about the design solution I was offering. The illustration is a bit different to that. Or maybe I was just lucky enough not to have so-called ‘clients from hell’ since I started my path as an illustrator.

You moved to another country. Was it a breaking point in your career? How does it influence your way of doing work now?

Did you have an “Aha!” moment when you knew that drawings and illustrations were what you wanted to do?

It’s hard to say actually. You see, I started doing art for a living right before I moved to a completely new place so I can’t say if it influenced me or not because I can’t compare it to my previous experience. Everything was new to me at the time and I live that way since. I’m also kind of an internet worm, so it is a great part of my world. This environment is obviously everchanging and yet kinda stays the same wherever you are. 

Don’t think so. I’ve come quite a long way so it was more like an ‘ok, finally’ sort of moment.

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Do you collaborate with other artists?

We have a huge thing going on with Mannay – a super-talented artist and a great person altogether. We’re working on quite a complex project currently and you will definitely hear about it quite soon. 

 

As a creative person, do you ever have those moments where you feel like everything you create is just not right?

It’s more like having those moments when you feel like creating anything doesn’t feel right. In moments like these I just don’t create so I can’t say how I feel about it. But that only affects personal vision. Personal thoughts and ideas. If I have a project on my hands or a commission I’m working on – I do my best to make it so I love the result myself. I see myself as a man of craft. I can’t remember the exact quote but I share that philosophy a great French actor Gerard Depardieu once stated when he was referring to him being a great actor. It is a job you chose and hence get asked to do. Just do your job as well as you are able to no matter what. 

 

Have you taken any significant risks to move forward?

Well, being an illustrator working from a home studio with some laidback travel explorations and studies? Don’t think so. Does not know for sure whether you will be able to pay rent for the next month or not can be considered as a risk? That’s just a question of perspective. 

 

Are your family and friends supportive of what you do? Who has encouraged you the most?

I don’t think any of my lifetime friends or family members actually have a full understanding of what I actually do. The only person who is aware is my beloved wife and I feel her support every moment of my life for more than 10 years now. That keeps me moving and is more than enough for me.

 

Did you have a mentor? Who was it and how did they inspire you?

I’d rather say that I didn’t. It’s all episodes. I’ve had many different people over the days of youth who influenced me here and there showing me what’s important and what is not. But having just a person who I owe everything I have become? Probably not. Or all of them may be.

 

Is it important to you to be a part of a creative community of people?

Well turns out it is! Before I got into it, being an introvert as I am, living quite a secluded life I was thinking I’m good without it you know. Probably the best way to describe my relationship with any creative community of people would be to compare myself to the main character of Nomadland (2020 film). I don’t know if you watched it but the way Fern becomes part of the community of nomads and kinda stays within herself is basically how I operate. Come to me If you need to and I’ll offer the best I have but at the same time let me just sit here quietly. I’m good, thank you haha.

 

Ex Cyclopedia: Return, 2022

You’re already a successful and well-established artist, what made you pursue NFT art as a medium?

I remember it was something along the lines of transhumanism as a trend. Ever-evolving technology that not yet solved the problem of an individual being separated from their human body through making it possible to enhance the life experience by implementing tech into it. The range would be so vast that solutions could be compatible to all sorts of media, even ancient ones like cassettes. Just a fantasy. 

 

Feel the Data, 2011

MINT NFT
 

What are your short plans for the next NFT drop?

To continue with my Ex Cyclopedia series. 10th episode is round the corner and it’s going to be a special one. I’ve teamed up with a super-talented composer and musician for this one. Can’t say more for now but it’s out this month.

XCLPD SE: Departure, 2022

See Collection
 

What advice would you give to someone starting out?

Artist career-wise? I wouldn’t say anything. You’ll have to find your way. Or maybe just this: try to find your own way. It may take the whole life through. Just think how long you see yourself doing this and how you see it in 10 years for instance. And just make sure to develop and work on yourself.  
If we’re talking about joining the space then forget everything you heard about it. Be yourself. Don’t expect anything, don’t feel entitled, and be honest, and fair to yourself and others. If you like something – make sure to tell them about it. If all that goes against being yourself for you then probably you will not enjoy being here. 

 

Ex Cyclopedia: One Drop At a Time, 2022

What would it be if you could go back and do one thing differently?

Nothing really. If I would go back and change one thing I’d lose what I have now and would become frustrated about something else. I’m happy with where I am, and would not give it up for something I don’t know about. 

Do you have any unrealised or unfinished projects?

Well sort of, yes. My Slow Story isn’t finished and I’m restarting it in a way with Ex Cyclopedia bringing it to a wider and more complex level. I also have a few ideas I’m working on over the years and I hope I’ll be able to release it all at some point. 

 

Follow Anton Marrast.com, Twitter, Foundation
All Links

November 05, 2022 /Arseny Vesnin /Source
Interview, NFT
2022
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Skulloween NFT

October 31, 2022 by Arseny Vesnin in 2022

Welcome to Skulloween


Each year on Halloween, 1000 spooky skeletons rise from the depths of Skullverse to distract us from the chaos of our everyday lives. They come with good intentions — to give us an opportunity to return to our carefree childhoods and have some fun. 

skulloween.xyz
October 31, 2022 /Arseny Vesnin /Source
NFT
2022

Refractions - Chapter 1 by Murat Saygıner

December 10, 2021 by Arseny Vesnin in 2021
@muratsayginer

Murat Saygıner is a self-taught digital artist who works as a motion designer, filmmaker, photographer and composer based in Ankara, Turkey.

Born in Prague in 1989, Murat Saygıner got involved with photography and digital art in 2007 and won numerous international awards. As early as 2008, his works were selected for “IPA Best of Show” exhibition in New York and in 2010, he was awarded Emerging Talent of the Year in “The Photography Gala Awards”.

He has written, directed and produced several animated short films since 2013 which were screened in over 200 film festivals including Academy Award Qualifying Festivals such as “Animest” and “AIFVF”. Six of his films were Staff Picked on Vimeo. In 2019, he assembled ten of his short films under the title of “The Flying Fish” which drew various reviews by acclaimed film critics and received the Vitriol Award as the Best Experimental Film in The First Hermetic International Film Festival in Venice.

Refractions.xyz

The Drop

We’ve lost track of The Flying Fish. This is a new yet familiar territory. A dimension where physics are ruled by metaphors and fiction builds reality. Those CryptoFish seem to be leading the way, looks like we’re gonna be sailing for a while...

Morphing Dreamscapes from a Cosmic Exhibition
The migration is happening. Feeding from all sorts of creations, the metaverse has become a digital playground with an ever-expanding gravitational mass. The transition won’t be simple as we’re building a home made of light in the pivotal phase of our evolution. Not that any of this requires conscious effort.

Dive into the Fantasy

Jane

 

Boris

 

Fly Through The Clouds

Ayla

 

Bobby

 

Beatrice

 

Sale beyond the stars

Blaze

 

Hayato

 

Dailon

 

Travel The Underworld

Lucas

 

Maya

 

Daniel

NFT DROP
December 10, 2021 /Arseny Vesnin
NFT
2021

Brendan Dawes

Transformations - NFT Group Exhibition, INSTITUT

Unit London
December 09, 2021 by Arseny Vesnin in 2021
@Institutco

Unit London presents Transformations, a historic IRL and URL exhibition of NFTs, offered exclusively for sale via Institut.

View fullsize Tyler Hobbs
Tyler Hobbs
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Jason Seife

Transformations marks the close of a year in which the advent of creative new technologies and an ongoing global pandemic have disrupted the global artistic community as well as our entire lives. From the algorithmic harmony of Maxim Zhestkov to the brave new aesthetics of Marjan Moghaddam and Ellen Sheidlin, Transformations brings together a diverse group of artists who embody these seismic cultural and social shifts.

Maxim Zhestkov

In Passengers LHR, Brendan Dawes creates a poignant record of the impact of COVID-19, visualising the undulating ebb and flow of passenger traffic through the vast international hub of Heathrow Airport over a period of nineteen months across 2020-2021. Serwah Attafuah offers a triumphant and needed image of rebirth and healing with Asklepios, a gleaming realisation of herself as the ancient Greek god of medicine.

With the strikingly organic and yet deeply digital Return Zero [Blue] 0.7, Tyler Hobbs utilises code as a creative material in the same way that paint and marble have been wielded by past artists. A timely reminder that we stand at the beginning of a vital new chapter in the snaking and regenerative course of art history.

View fullsize Chad Knight
Chad Knight
View fullsize Serwah Attafuah
Serwah Attafuah

Remaining true to Unit London’s meritocratic guiding principles, Transformations celebrates artists from diverse and unconventional backgrounds, from the pro-skateboarder Chad Knight to the self-taught Unskilled Worker. Transformations ultimately invites artists and creators to reflect on how the last tumultuous twelve months have impacted and reshaped their lives and careers, as well as our own.

View fullsize Marjan Moghaddam
Marjan Moghaddam
View fullsize IX Shells
IX Shells

All the works showcased in Transformations are available for sale on the Institut platform, where collectors can freely bid using either regular FIAT or cryptocurrency.

December 09, 2021 /Arseny Vesnin /Source
Maxim Zhestkov, NFT
2021

SPEQTRUM by Ruslan Vyaltsev

November 29, 2021 by Arseny Vesnin in 2021
@rvyaltsevvvvv

Speqtrum is an interactive study of colour spectrum created by digital artist Ruslan Vyaltsev. Each combination of shapes and colour associates with certain emotions and individual expirience.

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See Full NFT Collection

🎨🌈🌕
November 29, 2021 /Arseny Vesnin /Source
NFT
2021

Magic worlds by Li Boar

October 26, 2021 by Arseny Vesnin in 2021

Talented digital painter Li Boar creates magic visual stories when he is not busy doing fairy-tale environments for online games

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View NFTs
October 26, 2021 /Arseny Vesnin /Source
NFT
2021
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Goodbye Punks!

October 08, 2021 by Arseny Vesnin in 2021

We all missed them. We all have FOMO. Goodbye Punks™ never turn face back to you. All you can is to wave them, shout love or hate into their back as they go away. That does not matter, they don't care ;)

This is a homage collection of 100 digitally “hand-painted" punks, created by us, featuring OG Crypto Punks back heads never seen before

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The project launch had 3 stages of delivery:

  1. “Airdrop” (free delivery in NFT) to friends (“frens” in NFT). We had 50 of them delivered to our mutual friends on Twitter (8 Oct 2021)

  2. Giveaway between NFT Community on Twitter (9 Oct 2021)

  3. Sales of leftovers (10 Oct 2021)

View on Opensea

This project is not affiliated with Larva Labs

October 08, 2021 /Arseny Vesnin /Source
NFT
2021
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The Currency NFT by Damien Hirst

July 15, 2021 by Arseny Vesnin in 2021
@damienhirst

Leading contemporary artist Damien Hirst has already walked into Crypto waters by selling signed prints for Bitcoins and Ethereums few months ago. Now puts his face in the water by reimagining the way NFTs are used. Powered by PALM Ethereum ecosystem and distributed by @HENI,

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Starting with the creation of the physical artworks in 2016, The Currency explores the boundaries of art and currency—when art changes and becomes a currency, and when currency becomes art. Successful applicants will all initially receive NFTs. Ultimately, you have to decide between the digital NFT or the physical artwork, both of which are artworks in their own right. Whichever you pick, the other gets burned.

Learn more
July 15, 2021 /Arseny Vesnin /Source
NFT
2021
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