Digital See by SuperWorld

SuperWorld announced the art exhibition Digital See raising funds for the community of Flint, Michigan, USA. The exhibition is an AR interactive event available inside the SuperWorld application @superworldapp

Digital See Mission

“The Flint Water Festival supports awareness and education about the importance of clean water protection: that we must protect clear water supply for the health and well being of our communities.  Many children and families were affected  in the Flint community and we want to support efforts to medical and clean water oversight.  
We are a group of artists who are coming together to support the community of Flint. With each sale, we dedicate proceeds to local initiatives for health, clean water and education.

​SuperWorld supports the Flint Water Festival as the first AR NFT art event to showcase both local and international artists with 3D NFT art installations.”

Featured Artists

UISCE - Brynn + Lisa (Londubh Studio) + Swalih Ibrahim

CleanWater should not be a Sisyphus - Marjan Moghaddam

Rhythm & Flow - Joëlle Charlotte

Never Let Go of the Fuze 2021 - José Manuel Cruz Igarza

C0R3 - Evan Pun

Project Lifeline

SMALLIE. THE SMALL FISH FROM FLINT - Seyhan Lee + Lara Binnet + Pinar

Prayer for Change - Nate McCrorey

Strange Fruit 2.0 - Erin Whitaker

Agua Azul - REO

The Description - Isiah Lattimoore

King of the Forest by Santi Zoraidez

Santi Zoraidez was born in Argentina and spent many years living and working in Copenhagen, Berlin and Buenos Aires before recently settle in Barcelona to continue his practice. Santi is a passionate art director and designer with a true desire to transform ideas into striking artwork. Santi’s work combines digital and reality with great sense of space, colour, light and inventiveness to create top-notch projects with a modern and fresh feel.

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The King

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The Dreamer

“Like many of us, I have always been drawn to the elegance and presence of the Tiger. For this project I wanted to make it part of my artwork. The collection shows the Tiger in situations of intimacy, calm and curiosity. New spaces to be explored.”

— Santi Zoraidez

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The Hunter

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The Explorer

Pending Futures

PENDING FUTURES presents a virtual exhibition of the new media art works by the students and alumni of the leading art institutions of Russia and the Netherlands. The project reflects on the notions of digital space as potentially a safe and comfortable space despite its “necessity” status merged the during covid-19 extreme isolation and immersion into online terrain. It seems important to look at the digital space through the eyes of the youngest generation of artists who are engaged with the various kinds of cutting-edge media and for whom the digital has become an essential tool for self-reflection and artistic expression and a regular part of their education curriculum.

The project is located in the virtual gallery built by our Technical partner – V-Art and available in application for iOS and on Art Catch and V-Art as webversion. PENDING FUTURES is accompanied by a public program, dedicated to various aspects of digital art, i.e. curating, marketing and education. A part of the public program will be included into cultural programming of CADAF Online | June 17-23, a Crypto and Digital Art Fair. All the recordings of the public program will be available on PENDING FUTURES exhibition page. The exhibition is curated by Daria Kravchuk, curator, art manager, museologist and art journalist.

OPENING:
June 15, 18:00 (GMT+2) / 19:00 (GMT+3, Moscow time)

The Lord of Light

Don't click if you're not the Chosen One

Two Ukrainian visual artists, Histibe & Solonskyi, created an artwork as a symbol of Light in the form of a blank white image.

With this NFT, you become the world's first exclusive owner of Light.

“The nature of Light is epic.
Light has no color or shape.
Light has no boundaries.”

They want only the worthy to inherit this great gift, which will be the crown of your collection.

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It’s now available at the Foundation Auction:

Non-Fungible Females drop "Nice to meet you" collab

Non-Fungible Females (NFF) community was created to bring together more than 50 female artists from different countries

“Our 1st collaboration aiming to contribute to building a safe, supportive and inclusive environment for self-expression. The self-portrait format is intended to show the unique vision and style of each collaborator.

The concept is to reflect our unity, support and openness to all the new female artists coming to the crypto art space. 15% of the proceeds will go to our fund for supporting female newcomers with their first drops. The recipients of the support will be suggested by the collaborators and subsequently selected through a voting process.”

— NFF

This is Number One

The artist Chemical X presents a curated collection of unique NFT artworks, made in collaboration with iconic figures from the Arts and built on Bitcoin via the Stacks Blockchain.  This is #1 is featuring @caradelevingne @orbital @davestewarteurythmics @officialfatboyslim and artist-curator himself.

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“We are proud to reveal the inaugural 5 #1s. Each collaboration is a unique edition of 1. Our first artworks have been produced in partnership with Cara Delevingne, Fatboy Slim, Dave Stewart and Orbital. The last of the five is by Chemical X alone.”

— Chemical X

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Where the war things are: An interview with Schoony

From a series of Designcollector x Superrare interviews. Arseny Vesnin (Twitter: @designercollector), 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 St.Petersburg, Russia.

Schoony’s background is rooted in special effects and prosthetics for the film industry. His career spans over 30 years. Since the age of fifteen he has worked on over a hundred films. His work and reputation for high quality and pioneering techniques has reached far corners of the world thanks to the representation of Maddox Gallery. Schoony uses 3D technologies alongside the more traditional methods in his art pieces. He continually pushes boundaries within this discipline.

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Hi, I’m Schoony a London based sculptural artist exploring 3D technologies such as 3D scanning, digital modelling and 3D printing to create my works physically and digitally. My work pursues themes of commercialism, violence, and contemporary Western society’s detached relationship to warfare.

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

Growing up my father, John Schoonraad, worked in film special effects. He brought my brother Robin and I on set and into the workshops a number of times as kids which used to blow us away. At the age of 15 I started working with my dad on films in the special effects prosthetics and specialty props departments. It took me on some fantastic adventures globally, working on films and like Back Hawk Down, Rambo, Harry Potter and Star Wars.

I was introduced to the art scene by Joe Rush and Nic Reynolds with Mutate Britain. My first work that I created for the show was called Rope Trick, which was a take on the Indian rope trick. The main figure for the work was eventually reimagined as the Boy Soldier, one of my longest running motifs.

The progression of my execution was originally influenced from my work in special effects, predominantly life casting, sculpting and model making. I have always had a keen eye for technology however and when Artec 3D scanners became available I got my hands on one. Through 3D scanning and sculpting I then began to utilise 3D printing, CNC milling and now animation.

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

Working with my father and brothers in the film industry, creativity has always played a big role in my life. I worked alongside some very talented people in the industry, inspired by the likes of Chris Cunningham and Dave Elsey. I was forever surrounded by art.

The workshops I visited would have shelves of books and sculptures throughout. I would also draw  inspiration from the comic books I read, collecting the incredible artwork of Jim Lee, Simon Bizley and Frank Miller.

My transition from working on film to focusing my energy on art was a slow one. Initially I was doing both, finishing work on a film in the early evening and going back to my workshop to create my art till late into the night. Eventually I let go of the films and concentrated my full energy into my sculptures and I haven’t looked back. I have always wanted the freedom to pursue my own creative impulses and I take full advantage of that.

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

Selling my first works was an incredible experience. I was anxious about the Mutate Britain show and was concerned none of my work would sell. Little did I know that I would sell everything I exhibited. It left me feeling accomplished and self assured that I was making the right choice to pursue my creative passions.

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

It stemmed from my passion in pushing digital technologies to realise my art. For a long time now I have wanted to produce an animation but I wasn’t sure of how to release it to a market or platform. NFT’s are a brilliant way to enter the world of animation and bring my work to a new audience with an art lens.

I’d been told to have a look into NFT’s by an old friend of mine and it all just clicked from there. I’ve been collecting and following cryptocurrencies for a while and I am very excited about it as a technology. To find that art was then being produced using the same networks and technologies, I wanted to jump straight on it.

How does that move influence your way of doing work now?

By continually seeking to push boundaries, my work and reputation for high quality and pioneering techniques has reached far and wide, gaining a substantial list of high-profile clients such as Benedict Cumberbatch, Rita Ora and Celia Sawyer.

During pandemics you helped a lot NHS (UK) by refocusing your workshop to produce face masks. Can you tell us a bit more about this?

When the pandemic first hit I was feeling anxious as I think most people were. I was watching the news where there were constant reports about the shortage of PPE to our emergency workers. My wife Gracie showed me a movement online to 3D print face shields to aid in the shortage. I thought if I could contribute in any way it was worthwhile. I started using my 3D printers to produce face shields and made some posts to Instagram to encourage others to do the same.

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I had previously sold some of my work to the production company, SunnyMarch, run by Adam Ackland and Benedict Cumberbatch. Adam had seen the work that I was doing on Instagram and got in touch with Benedict who then kindly donated £5000 to purchase more 3D printers and ramp up the production of face shields. I was then able to produce far more face shields which were then distributed by Scrub and Face Protection Hub.

Do you collaborate with other artists?

I’ve collaborated with a number of artists over the years whether it be shared concepts or using my sculptures as a canvas. One of my earliest shows was a series of Boy Soldier panels that I gave to over 30 artists to paint and decorate in their styling. I had the likes of Goldie, Dot Master and Inkie painting my work.

I collaborated with Chemical X to produce The Spirit of Ecstacy. I 3D scanned the model Cara Delevigne and recreated her in a hyper realistic silicone finish. She was then mounted into an acrylic pane which had 7000 ecstacy tablets laminated within it.

Another large collaboration I did was for Iris Van Herpen. We were asked to produce a hyper realistic oversized head of the model Iekeliene Stange. The final sculpture, Lucid Dreams, was several metres in length and was transported to Austria where it was displayed by Swarovski in their Biomorphism exhibition, celebrating the work of Iris Van Herpen.

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

*corrected by artist

Whenever I finish a piece of work I have a period of self doubt. My work takes significant time and effort to produce which means you have to maintain enthusiasm the whole way through. If you lose that drive you can find a piece being left to the wayside.

I have a lot of admiration for film producers because they have to keep up that enthusiasm for years. The trouble is, the longer you work on something, the longer you self critique and the doubt grows.

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Have you taken any big risks to move forward?

Giving up the security of film work was a big leap for me. Art can be fickle and you never know when you are going to sell, particularly starting out. Once I was committed though I found my productivity could significantly increase and with that hard work came reward.

I’ve also tried to move with technology and explore new methods of creation. This has meant the investment in expensive 3D scanning and 3D printing equipment which were a risk at the time.

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

Of course they are, my wife and daughter have been both encouraging and an influence in my work. They have both been muses for my sculptures many a time over.

Growing up working in the film industry with my father and brothers I learned a lot of the foundation skills that I apply frequently today.
I also have a terrific management team with Maddox Gallery who have been able to promote and travel my work globally.

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

Working in the film industry you were constantly creating somebody else’s creative vision. You were surrounded by talented craftsmen who would help to grow and develop your skill set. Working to create someone else’s vision through the day meant that I had to find my own ways to be inspired and think of original concepts. I was constantly playing with ideas and concepts during my breaks.

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

Definitely, I’ve always participated in group shows like Unit London, Woodbury House, Westbank Gallery , Art Below, Moniker Art Fair and Art Car Boot Fair. It’s a great way to network with other artists and share ideas and talents.

Maddox Gallery has been another great avenue to discuss concepts and ideas with a team who have been a powerhouse in the creative scene. 

Social media, particularly Instagram have been another great outlet to be introduced to so many great artists and discuss our works, even promoting the trading of work at times.  

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

I’m always wanting to push new boundaries and pursue 3D technologies. It seemed like a logical transition as I have a library now of digital work. I like new technologies and exploring how I can use them. It’s how I initially began investing in cryptocurrencies a while back. To then see an interest in utilising the technologies associated to mint digital art was a very exciting thing for me. What’s great about it is that it is another platform to share my work and be distributed globally. I’m always wanting to reach as many people as possible with my art.

What inspired the work in your first NFT drop?

For the first drop with SuperRare I thought I would go back to one of my early works. Where The War Things Are is a variation on my Boy Soldier that has been a motif that has stuck with my work over the years and been very symbolic. Where the War Things Are is a throwback to my time spent in Melbourne, Australia where I was working on the film Where the Wild Things Are. I thought I would celebrate my first drop on SuperRare by recreating the piece digitally.

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What are your short plans for the next NFT drop?

NFT’s are an exciting new platform for my portfolio of work to be realised and distributed in a way that it never has before. I’m looking to bring to life pieces from my body of work, both early and some of my latest creations, in a way that would be difficult to replicate in real life.

What advice would you give to someone starting out?

You have just got to have the mind set that you can be the best, you have to persevere and try not to talk yourself down. Having a creative network to support you and give you advice is a big help.

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

If I could buy Bitcoin back when it was valued at mere cents I don’t think I would have many regrets! Jokes aside, I truly wouldn’t change a thing, I’ve been a very lucky boy.

Do you have any unrealised or unfinished projects?

Due to the time and investment into realising my projects there have been plenty of pieces that have lost momentum over time and not been realised. This is usually caused by having more confidence in a new idea and leaping on the opportunity to produce that before it is lost. I believe it’s impossible to create great work without failure along the way.

Follow up artist on: Instagram, Twitter and Superrare

Dimitri Daniloff on his collaboration with Daft Punk

From a series of Designcollector x Superrare interviews. Arseny Vesnin (Twitter: @designercollector), 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 St.Petersburg, Russia.

Dimitri Daniloff on his collaboration with Daft Punk

Artist Dimitri Daniloff’s has collaborated with Daft Punk for The Keeper, his first futuristic collection on SuperRare. He sat down with Arseny Vesnin to discuss his process and work.

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

— Dimitri Daniloff

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 4×5 view cameras and then turned to the practice of digital photography in the early 2000 as I could see the possibilities that technique has to offer. In 2005 I was doing a first series “Cubisme” using digital photography mixed with 3D. And then 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, 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 a space and building, through a 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 an 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 fashion designer and my father was 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.

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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 was what you wanted to do?

I can remember one of my very first tests (this is how you call your personal production in photo ) back in 96 being in the studio with models, makeup artist, hair stylist, set designer, 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 2008. Was it a second breaking point in your career after 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 me 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 experience. 
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 about but still very curious. I am right now collaborating with a VR artist to make my first VR experience on a grant we won last year. The project will be 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 risk you won’t move forward.
Stepping away from your comfort zone is the way to stay creative. My latest risk is the 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, 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 humanly.

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, creative tech… it was so creative, so much energy. This is where I discovered VR and photogrammetry. 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?

Since 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 an 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 revue these 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 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 to 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 “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 the Daft Punk. 

What are your short plans for the next NFT drop?

I will have to think about it. Not sure yet if I jump in time with my recent work or if I drop a collector edition of my Playstation work. 

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. 

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.

₿eethoven

₿eethoven — generative NFT at the intersection of the old and the new create by artist Artem Morozov

A symbiosis of classical music, graphics and code. A luxurious evening, dressed in puffy dresses and tuxedos. Bright lights, bubbles of sparkling wine and a couple of waltzing dancers circling through this evening.

This piece is a result of generative music project Artem initiated not long ago, a visual research dedicated to the best composer in the history.

Mars House: 3 days and 4 nights

Contemporary artist Krista Kim you may already know by the successful 100% NFT project called “Mars House”

In collaboration with artist Dirty Robot, Krista presents: “Mars House: 3 days and 4 nights.”  This is an illustrative story following an interstellar couple who take off for a weekend getaway to Mars House for healing, connection and an epic party. This NFT story has 7 parts, dropping everyday between Monday April 26th to May 1st.  The complete story of 7 NFTs are offered as one complete body of work.  

Krista and Dirty Robot are fans of each other's work with a common love for Tokyo and Japanese culture. Krista lived in Tokyo for 4 years and Dirty Robot is based there.  They decided to begin working on this collaboration a week before Mars House was launched last month.  The concept was to create an illustrated story, featuring Mars House as a protagonist.  

Follow up on Superrare

“Mars House is a place of healing, inspiration and dreams. We wanted to capture memorable moments of an interstellar couple at the most iconic NFT house in the galaxy.  We hope you enjoy following this project as much as we had creating it. 

Proceeds are donated to the Continuum Foundation to support healing and mental health initiatives globally. “

Follow up project on Krista’s Twitter