01/09/2021 UTA Signs NFT Art Projects CryptoPunks, Meebits and Autoglyphs (Exclusive)

The agency will represent the crypto-art projects from Larva Labs for film, TV, video games, and publishing projects, becoming some of the first crypto-native IP to seek mainstream content deals.

Alex Weprin
Many Cryptopunks
Many Cryptopunks Courtesy of UTA

The CryptoPunks are going Hollywood.

The red-hot NFT crypto-art project from Larva Labs has signed with United Talent Agency for representation across film, TV, video games, publishing, and licensing. UTA will also represent Meebits and Autoglyphs, two other crypto-art projects created by Larva Labs.

NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal signs $11M Astrals NFT settlement
OpenSea users drop securities suit, Whales drive Q3 NFT comeback: Nifty Newsletter
Renditions of Vishnu, Kali most expensive artworks sold on WazirX NFT

While nonfungible tokens have become an area of focus in Hollywood (see Fox’s nascent efforts or Lionsgate’s deal to bring its IP to the blockchain), CryptoPunks looks to be one of the first pieces of crypto-native IP to make the jump to more traditional forms of media.

“I would say that it is one of the first opportunities for an IP that fully originated in crypto-world to enter a broader entertainment space, and they earned it,” Lesley Silverman, head of UTA Digital Assets, tells The Hollywood Reporter. “They really have hit the zeitgeist in a tremendous way.”

If anything, Larva Labs views the effort as a way to help maintain or grow the value of the collections as a whole.

“We are excited to work with UTA for the benefit of the entire community connected to our projects,” said Larva Labs co-founder Matt Hall, “Not only for the exciting opportunities to bring them wider exposure, but to help protect their growth and value for the long term.”

CryptoPunks were among the earliest examples of NFTs as art when launched on the Ethereum blockchain in 2017. Each “punk” portrait was algorithmically generated with certain characteristics (like hats, or facial hair), with some having more common features and others with more rare features.

While they were originally given away for free, in recent months sales of the characters (there are only 10,000) have picked up significantly, with eight examples selling for $2 million or more in just the last 6 weeks. The total collection is now valued at more than $3 billion.

Larva Labs launched Autoglyphs in 2019, and Meebits earlier this year, with all three projects using code to create the pieces of art on the blockchain.

Arts

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/digital/uta-cryptopunks-nft-film-tv-vieo-games-1235005392/

Interesting NFTs
#88183
By OthersideDeployer
Pudgy Penguin #6120
A collection 8888 Cute Chubby Pudgy Penquins sliding around on the freezing ETH blockchain.
No Future #9/15
None
Source Code for the WWW
OWNER: Sir Tim Berners-Lee Sir Tim Berners-Lee, b. 1955 Source Code for the WWW 1990-1991 Work includes: Original archive of dated and time-stamped files containing the source code, written between 3 October 1990 and 24 August 1991. These files contain code with approximately 9,555 lines, the contents of which include implementations of the three languages and protocols invented by Sir Tim; HTML (Hypertext Markup Language); HTTP (Hyper Transfer Protocol); and URIs (Uniform Resource Identifiers), as well as the original HTML documents that instructed early web users on how to use the application Animated visualization of the code being written (Video, black & white, silent), lasting 30 minutes 25 seconds A Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) representation of the full code (A0 841mm wide by 1189 mm high), created by Sir Tim from the original files using Python, with a graphic representation of his physical signature at lower right A letter written in the README.md file (in “markdown” format) by Sir Tim in June of 2021, reflecting upon the code and his process of creating it Non-fungible Token ERC-721 Minted on June 15, 2021, ed. 1/1 Smart Contract Address: 0x86ade256037d80d6d42df8df96d5be21cd25bd8f
Genesis
JosĂ© Delbo sent me his striking pencil sketch and powerful inked work, which I then interpreted in oil on canvas. I wanted to create a very painterly piece with obvious brush marks etc, but I was also aiming for a nostalgic feel, a kind of 1980’s superhero comic book look, the kind I grew up with. My goal with this animation was to try to recreate, in part, the creative process that both artists went through with the visual information I had. I was able to showcase my painting process more accurately as I could take photographs of my progress throughout. Consecutive images could then be layered like brush strokes over José’s drawing to create the impression that this was one continuous artwork from pencil, to ink, to completed painting. The representation of the line sketch at the beginning, then pencil/ink and lastly the paint layers being applied demonstrate both artists’ struggle for the right lines, tone, form, and colour until the work is finally completed. As the oil was still wet with each photograph the glare of my studio lights can be seen in the brush strokes. Eventually, the figure emerges and as it does, our hero comes to life, looking directly at the viewer -- but is he grimacing in approval or disgust? We will never know for sure as just before he can say anything, white paint is brushed across the canvas entirely and the process begins again. Only the bat is quick enough to escape.