28/12/2021 Arizona Senate candidate brings NFTs to politics

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Blake Masters, co-author of tech pioneer Peter Thiel's blockbuster "Zero to One," and now a Republican U.S. Senate candidate in Arizona, is offering NFTs with a limit of 99 copies.

Why it matters:Masters, 35, told Axios the plan is to attract support "from folks who are less conventional political donors and more founders and builders who want to see new thinking and new energy in our politics."

What's happening:Masters is leaning into his Silicon Valley ties with an "Origins NFT" that shows a rotating rendition of the early cover art he used to help persuade Thiel, his former Stanford Law professor, to collaborate on "Zero to One," published in 2014.

  • The NFTs will go to donors who give the maximum of $5,800 — half for the primary, and half for the general election if he wins.

Zoom out:Masters, who lives in his native Tucson, helps run Thiel Capital, a multibillion-dollar firm that invests in tech startups, and is president of the Thiel Foundation.

  • The Republican primary also includes Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich. Both aim to take on Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly.
  • Masters—who was agueston Tucker Carlson's show last week — held a fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago that included former President Trump as a speaker. That gives Masters' camp hope for an endorsement.

Between the lines:The idea is to give donors a sense of ownership. Real-life events are planned for the virtual club.

  • Masters said: "The best NFT projects aren't just random 'art on the blockchain,'" but instead "create or support certain communities where people share an excitement about something in particular."
Arts

https://www.axios.com/blake-masters-nft-senate-arizona-998f683e-65cd-4115-9e79-86b1f48eb2b7.html

Interesting NFTs
Genesis
José 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.
Brave Samurai
This is the second collaborative piece that I have created with the very talented Dutch artist, @eattheart23. Here, a samurai warrior stands guard, honour bound to protect his master even to the death.
#15360
By OthersideDeployer
CryptoKitties
Mahalo! Kitty #210660 here. I'm here to enjoy picking flowers and staying woke. I would give it all up for a Chanel purse. We're so fur-tunate to have found each other!
taro
conceptual art. drawing and digitally processed