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.

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.

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
taNNa
conceptual art. drawing and digitally processed.
Who is Satoshi Nakamoto?
"Who is Satoshi Nakamoto?" is dedicated to the mysterious creation of Bitcoin, and acts as the showcase artwork within Javier Arrés’ exploratory series "Bitcoin, The Origin". "Who is the creator of Bitcoin?" The artist, Arrés, explores this question, and the feelings of doubt and mystery that accompany it, through his unique artistic language. An unknown, an enigma. It should be remembered that the name Satoshi Nakamoto is a pseudonym of Bitcoin's author or authors and gives us little insight into its true creator. For this Visual Toy, Arrés uses the signature claw machine, his famous half-operation, to symbolize our collective ignorance and unconfirmed belief: As soon as it has the stuffed animal within its grasp and appears to have solved the puzzle, the animal escapes again, and again. At present, there are three more public and studied possibilities who are either believed to be the creators of the currency or who directly claim the creation of it. It may be all or none of them, yet these three personalities leave us clues which are an important part of this interesting enigma. For this moment, it will remain unknown... In this artwork, Arrés elevates the claw machine from the apparatus, to an iconic pop art object serving as an important element to the Bitcoin creation narrative. Action is everywhere, with each movement serving an iconographical or metaphorical purpose related directly to cryptocurrency: Various ups and downs, roller coasters, mining points, robot, coins and more speak to a sense of hope, risk, mystery, randomness and possibility of pay out. Hundreds of manically thought out details make this creation one of the artist’s most complex Visual Toys to date. ------- "Bitcoin, The Origin" is a set of two Visual Toys, titled "Who is Satoshi Nakamoto" and "It’s Alive!" which reflect and explore the mystery and enigmas behind the creation of Bitcoin. Arrés presents these proposals to us in his signature style, full of iconography, fantasy, maniacal animations and a panoply of details (both subtle and overt) which simultaneously fascinate, hypnotize, and narrate this historical milestone through the singular vision of the artist. Through this series, Arrés freezes a crucial moment of cryptocurrency history, taking a still photo under his vision and turning it into two unique crypto artworks. ---- More info about Javier Arrés: https://javierarres.com/about.html
Tametomo and the inhabitants of Onoshima Island
Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849) Tametomo and the inhabitants of Onoshima Island 1811 - Japan
CryptoKitties
*hissing noises*! I'm Kitty #286460. I enjoy tricking babies, fighting the patriarchy, and spinning sick beats. When I'm not prank-calling celebrities, I'm sleeping in fresh laundry! We can be friends, but keep the ultra purrsonal stuff to yourself, please.
Meebit #8598
The Meebits are 20,000 unique 3D voxel characters, created by a custom generative algorithm, then registered on the Ethereum blockchain.