21/12/2021 Brian Eno is not a fan of NFTs

brian eno-shamil tanna-01

If you were saving up Ethereum for a set ofDiscreet MusicNFTs, we’ve got bad news. Inan interview withCrypto Syllabus(conducted by longtime tech criticEvgeny Morozov, of all people), Eno outed himself as a skeptic of cryptocurrency — and NFTs in particular.

“NFTs seem to me just a way for artists to get a little piece of the action from global capitalism, our own cute little version of financialization,” Eno told Morozov. “How sweet — now artists can become little capitalist assholes as well.”

Best known for his pioneering ambient work and prolific producer credits, Eno seems like the perfect artist for the NFT era. He’s spent decades making art with an eye towards technology and its social implications, often made available assoftwareorlimited-edition product drops. Eno was a particularly early proponent ofalgorithmically generated art, pioneering the same basic process that produced those endless minutely varied monkey portraits for the Bored Ape crew. It would be easy for him to bank a few million pounds by turning this generative iPad app, say, into a string of 10,000 numbered NFTs.

But as he describes it in the interview, taking the NFT turn would be pointless as an artistic move and craven as a financial calculation.

“I am not sure what is being brought into the world that makes any difference to anything other than some strings of numbers moving about in some bank accounts,” Eno continues. “People I like and trust are convinced they’re the best thing since sliced bread, so I wish I could have a more positive view, but right now, I mainly see hustlers looking for suckers.”

Arts

https://www.theverge.com/2021/12/20/22846654/brian-eno-nft-crypto-skeptical-morozov-suckers

Interesting NFTs
Fuku-Shiva
The term “Fuku” refers to fortune or good luck. “Shiva” refers to the Hindu deity who represents strongly polar qualities, both severe and delicate. On a beach inspired by adventures on Phi Phi island in Thailand, three youths cavort. Two are representational figures and the third is psychologically rendered. A dynamic relationship ensues between the triad; a reciprocity of active and passive states. The boy on the right engages in maneuvers of evasion, defense, and is dressed in a speedo which reiterates the colors and symbolism of the caution tape on the left and upper right frame of the composition. In concurrent reaction the psychedelic figure shoots out a rocket powered paper airplane. The nude boy seated in the froth and sand approaches in passive repose, and is met with active attention but equal physical reserve by the psychedelic being. Perhaps the most naked figure is also the least representational. Looming large, dynamic, and active, it engages its companions playfully. Various symbols interject into the otherwise naturalistic scene, most notably a beach ball and two contaminated barrels nested in the sand. The upright barrel reads “FukuShima” in Kanji. The barrel laying down reads “Dharma”. To the left the scene is bounded by caution tape, reiterating the danger of the nuclear waste while also hosting alien archetypes, whose presence, as is the nature of these entities, runs up and just behind the consciousness of the psychedelic figure’s eggshell-like skull.
Chamo
*hissing noises*! I'm Chamo. All you need to know about me is I hate ice cream with a passion. My secret indulgence is lasagna. Our friendship will be raunchy, gullible, and full of steak.
#2921
By OthersideDeployer
The New York Times x NFT
A digital original of Kevin Roose's New York Times column, "Buy This Column on the Blockchain!" Published 3/24/21.
Auto-Erotic Sphinx with Toys
In this image, a giant sphinx spoons itself in erotic play within an aquatic styled environment littered by various denizens. These creatures include symbols and archetypes both current and nostalgic–each inhabiting a rootedness within mass cultural adolescence. Among the roster are Servbots, video game inspired mushrooms, a Pacman-like creature, a distant sea faring rubber duck, creatures sporting the symbols reminiscent of popular anime, and a Pokemon-like rabbit (a novel incarnation of Ganesha indicated by the Shiva trident on its nose). In addition, a few sea creatures partly inspired by sea monsters of western antiquity conglomerate along the mid left side of the composition. The Sphinx itself is an amalgam of aquatic, fetishist, ancient Egyptian, and 80’s style adornments, both living, as in a clown fish, or material, such as a cassette tape. Nautically colored antennae receive somatic signals from the atmosphere, perhaps from the 8 Ball moon or giant ringed planet beyond.