16/06/2021 Christie’s to sell teenager’s NFT art about gender transition
LONDON (Reuters) – Christie’s is to auction artwork by 18-year-old trans artist FEWOCiOUS in the form of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) it said on Monday, as the world’s major auction houses ramp up their sales of NFTs.
An NFT is a form of crypto asset, which records ownership of a digital object such as an image, video or text. While anyone can view the item, only the buyer of an NFT has the official status of being the owner.
FEWOCiOUS — real name Victor Langlois — has five lots going on sale with each one representing a year of his life as he discovered his gender identity between the ages of 14 and 18.
They will be sold at Christie’s from June 23-30, in an online auction called “Hello, I’m Victor (FEWOCiOUS) and This Is My Life”, which coincides with Pride month.
Each lot consists of a video artwork which exists in digital form only, sold as an NFT, a set of doodles, drawings and journal entries from the corresponding year in both physical and NFT form, as well as a physical-only painting.
FEWOCiOUS, who first started making art aged 13, said digital art was a refuge and escape from his conservative household where he had to hide his true self.
His NFT sales to date have fetched more than $18 million, Christie’s said. He sold his first NFT in 2020 for just $1,000.
NFT sales gave FEWOCiOUS the funds to move out of his childhood home in Las Vegas, he said. He now lives in Seattle.
“I’m putting my heart out there so I’m just happy that someone is seeing it,” he said.
“I hope that other trans kids or adults can see this and be like, wow, that’s another person who did something cool – because I remember being little and seeing trans people succeed and feeling so seen and validated.”
NFTs exploded in popularity at the start of 2021. An NFT fetched $69.3 million at a Christie’s auction in March, in what was the first ever sale by a major auction house of an artwork which does not exist in physical form.
Since then, Christie’s and fellow auction house Sotheby’s have run multiple NFT sales.
(Reporting by Elizabeth Howcroft; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky)
An NFT is a form of crypto asset, which records ownership of a digital object such as an image, video or text. While anyone can view the item, only the buyer of an NFT has the official status of being the owner.
FEWOCiOUS — real name Victor Langlois — has five lots going on sale with each one representing a year of his life as he discovered his gender identity between the ages of 14 and 18.
They will be sold at Christie’s from June 23-30, in an online auction called “Hello, I’m Victor (FEWOCiOUS) and This Is My Life”, which coincides with Pride month.
Each lot consists of a video artwork which exists in digital form only, sold as an NFT, a set of doodles, drawings and journal entries from the corresponding year in both physical and NFT form, as well as a physical-only painting.
FEWOCiOUS, who first started making art aged 13, said digital art was a refuge and escape from his conservative household where he had to hide his true self.
His NFT sales to date have fetched more than $18 million, Christie’s said. He sold his first NFT in 2020 for just $1,000.
NFT sales gave FEWOCiOUS the funds to move out of his childhood home in Las Vegas, he said. He now lives in Seattle.
“I’m putting my heart out there so I’m just happy that someone is seeing it,” he said.
“I hope that other trans kids or adults can see this and be like, wow, that’s another person who did something cool – because I remember being little and seeing trans people succeed and feeling so seen and validated.”
NFTs exploded in popularity at the start of 2021. An NFT fetched $69.3 million at a Christie’s auction in March, in what was the first ever sale by a major auction house of an artwork which does not exist in physical form.
Since then, Christie’s and fellow auction house Sotheby’s have run multiple NFT sales.
(Reporting by Elizabeth Howcroft; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky)
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Interesting NFTs
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Dragonborn
Yo! I'm Dragonborn. I'm a Skydiving Instructor by day, and I like swiping right by night. My secret indulgence is cantaloupe. I look forward to picking flowers with you.
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.
Mars House
Mars House is the first NFT digital house in the world. Upon purchase of Mars House NFT, 3D files will be sent to the new owner by Krista Kim Studio Inc. for file upload to the owner’s Metaverse. Technical support for Mars House integration on Metaverse is provided. (Architectural Digest, March 14, 2021) “Kim ventured into NFTs while exploring meditative design during quarantine; her hope was to use the influx of digital life as an opportunity to promote wellbeing. Comprised entirely of light, the visual effects of her crypto-home are meant to omit a zen, healing atmosphere. The artist also partnered with musician Jeff Schroeder of The Smashing Pumpkins to create a calming musical accompaniment. So what makes the file a compelling purchase? Beyond the promise of buying into the lucrative NFT market, the home and all of the furniture in it can be built in real life by glass furniture-makers in Italy, as well as through MicroLED screen technology. Kim also has a strong visions the art being projected, as well. “Everyone should install an LED wall in their house for NFT art.” says the artist. “ This is the future, and Mars House demonstrates the beauty of that possibility.” The owner is in agreement to the following terms and conditions upon purchase of Mars House (hereby referred to as Mars House NFT): The collector agrees to own one copy of Mars House NFT on a single Metaverse platform. The collector is required to register Mars House NFT ownership with Krista Kim Studio Inc. Krista Kim Studio Inc. will provide technical support to upload and integrate Mars House NFT on a Metaverse platform. If/when Mars House is resold, the collector is required to delete all Mars House NFT 3D file(s) from his/her Metaverse, and provide verification of deletion to Krista Kim Studio Inc. before new 3D files are transferred to the new owner by the artist. The new owner is required to register Mars House NFT ownership with Krista Kim Studio Inc. Krista Kim Studio will send Mars House NFT 3D files directly to the new owner and provide support for Metaverse integration. This verified ownership transfer system will be appointed to Krista Kim Studio Inc. trusteeship, after 40 years of the date of the sale. Krista Kim Studio Inc. retains ownership of Mars House NFT copyright. All rights reserved. All reproductions of Mars House (NFT) in both digital and physical formats, are restricted. Mars House NFT physical furniture pieces, made of tempered printed glass in Italy, may be commissioned by the collector as NFT physical pieces.
Alex in Wonderland
A figure, Alex, stands mostly naked in the midst of a physical and psychological maelstrom. He is clad only in nostalgic 80’s era socks, on a tenuous island between active waters and a variety of shark denizens. Sharks on the right side of the image are all beached, including a shark with a quartz crystal snout, an orange shark wrapped in a life buoy, and a shark further in the distance wearing an 80’s style shirt with the number “88”. On the left side is the largest shark, wearing bright glossy red lipstick and brandishing prominent teeth with braces. She is cordoned off from the figure by a roped float divider, and within her thought bubble is a warning symbol.
Behind the figure, hovering in the air, are Grey aliens emerging from the distance, out of a series of elliptical UFO shaped interdimensional membranes. The Greys take on the visual form of spermazoa ostensibly impregnating the interdimensional thresholds. As is typical, these Greys inhabit a zone just behind the unconscious topology of Alex’s dissociative mind.
Though Alex’s bottom half is representative, his top half mutates into a psychological cornucopia. In a manner akin to “Auto-Erotic Sphinx”, a predecessor work, the figure has self suctioned—an act of sensual infatuation, enjoyment, and exploration.
Upward exists the figure’s primary conscious eye, adorned with a revolutionary beret emblazoned with a Bitcoin badge. The figure’s summit features the nose of a fighter jet facing off against video game Bullet Bills, one of whom is marked by a communist North Korean star. A cropped section of a UFO observes the contest.
Alex’s mind branches both left and right. To the left is more singular embodied consciousness, manifesting two eyes and a Ganesh trunk grasping crayons. The right branch dissociates upward diagonally, emerging into an array of eyes, faces, teeth, tail, a unicorn horn, and much more—all of which participate in expressing his unconscious being; a democracy of psychic factions representing thought impressions and associations. All illumination and darkness– fernal, infernal, high consciousness and corporeal underbelly–reside in this realm.
In the distance are relatively languid, light clouds, and against the firmament hovers a colossal distant eye peering over the scene and far beyond.
This painting possesses underlying genetic traits with previous works such as “Auto-Erotic Sphinx with Toys”, “Dionysus”, and “Fuku-Shiva”. The work serves also as a nod to an earlier period of art inspiration during late teens and early twenties— born out of the nakedness, vulnerability, curiosity, and wonder inherent to coming of age and all subsequent psychedelic revelation.