Over the years, the U.S. Postal Service has become a champion of the arts through stamps that highlight both iconic and overlooked figures who’ve left an indelible mark on culture. Past stamps include Marvin Gaye and Ellsworth Kelly, Seasame Streetand Chien-Shiung Wu, to the latest which celebrates American sculptor, Edmonia Lewis.
Born of Haitian and Ojibwe descent, Lewis is accredited by some historians as the first Black American sculptor. A master at carving marble, her sculptures referenced her mixed heritage, along with an extensive study of mythological and biblical motifs — a background she learned on her travels across European cities, such as Rome.
The stamp is a portrait of Lewis made by Augustus Marshall sometime between 1864 and 1871. In a statement on the release, USPS said: “As the public continues to discover the beautiful subtleties of Lewis’s work, scholars will further interpret her role in American art and the ways she explored, affirmed or de-emphasized her complex cultural identity to meet or expand the artistic expectations of her day.” You can preorder a sheet of 20 for $11.60 USD online or at the nearest USPS location.
Tristan Eaton recently entered the NFT space with a series of works titled EMMA. The acclaimed SoCal-based artist is back with a follow-up, aptly called the Generative Electronic Museum of Metaverse Art (G.E.M.M.A).
G.E.M.M.A mixes Eaton’s hypnotic art with collaborative software to produce a randomly created retrospective of the past two decades of his work. Starting on January 12, 5000 unique pieces, each priced at 0.1 ETH, will be made available. Similar to past work, which has injected humor in TrustoCorp fashion, Eaton created fake cereal boxes, each of which held a G.E.M.M.A. NFT for the lucky finder. The boxes were planted at grocery stores across five major cities over the past few weeks, leading to a creative approach to bridging the gap between reality and the metaverse.
In a statement, Eaton noted:
“For every painting I make, I normally start with the simple portrait. I then assemble a giant pile of visuals into layered, storytelling collages. From this stage, the painting can go in a million different directions. In real life, I will only see one of these many possibilities realized into a final work of art. The result is the equivalent of a painted puzzle, with each image, color and collage element doing it’s work to create a unique, one of a kind composition. With G.E.M.M.A., I can now see what happens when those thousands of other possibilities are realized. It’s like witnessing a multiverse for paintings. This project will live on for a long time with many surprises and bonuses for those who join the Generative Electronic Museum of Metaverse Art!”
Additionally, there will be four quarterly events enabling holders to burn their G.E.M.M.A. NFT in exchange for a 24” x 24” signed, one-of-a-kind giclee art print of their image, creating a deflationary supply in the digital collection. Check out the link here to inquire more.
In other art news, BMW unveils Digital Art Mode.
BMW is well-known for artist collaborations, having recently linked up with Joshua Vides on a monochromatic X4 M. As part of the tech innovations currently being introduced at CES 2022, the German automaker unveiled plans to use art as a way to offer drivers a new holistic experience.
By switching on Digital Art Mode, everything from the car’s powertrain, steering, cabin lighting, graphic display and sound is synchronized to accommodate a more sensory ride. As the first automaker to introduce digital art into vehicles, BMW has re-enlisted Cao Fei to create visuals that commemorate the 50th anniversary of BMW Cultural Engagement. The Chinese multimedia artist worked with the automaker on the 2017 M6 GT3 and has released a stunning new piece, titled Quantum Gardens.
Speaking on the latest work, Fei comments on the continuous change of a globalized and interconnected world. “2021 was a difficult and special year. While humanity was stuck and helpless, the world has been moving determinedly into the metaverse, the age of virtual immersion,” she said, adding, “Quantum Garden gives the BMW driver the chance to experience the ever-changing digital landscapes of a multifaceted universe in a screen world, where abstract poetry and sensory pixels intersect.”
The art experience is part of the automaker’s new My Modes integration which is being debuted inside a BMW iX M60. It’s important to note that this is not some far-reaching concept years from production. BMW aims to roll out the feature later this year. Additionally, the automaker states that compatible vehicles can also be retrofitted to use the technology as well.
No comments:
Post a Comment