Earlier this month, creative publication LE BOOK hosted the Paris iteration of its “Connections” conference in-person at the city’s Carreau Du Temple. Conceived as a space to link like-minded creatives, firms, and businesses through presentations, exhibitor booths, and talks, the event saw the “Conversations” series hosted in partnership with TMINT and media partner Whitewall, focused on topics exploring the role of the ever-expanding Metaverse in relation to fashion, sports, music, and art, respectively.
Concluding the “Conversations” series on December 2 was “THE METAVERSE x ART!”, taking place at 6 PM. Moderated by James Joseph, the Editorial Director of CYBR and TMINT, the talk saw participants including the artist Parin; creative collective Obvious Art; the Founder of Museum of Crypto Art (MoCA), Benoit Couty; and James Morgan, who is the co-founder of digital art marketplace KnownOrigin.
“There are lots of artists that have just recently joined the space and in my opinion still don’t know the value of their art (…) the speed of the NFT space is very fast,” said Parin. “Maybe in three months, maybe in three weeks, maybe in a year you cannot afford them anymore.”
A familiar topic that’s been buzzing through the art world for the last several months, the concept of NFTs and art in the digital realm is no longer completely over our heads. In fact, we’re continually drawn back to the Metaverse by new developments, technologies, and “firsts” in the world of virtual art. With the impact of the Metaverse on the art world as the central focus of the discussion, the contributors went into details on highlights like the perks of community, the addition of artist royalties, and exposure for emerging artists that will come from the fast-paced nature of crypto art.
Connections Conversations Paris 2021, “THE METAVERSE x ART,” courtesy of Le Book.
“Lots of new collectors and new artists might come, create new waves of people trying to gather around something else,” said Obvious Art co-founder, Hugo Caselles-Dupré. “We might see new communities emerge and from these communities there must be very successful artists that today might be unknown to the general public.”
As to be expected with any new development, there are still aspects of NFTs and the Metaversal art world that need to be perfected. While immersive technologies and the artworks themselves are constantly evolving—did you know you can purchase your own NFT home in the Metaverse?—perhaps one of the most promising ideals is the implementation of universal royalty standards. With royalties in place varying across different marketplaces on the blockchain, the hope is for a ubiquitous code to ensure all artists are receiving due credit when their work is sold or traded for higher value.
“Over the next couple of years, we can start using royalties as a marketing slogan that actually fulfills the dream of royalties to creators of NFTs,” said Morgan. “Once royalties [are] fixed, it’s a big win for the Metaverse, it’s a big win for crypto art, it’s a big win for creatives around the World.”
With the concept of art that only exists digitally often comes the confusion about what is considered “real.” However, this line is becoming gradually finer as the boundaries of all things digital disappear, integrating AR and VR technology into our daily lives. For example, Couty’s MoCA recently debuted an in-person experiential exhibition, “Cryptoart Revolution.” Taking place in a physical space at 5 Rue Saint-Merri in Paris, the presentation integrated the concept of a typical exhibition for viewers to experience a showcase of NFT works.
Finally (and maybe the most appealing aspect of the Metaverse to artists) the panelists discussed the creative potential that comes with the undertaking of crafting a new reality—the Metaverse is for artists, essentially, the largest blank canvas imaginable. “The crypto artists, they like this Metaverse because it’s plain, it’s white and they can express what they want to do,” said Couty.
