All of the NFTs have A.R. functionality.
Richard Whiddington, November 30, 2022
Activism is not a word one typically associates with NFTs. Blockchain work may have continued art’s tradition of leveraging new technologies, generating hype through artificial scarcity, and questioning all that has come before, but it’s left the propensity for political protest largely offline.
One platform bringing activism to the blockchain is Artwrld, a project launched in early 2022 intent on collaborating with thoughtful creatives on provocative pieces. Its initial roster of signed artists suggested an intention to counter the NFT scene’s saccharine optimism with works of sociopolitical commentary. So far, it’s followed through.
First came Walid Raad’s “Festival of Gratitude,” a series of spinning birthday cakes dedicated to the 20th-century’s most notorious dictators, complete with sparklers, candles, and confetti. Now, it’s the turn of Turkish artist Ahmet Öğüt, whose “Monuments of the Disclosed” commemorates nine whistleblowers with their busts hovering over concrete pedestals.
“Ahmet has worked across a variety of media to imagine and put into place critical artworks of resistance and imagination,” Nato Thompson, Artwrld co-founder, told Artnet News. “We thought he made for a perfect artist to work with.”
On December 15, the collection of 99 unique NFTs will mint publicly.
The NFTs are 3D monuments—designed in gold, silver, and bronze—with augmented reality functionality, meaning a few taps on a smartphone transports the whistleblowers into physical space. The digital sculptures purposely celebrate whistleblowers who have been overlooked by media, which means no Edward Snowden and no Julian Assange.
Those honored include Marlene Garcia-Esperat, a journalist murdered for exposing government corruption in the Philippines; Mona Hanna-Attisha, whose research revealed the crisis of water quality in Flint, Michigan; and Philip Saviano, a sexual abuse survivor who relentlessly pursued the blight of pedophilia in the Boston clergy.
Ahmet Öğüt, Bunnatine Greenhouse (Bronze, Plinth 3) (2022). Photo: courtesy of Artwrld.
“I wanted to create monuments that spoke to courageous acts of resistance,” Öğüt said. “The work they risked everything for was for the greater good and so these busts stand for more than themselves.”
Fittingly, as with all Artwrld projects, the proceeds of the sale serve more than the platform and the creator with 10 percent of primary sales split evenly between Protocinema, an organization that commissions site-aware art globally, and The National Whistleblower Center. They will also receive 0.5 percent of secondary sales.
This philanthropic aspect of Artwrld is one element distinguishing the platform from the host of others that have emerged over the past year in the hopes of bringing traditional collectors into the new frontier of digital art. With the shady realm of cryptocurrencies broadly being conflated with NFTs, Artwrld understands the importance of taking a gradual approach and ensuring the validity of all the projects it backs.
Stills from Walid Raad’s digital artwork, Festival of Gratitude (2022). Photo: courtesy of Artwrld.
“I don’t want to paint the picture that this is smooth sailing. We’re taking a tortoise vs. the hare approach, and it can be difficult to get the traditional contemporary art collector to embrace this world,” Thompson said. “We firmly believe that the bones of blockchain are powerful, and that working with great artists over time and with consistency is our recipe for success.”
Having sold out nearly all of the NFTs from Artwrld’s first two collections, it seems to be a recipe that’s working.
More Trending Stories:
Was Michel Majerus the Most Important Artist of His Generation? A Global Reappraisal of the Painter Has Now Reached U.S. Shores
Scientists Discover the Existence of a Previously Unknown Roman Emperor During an Analysis of Ancient Gold Coins
A Painting Estimated at $6,000 at a Paris Auction House Just Sold for More Than $600,000—and May Be the Work of a Famous Old Master
The Discovery of the Oldest Human Footprints in North America Thrilled Researchers. It Turns Out They May Not Be So Old
Three Decades Ago, Klaus Biesenbach Revolutionized Berlin’s Art Scene. Now He’s Back to Steer Its Most Prestigious Museums—and He Has Big Plans
Click Here to See Our Latest Artnet Auctions, Live Now
Share
By Richard Whiddington, Nov 23, 2022
By Taylor Dafoe, Mar 15, 2022
By Taylor Dafoe, Oct 30, 2020
By Christine Ajudua, 1 day ago
By Taylor Dafoe, 1 day ago
©2022 Artnet Worldwide Corporation. All Rights Reserved.var w = Math.max(document.documentElement.clientWidth, window.innerWidth || 0),
h = Math.max(document.documentElement.clientHeight, window.innerHeight || 0),
pagetype = document.querySelector(‘meta[property=”og:type”]’).getAttribute(“content”),
pagetypeurl = document.URL,
pagetypeforce = pagetypeurl.substr(pagetypeurl.length – 3);
isnewsletter = pagetypeurl.includes(“?page_1”);
w = pagetype + 20 * Math.round(w / 20), h = pagetype + 20 * Math.round(h / 20), googletag.cmd.push(function() {
googletag.pubads().setTargeting(“width”, w), googletag.pubads().setTargeting(“height”, h), 1 == isnewsletter && googletag.pubads().setTargeting(“isfirstpage”, [‘Y’, pagetypeforce] )
});
(function defernl() {
if (window.jQuery) {
if (jQuery(window).width() > 619) {
setTimeout(function() {
var cookieSettings = {
recentlyShown: {
expiration_minutes: 5
},
signedUp: {
expiration_days: 14
},
closedSignupBar: {
expiration_days: 5
}
};
var generalSettings = {
loadFontAwesome: false
};
if (!window.jQuery) loadJQuery();
var $ = window.jQuery;
function addCss(fileName) {
var head = document.head
, link = document.createElement(‘link’);
link.type = ‘text/css’;
link.rel = ‘stylesheet’;
link.href = fileName;
head.appendChild(link);
}
function appendNewsletterSignup() {
var signup =
”
//hide on mobile phones
+ ‘ @media (max-width: 575px){ #ouibounce-modal {display:none !important;} }’
+ ‘ @media (max-width: 767px){ .close-signup {top:0 !important;} }’
+ ‘ @media (max-width: 1199px){ #ouibounce-modal .description {font-size:13px !important;} }’
+ ”
+ ‘
+ ‘
+ ‘
+ ”
+ ”
+ ‘
+ ‘
+ ‘
Get hand-picked stories from our editors delivered straight to your inbox every day.
‘
+ ‘
‘
+ ‘
+ ‘
+ ‘
+ ‘
+ ‘Please enter a valid email address’
+ ‘
‘
+ ‘
+ ‘Signup failed. Please try again later.’
+ ‘
‘
+ ‘
‘
+ ‘
+ ‘‘
+ ‘
‘
+ ”
+ ”
+ ‘
‘
+ ‘
‘
+ ‘
‘
+ ”
+ ‘
‘
+ ‘
‘
+ ‘
‘
+ ‘
‘
+ ‘
‘;
$(‘body’).append(signup);
}
var paywallPagesRegex = /^/subscribe|subscribe-confirm|my-account(/|$)/;
function initNewsletterSignup() {
// don’t show it on paywall-related pages where the user might be in the process
// of subscribing, or managing their account
if (paywallPagesRegex.test(window.location.pathname)) {
return;
}
// Append ouibounce to page
var ouibounceScript = ”;
$(‘body’).append(ouibounceScript);
// Add animation css
addCss(‘https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/animate.css/3.5.2/animate.min.css’);
if (generalSettings.loadFontAwesome) {
addCss(‘https://maxcdn.bootstrapcdn.com/font-awesome/4.7.0/css/font-awesome.min.css’);
}
// Check if ouibounce exist before calling ouibounce
var initOuibounce = setInterval(function() {
if (typeof ouibounce !== ‘undefined’) {
appendNewsletterSignup();
var $modal = $(‘#ouibounce-modal’);
SignupForm.init($modal.find(‘form’), function onSuccess() {
//hide form fields and show thank-you message
$modal.find(‘.form-row’).hide();
$modal.find(‘.newsletter-signup-thank-you’).fadeIn(‘fast’);
setNewsletterCookie(‘signedUp’, 1);
//after successful signup, hide the signup bar after 5 seconds
setTimeout(function() {
closeSignupBar();
}, 5000);
});
// Handler for close signup button
$(‘body’).on( ‘click’, ‘.close-signup’, function(){
setNewsletterCookie(‘closedSignupBar’, 1);
closeSignupBar();
});
ouibounceAPIaccess = ouibounce(
$modal[0], {
aggressive: true,
sensitivity: 50,
callback: function() {
slideInModal(‘Down’);
}
}
);
clearInterval(initOuibounce);
}
}, 100);
}
function slideInModal(upOrDown) {
$(‘#ouibounce-modal’)
.removeClass(‘slideOutDown slideOutUp’)
.addClass( ‘slideIn’ + upOrDown );
setNewsletterCookie(‘recentlyShown’, 1);
}
function setNewsletterCookie(cookieName, value) {
//exdays*24*60*60
var settings = cookieSettings[cookieName];
var expirationMinutes = settings.expiration_minutes;
if (!expirationMinutes) {
expirationMinutes = daysToMinutes(settings.expiration_days);
}
setCookie(cookieName, value, expirationMinutes);
}
function daysToMinutes(numDays) {
return numDays * 24 * 60;
}
/**
* Generic setCookie() method, used by setNewsletterCookie().
* There is probably no need to call this directly – use setNewsletterCookie().
*/
function setCookie(cname, cvalue, expMinutes, prefix) {
//default prefix is ‘artnet_newsletter_’
if (prefix == undefined) {
prefix = ‘artnet_newsletter_’;
}
var d = new Date();
d.setTime(d.getTime() + (expMinutes*60*1000));
var expires = “expires=”+d.toUTCString();
//console.log(prefix + cname + “=” + cvalue + “;” + expires + “;path=/”);
document.cookie = prefix + cname + “=” + cvalue + “;” + expires + “;path=/”;
}
function getCookie(cname, prefix) {
//default prefix is ‘artnet_newsletter_’
if (prefix == undefined) {
prefix = ‘artnet_newsletter_’;
}
var name = prefix + cname + “=”;
var ca = document.cookie.split(‘;’);
for(var i = 0; i <ca.length; i++) {
var c = ca[i];
while (c.charAt(0)==' ') {
c = c.substring(1);
}
if (c.indexOf(name) == 0) {
return c.substring(name.length,c.length);
}
}
return "";
}
function closeSignupBar() {
var $modal = $('#ouibounce-modal');
$modal.addClass( $modal.hasClass('slideInUp') ? 'slideOutDown': 'slideOutUp' );
}
function loadJQuery() {
var script = document.createElement('script');
script.src = "https://code.jquery.com/jquery-3.1.1.min.js";
script.integrity = "sha256-hVVnYaiADRTO2PzUGmuLJr8BLUSjGIZsDYGmIJLv2b8=";
script.crossorigin = "anonymous";
document.body.appendChild(script);
}
function checkCookies() {
//if any of these cookies are found, we don't show the modal.
var cookieNames = ['recentlyShown', 'signedUp', 'closedSignupBar','signup_cookie'];
var i = cookieNames.length,
found = false;
while (i–) {
if (getCookie(cookieNames[i]).length) {
found = true;
break;
}
}
if (!found) {
initNewsletterSignup();
}
}
var SignupForm = {
regex: {
email: /^([a-zA-Z0-9_.-])+@(([a-zA-Z0-9-])+.)+([a-zA-Z0-9]{2,4})+$/
},
// Init – Anything you want to happen onLoad (usually event bindings)
// ——————————————————————-
init: function (formElement, onSuccess) {
var ctx = this;
ctx.customSerializer();
if (!onSuccess) {
throw Error('onSuccess callback is required');
}
var $form = $(formElement);
$form.submit(function(e){
e.preventDefault();
var $email = $form.find('.signup-email');
var valid = ctx.validate( $form, $email);
if(valid){
// Hide the errors
$form.find('.errors').children().hide();
// Submit the form
ctx.submit($form, onSuccess);
} else {
// Focus on the email input box
$email.focus();
// Show email validation error and hide other errors
$form.find('.invalid-email').show().siblings().hide();
}
});
},
// FUNCTIONS
// ===================================================================
// Signup validation
// ——————————————————————-
validate: function( $form, $email ){
var ctx = this;
// Does the email match our regex?
return ctx.regex.email.test( $email.val() );
},
// Signup submission
// ——————————————————————-
submit: function($form, onSuccess) {
var ctx = this;
$.ajax({
type: $form.attr('method'),
url: $form.attr('action'),
data: JSON.stringify( $form.serializeFormJSON() ),
// dataType: 'json',
contentType: 'application/json; charset=UTF-8',
crossDomain: true,
timeout: 10000
})
.done(function(data, textStatus, jqXHR) {
onSuccess();
})
.fail(function(jqXHR, textStatus){
// Show signup failure error and hide other errors
$form.find('.signup-failed').show().siblings().hide();
});
},
// Extends jQuery with a function to serialize to JSON
// ——————————————————————-
customSerializer: function(){
$.fn.serializeFormJSON = function () {
var o = {};
var a = this.serializeArray();
$.each(a, function () {
if (o[this.name]) {
if (!o[this.name].push) {
o[this.name] = [o[this.name]];
}
o[this.name].push(this.value || '');
} else {
o[this.name] = this.value || '';
}
});
return o;
};
}
};
//show automatically after delay
setTimeout(function(){
var $modal = $('#ouibounce-modal');
//if there are cookies indicating that we shouldn't show the signup bar, then the modal won't have been added to the page
//and we can just return here.
if (!$modal.length) {
return;
}
//don't run this function if the user has already triggered the modal by leaving the viewport
if ($modal.hasClass('slideInDown')) return;
//position at bottom of screen
$modal.css({
top: 'auto',
bottom: 0
});
slideInModal('Up');
$modal.show();
},20000); //20 seconds
$(function() {
checkCookies();
});
}, 7500);
}
} else {
setTimeout(function() { defernl() }, 250);
}
})();
artnet and our partners use cookies to provide features on our sites and applications to improve your online experience, including for analysis of site usage, traffic measurement, and for advertising and content management. See our Privacy Policy for more information about cookies. By continuing to use our sites and applications, you agree to our use of cookies.
You are currently logged into this Artnet News Pro account on another device. Please log off from any other devices, and then reload this page continue. To find out if you are eligible for an Artnet News Pro group subscription, please contact [email protected]. Standard subscriptions can be purchased on the subscription page.
Log In
