On July 20, muralist, designer and illustrator Eric Friedensohn – known by his stage name Efdot – will release his latest NFT collection: Elements. Consisting of five editions of works themed around the classical elements – earth, air, fire and water, and a unique fifth component – Elements aims to draw viewers’ attention to the underlying and eternal beauty of the natural world, while also telling an important story.
His first collaboration with Web3 platform Transient Labs, Elements is the product of the artist’s time at the Kaaba Luum Artist Residency in Tulum, Mexico. In 2022, he spent a week there creating large-scale physical paintings on wood panels that were later digitally animated.
Efdot deliberately crafted the release details with Transient Labs to ensure the drop was done right at a time when the NFT market has seen better days. We spoke with the artist ahead of release to learn more about the philosophy and mindset behind the collection, as well as the creative drop mechanics involved in its release.
The fifth element
Efdot’s abstract and figurative style is unmistakably present in Elements, lending itself to vibrant compositions that are deeply rooted in emotion and open to interpretation.
“The abstraction that I put into my work consists of lines, symbols and shapes that can be interpreted in many different ways,” Efdot said of his work when speaking to nft now. “But if you zoom out and look at the whole piece, each Element should have a sense of flow or the balance of positive and negative space that creates an energy and its own personality.”
After completing the four pieces and returning home, Efdot made a fifth piece, a physical drawing that he later decided would provide a good thematic link to the original pieces in the collection. called Elemental glow, the play is the result of Efdot’s exploration of a fifth element that was a common part of the belief systems of several ancient cultures. The piece is claimed for free by those who collect each of the four main works of art and comes with a corresponding original drawing on paper that will be raffled among the holders.
“It’s the mother of all the other elements,” Efdot explained. “It’s basically their version of the big bang; how all the other four elements came out of this one moment. I got that feeling after I made the piece – sometimes I don’t know for sure what I’m making until after it’s done, and then it kind of takes on its meaning. It just felt like a great way to tie the series together.
“Nature has this ever-evolving DNA, like a giant generative work of art, and photographers can instantly capture that and preserve it as it is. But with my abstract work, I try to tap into and make visible something that is not visible.”
Drop elements
Efdot came into contact with Transient Labs by first meeting Ben Strauss, the company’s founder, at Art Basel in Miami. I’ve admired the platform for what it did with artist drops like Dave Krugman’s Drip dropthe two started chatting and a collaboration seemed “a natural fit”.
“I really liked all the dynamic artworks and custom smart contracts they were building, and that it was for the sake of art and innovation, not to drive more sales or grow as fast as possible,” said Efdot. “It’s a bit more nuanced what they’re doing.”
One of the nuances that Efdot and Transient Labs bring to Elements lies in its unique coining process. Efdot wants to give collectors the opportunity to have a say in how big the collection will be and uses Transient’s Velocity coin mechanism. Each time someone coins a piece from the collection, the coin window shortens by five minutes.
The original coin windows for each element are as follows: six hours before Soil12 hours before Sky18 hours before Fireworkand 24 hours before Water. The Velocity mechanic also means that rarity is not a foregone conclusion, and those looking to get their hands on rarer pieces will need to keep a close eye on the coin situation.
Minters can also click on the animated NFT to reveal a static image of the original drawing. Click again and they see a video clip of the artistic process.
To make this possible, @benstraussphoto coded an interactive function within each piece.
This allows viewers to *click to reveal the original static piece* and click again to see a video clip of the process! 🎥https://t.co/r7SXDMIDtx
— Efdot 👁 (@EfdotStudio) July 13, 2023
Giving back to the community
Efdot will donate 20 percent of the coin’s proceeds to Los Amigos de la Esquina, a non-profit organization dedicated to empowering Mayan and Mexican children in Tulum. He will return to the country and help the organization set up a crypto wallet before personally handing over the funds.
“The charity component is very special to me,” said Efdot. “If it works, and this results in many additions, then we can really make a difference. It could be a model for other artists to turn some of their physical series into not just a photograph of the painting, but an entirely new digital artwork that harkens back to a physical experience. People like to separate digital art and physical art. I try to continue the conversation that there is value in both.