On Thursday, a collection of symbolic works of art from the Musée d’Orsay’s very first commission for a chain exhibition will hit the market — the product of two experimental artists, months of coordination by the museum’s leadership, and thousands of exhalations by ignorant strangers.
The pieces, five NFTs in one edition, minted on the Tezos blockchain, collectively titled ‘The Convergence of Breath’, are the fruits of an art installation (and part social experiment) now on display at Musée d’Orsay, featured in the museum’s ongoing digital-themed exhibition, “Le Code d’Orsay.”
The installation, a steel sculpture titled ‘Sigma Lumina’, was created by French artist and DJ Sébastian Devaud (aka Agoria) in collaboration with artist Johan Lescure.
When the statue is hit by the perfect alignment of light from above, it produces a QR code in its shadow; Curious museum visitors who scan the QR code are then instructed to create a unique, free NFT riffing on other Impressionist works on display at the Orsay, but if, and only if, they breathe into their phone to to help generate these.
Agoria performs a DJ set at the Musée d’Orsay on Saturday to celebrate the launch of “Le Code d’Orsay”. Courtesy: Musée d’Orsay
On a recent trip to the exhibition, this Declutter In fact, the reporter found scores of Orsay visitors, ranging from children to the elderly, blowing into smartphones with bewildered expressions.
Agoria and Lescure have now taken the data from those hits – more than 2,000 ‘Sigma Lumina’ NFTs have been minted by museum visitors to date – and compiled it into a series of five unique NFTs, one for each week the exhibition runs.
1/ {Σ Lumina}
the convergence of breathsWhat an honor to present you the first @MuseeOrsay collection of 1/1 that I created together with Johan Lescure 🧬
It will be listed on Thursday at 5pm CET on @objktone https://t.co/MF37rX8XJo pic.twitter.com/zwPcwkT7Fi
— {agoria} (@agoriamusic) February 27, 2024
“I like the fact that all the hits come from all the people [to the exhibition] are now connected to create a global piece,” Agoria told Declutter.
The five “Convergence of Breath” NFTs will go on sale Thursday at 5:00 PM CET Object.A, a curated platform for unique works of art in the chain. “Le Code d’Orsay” can be seen at the Musée d’Orsay until March 10.
To learn more about this incredible drop, join us at: https://t.co/faYf8O1N3P https://t.co/opndcYj8Md
— objkt.one (@objktone) February 28, 2024
Edited by Andrew Hayward