An art collection released on Wednesday that includes both NFTs and physical prints immortalize the paint-splattered floor of Jackson Pollock’s studio, translating elements of the artist’s signature style into tokens on the Ethereum network.
Released by the Jackson Pollock Studio in collaboration with digital art platform Iconic Moments, “Beyond the Edge” features splashes of paint that landed alongside Pollock’s masterpieces like “Convergence” and “Blue Poles” in East Hampton, New York.
The work of the late Pollock, a famous American painter, is synonymous with the abstract expressionist movement in the art world. Proceeds from the sale of the collection will help the museum preserve one of its most prized possessions, studio director Helen Harrison said. Decrypt.
Here’s a taste of an edge! #BeyondTheEdge prints are on Hahnemuhle museum etching paper with hand torn edges. We worked closely with Laumont Studio and our art consultants to get the paper selection and texture correct to make it a showpiece for any collector. pic.twitter.com/iQWPskvM7j
— Iconic (@Iconic_NFT) July 19, 2023
“The most important initiative is the preservation and interpretation of the floor,” she said. “It’s a wooden building and it’s vulnerable — to termites, rain and just wear and tear.”
The first series of the collection consists of 500 NFTs capturing four unique perspectives of the studio floor. Each NFT is accompanied by a physical print, hand-embossed and numbered at the Jackson Pollock Studio.
The series will be available for people to pick up on Wednesday for 0.8 ETH (about $1,525), but it will initially be limited to those within Iconic Moments’ member community and collectors from NFT’s other partner projects, CEO Chris Cummings said. Decrypt.
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After the launch of the first sale, art collectors will also have the opportunity to purchase items using a credit card. Cummings said it was essential to cater the collection’s release to both “digitally savvy collectors” and more traditional collectors.
The paint-splattered floor of Pollock’s studio was discovered in the late 1980s after his workspace was turned into a museum. The building — originally used as a fishing equipment storage shed — was first renovated in 1953, keeping the paint and flooring under a layer of hardboard, Harrison said.
The famous colors of the floors have been licensed before, she added. For example, the pattern adorned a pair of limited edition Crocs first introduced in 2013. However, the images created for the NFTs and prints are distinguished by their fidelity, Harrison said.
“The level of intensity with which you can scrutinize it is beyond anything,” she said, adding that it’s possible to see individual hairs embedded in the paint.
In August the collection will be expanded with a Pollock set Ordinal numbers inscriptions, using the buzzy Bitcoin protocol to further preserve aspects of Pollock’s legacy through various 1-to-1 (or single edition) digital artworks.
Collaborations with three digital artists are also in the works to produce ‘Art From Art’, which will feature homages to and renditions of Pollock’s work. The first artist becomes the pseudonym Lucrécewhose work has been sold at leading auction houses, including Christie’s and Sotheby’s.
What if I told you that through the Iconic team, I’m going to be collaborating with the legendary Jackson Pollock studio to create something unreal? 🧿 https://t.co/Dos7n8UGFP
— Lucrece (@DesLucrece) July 16, 2023
Although Pollock can be considered a traditional artist by today’s standards, his artworks attracted attention in the mid-20th century. A colorful mix of kinetics and emotion, conveyed with broad gestures rather than meticulous brushstrokes, caused some people to question his artistry, Harrison said.
She described Pollock’s groundbreaking methods as akin to digital artists using cutting-edge technology today, despite some pushback from NFTs.
“Each era finds its own technique,” Harrison said, repeating a quote from Pollock. “If he were with us today, he’d probably be making digital art because that was the kind of innovation that appealed to him.”
Cummings said Pollock’s work has played an influential role in shaping the generative art scene that looms large in the NFT art world. He said that several digital artists have cited Pollock as their main inspiration, and Pollock was, in a sense, an early pioneer.
“[Pollock] knew what color he was choosing and whether he was going to throw or drip the paint, but there was randomness involved,” he said. “In generative art, you write an algorithm, set some parameters, but you don’t know what that output will look like.”