Thread by David La Cross

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Things have seemed quiet lately, but behind the scenes, the @AskArthur_art team has been heads-down building. Today, we’re announcing our “Non-Fungible Object” (NFO) tech + a mint & print event for NFT.NYC. Here’s a thread recapping what we’re up to...🧵👇🏻
Arthur started w/a broad vision: make collecting art accessible to everyone & create a market structure that is more beneficial to artists. Arthur uses a combination of AI and human curation to help new collectors discover artists & develop their personal aesthetic sensibilities.
The 1st problem: people don’t see enough art, particularly new art by living artists. Most people can’t name 5 *living* artists. Lack of familiarity = lack of confidence in your own taste…if you don’t know what’s out there, how can you know what you like?
Most people’s exposure to art is limited to a few museum trips & headlines about $$$$ auction results. Art is something that exists “over there” for elite mega-collectors. An opaque market where pricing & availability are closely guarded only exacerbates the accessibility problem
So we set out to build an app where people could experience a wide range of art in a short amount of time through a light-hearted mobile interface.
Spend 5-7 minutes on Arthur swiping your crate and checking out the latest Featured Collection and maybe you hit on an artist or two that appeals to you. Do this every day for a month, you might actually be able to name those 5 living artists you like.
2nd problem is the market. A successful artist might only get 1-2 opportunities to exhibit their work /year. Similarly, many talented curators (some w/ significant followings) don’t get enough opportunities to mount exhibitions due to logistical constraints of IRL events
Arthur aims to be a platform for curators to work w/ artists to create digestible “Collections” of art & give artists exposure to new collectors. We believe in the value of curation & importance of putting art in context for new collectors unfamiliar w/ art history and criticism.
We see this as a way to remove barriers in bringing more art to market, and familiarize new collectors with what’s out there. Add clear pricing and click-to-buy functionality and we have a simple way for collectors to discover new art while supporting artists and curators.
So where do NFTs come in? NFTs as a technology can solve two big problems: provenance/authenticity + resale royalties. If you could “attach” an NFT to an artwork + ensure that token was xferred in subsequent sales, you’d be able to pay royalties on 2ndary sales + track provenance
The NFO is our attempt at uniting NFTs and physical art. Using a custom smart contract and embedded secure NFC chips, we’ve cryptographically tied the NFT to the associated physical object. You can also scan the chip outside of transactions for provenance info.
The goal is to combine traceability of blockchain transactions with IRL objects, allowing natively-digital artists to produce verifiable physical versions of their work for collectors AND non-digital artists to benefit from blockchain technology.
Let’s not forget resale royalties. Save for a few EU/UK laws, resale royalties are essentially unenforceable in the traditional art market. Pairing an object with an NFT allows for artists (and the curators who endorsed them) to benefit from future price appreciation.
We’re starting with prints utilizing a paper we’ve prototyped with Legion paper. This paper has embedded NFC technology to facilitate transferring the NFT by interacting with a mobile device. NFT + NFC = NFO.
Will post more about the specifics, but basically the seller interacts with the object to “unlock” it for sale. Once there is an accepted offer, a transaction is initiated. When the new owner takes possession, a second IRL interaction completes the transaction.
If you want to see this in action, we’re doing an experimental “Mint & Print” event in our popup gallery in SoHo tomorrow + Wednesday. We’ve collaborated with curator @JesseDamiani to showcase works by three incredible artists:
@minneatairu
@annespalter
@ivonatau
We’re honored to be working with such respected members of the web3 art community in this endeavor. I know there's 1MM events this week, but I hope you swing by the space, mint a print, and join the conversation re: our increasingly physical+digital world.
Request VIP preview access here: form.typeform.com/to/VggIOMwN
General RSVP here: form.typeform.com/to/UhiAy71Z
Book time with me: arthur3.pipedrive.com/scheduler/zBvKQrtd/arthur-pixel-mitosis-private-viewing
Hope this sparks some thoughtful conversation and looking forward to meeting some of you in person this week. 🙏
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