As an immigrant to the US, I have pretty mixed feelings about holidays here, and some of the traditions that come with them. Multiple ethnic and religious groups have been run off by more powerful groups throughout history, all across the planet, and the roots of Thanksgiving are deeply rooted in hatred and power. This article is not intended to get political though; I want to focus on gratitude for patrons of the arts, other artists, and the people I have worked with over the years.
Here’s what I created for Thanksgiving a bunch of years ago:
Being active with NFTs for almost 2 years now, I have found my way through various communities, and found a home with a few communities. Most of them crossover in many ways, and some don’t really connect with each other. In all cases, there is an unparalleled level of gratitude from artists for those that buy their art and support their endeavors, and to other artists that thrive on elevating each other.
I have found that communities in a scene tend to be pretty hyper focused on one thing: the specific medium they connected through. With suspension, while some folks have gotten close and supported each other’s non-hook-stuff work, it’s far and few between for cross-discipline support. For example, one of my closest friends from that world is an amazing human named Mike Coons, based out of Omaha, Nebraska. His wife, Jenny Dyer Coons, is a multi-faceted artist that works in body movement related fields, and is also a traditional painter. One of my first pieces of art I ever commissioned was from her - a triptych that hangs front and center in my home.
I’ve always been into different mediums of art, from music and visual arts, to writing and generative art. With NFTs, I find that there is general a misconception that it is only for digital art (or indeed that it is only for art). Given the fact that we have to digitize our work to share it in that world, it makes sense that this is the perception. It doesn’t help that non-crypto art folks think of stuff like Beeple when it comes to NFTs. There is so much more going on, it’s dizzying just thinking about it.
My experience has been extremely varied the further I’ve gotten into it all. I have built very close ties with photographers, painters, performance artists, as well as across all digital mediums such as 3D/CG and animation. Developers, musicians, and writers are also deeply part of these social bonds. There’s even the crazy world of memes I have found myself working in (I am part of the FeistyDAO team). For the purposes of this article, I want to highlight a few different artists and communities to hash this out a bit.
James Mendenhall is an example of an artist working with physical art that I have connected with, and I am always humbled by his support of my work. He has taken his work one step further, and adds subtle animations to some of his pieces to breath a different kind of life into them. By sending his collectors physical originals often, he has created a beautiful balance between the physical and digital for his patrons. Additionally, since he is an American, I have been able to talk about some difficulties specific to the states, without having to explain the cultural/societal contexts from scratch.
Next, Boxhead is an artist that started with physical, urban art, and has transitioned across multiple mediums and tools and now generated beautiful work in 3D with Blender. Though she lives in London, like me, she is a person who traveled a lot early on. We have a multi-cultural connection that is invaluable for me (as well as a shared flavor of sarcasm and food). I first saw her work in Brooklyn almost a decade ago now, and met through NFTs, but our discussions are not rooted in crypto art. I collected this piece from her this year when I was going through a really deep depressive episode. It was one of the things that lifted me out of my misery.
One photographer that stands out to me often as completely and absolutely underrated, is a young Indian photographer named Ashmit Galav. Culturally, he comes from a place I have no first-hand experience with, which is refreshing, and always educational. His work is fucking revolutionary; his color palettes, composition, and timeless captures serve to communicate insanely loaded narratives. He states in his own bios that he shoots photos like they are movies, and I think he achieves this acutely across all of his work. His entire body of work is an absolute vibe.
In the realm of music, there is a figure that is very central to the communities I have connected the most deeply with, online; the wonderful Canadian, La+ch. He presents himself as a composer, but we all agree that he is much, much more than that. Musicians like him have a knack for being able to communicate energy, with an incredibly high level of proficiency that is apparent when it comes to their technical skills. He’s also pretty much one of the coolest people I’ve ever met, and his support of other artists is legendary. Please turn up the sound and listen to this piece on Foundation. Zheezh!
There are so many more artists and non-artists that I am grateful for, and I don’t know how to make it fair to others, but I wanted to list this handful of figures from SidewaysDAO for now. Sideways is a family. Unlike the suspension world, we have very, very little in-fighting, and everybody is insanely supportive of each other’s work. Even if it’s the same medium or style.
It’s the cross-disciplinary support that fascinates me, and holds the most value. I think that we excel in our respective fields when we are able to branch out, and also take criticism from those that are not working in our chosen mediums or aesthetics. We all speak the language of creativity, and we’re also just here to have a good time. This doesn’t mean we ignore mental health issues.
On this holiday, I am thankful for all of my friends and family that have supported me through the years, even though many of us have fallen out, or are simply not regularly in touch. But I am also incredibly thankful for the online communities at Sideways, NFD, Stacyverse, and MRRC (just to name a few), because of the unrelenting love and support we push on each other. I have had some conversations in these spaces that have literally kept me off a ledge, and have been able to connect with people that have shifted my perspectives drastically.
I feel like I have grown as a human this past year mostly because of this healthy show of love. Nobody owes anybody anything; nobody has to spend the time to reach out, talk, or show support to some stranger 2 continents away. But we do, because we have found something that contributes to our sanity, and our financial well being as well.
It is important to note that the most important relationships I have in my life are IRL - These two keep me sane on the regular: Genne & Spooky. Go figure - they are also artists! I feel it is important to state this, because we should never forget those we have closest to us in our lives. If a solar flare knocks our connections out permanently, who are you going to navigate the apocalypse with? It helps if you truly love them.
The diversity I have found this past year stands as a new strong pillar in my life, especially during this holiday in the US that is essentially the result of some ding dongs running their shit/ship into the rocks and begging for help from the natives, and then coming back to steal their lands later. I will continue to resonate with folks who stand for integrity and fairness, and are willing to help others when they are down at their worst. Most folks will kick you when you are down, because it’s the easy thing to do. Helping others takes an extraordinary level of effort and strength sometimes.
Maybe do something nice this year, and find somebody to help. It can be as simple as reaching out to somebody and thanking them for being a good person. Bring a homeless person some food. Send a friend some art. Compliment your sibling’s cat. Share an artist’s work on social media! I guarantee you it will make their day, and you will feel so much better as well.
As a show of gratitude, I would like to offer anybody that holds any one of my recent GIF loops the option to send me one photo for me to loopify with my pixel mapping script. If you don’t already hold one, there are a few available on secondary market, or you can make an offer - all of my collectors are incredibly reasonable people. DM me before Dec 1st, and let’s make you a custom piece. I’ll mint on Manifold, and put it up as a free claim.
» Check out the collection here «
Happy holidays to you and yours. Take a break, and reflect on what you’re thankful for.