Serj Tankian (lead vocalist of System of a Down) hosted an exhibition last month with Curio NFT, a non-fungible cryptocurrency. The physical and virtual-melded art show was called “Not for Touching” and this week Tankian told Bitcoin.com News that he believes NFT technology has opened new doors for his artistic expression.
This week Bitcoin.com News chatted with System of a Down’s (SoaD) lead vocalist, Serj TankianThis article is about the non-fungible token tech (NFT), and how it gave him the freedom to express himself in a different way. In December, Tankian and Curio NFT hosted an art exhibition featuring the artist’s NFT artwork called “Not for Touching.”
Tankian has been an artist for years, but NFTs has given the SoaD singer a new way “to affect multiple senses simultaneously” and he stressed that he’s always interested in having “a stronger impact artistically.” The following is an in-depth discussion with SoaD’s Serj Tankian that Bitcoin.com News recorded on January 5.
Bitcoin.com News (BCN): You’ve recently stepped into the world of NFTs. Could you please tell our readers what NFT technology you found?
Serj Tankian:It was news that I found out about it. It was amazing to see how many artists released NFTs. We were remodeling the house and I had a lot of reading time, and I was like ‘wow this is really interesting.’ Since I’ve been doing art for a number of years, musically connected art, I thought ‘wow this could be a new platform for what I am doing.’ So that’s where the connection of the idea came into play.
BCN: Recently, you hosted an art show called “Not for Touching” with Curio NFT. Could you please tell our readers more about the experience and how it turned out?
Serj Tankian: They set up a virtual gallery, which I found very interesting. You could see all my works, which were NFTs, in this virtual gallery. You can then walk around the opposite wall to see another NFT piece. It was really cool, the setup was really nice and it’s kind of my first dive into this world as an artist.
I’ve always been interested in the ability to affect multiple senses simultaneously, as a way of kind of having a stronger impact artistically. I did that with my art in music, which we call “Eye For Sound.” We use an app that does optical recognition and you walk into a physical gallery and you are able to listen to each of the paintings with a smartphone or earbuds.
It’s like an immersive experience and with NFTs the ability to make that painting actually physically come to life utilizing animation and digital painting. Roger Kupelian (my good friend), who worked on Lord of the Rings, and other films, makes his paintings live with the background music. It turned out to be an amazing product, so I’m really happy about that.
BCN: What other assets do you have from NFT collection?
Serj Tankian: So far, I haven’t. Truth be told, although I make physical art, I don’t have a lot of art to collect. However, I have several paintings from friends. Maybe it’s the fact that I am in some ways a minimalist. I don’t like clutter, even on a hard drive. I have a lot of friends who are collectors and they love collecting art, collecting things, NFTs, and I’m just not a collector. I am an artist.
BCN: Are any of the System of the Down members like NFTs, too?
Serj Tankian: I haven’t actually asked them. They have not bought them any. I would doubt it, but maybe Shavo (SoaD bass player Shavo Odadjian), because he’s very tech-friendly and versus the other guys. It could be Shavo but I’m not certain.
BCN: Why do you think NFTs are the “next step” in terms of artistic creation?
Serj Tankian: This statement was made at me. Because it gave me a new platform to be able to add a dimension of experience that I hadn’t been able to add physically. It would involve crawling in the virtual space to make paintings move and dance.
Paintings are placed on walls. With NFTs, however, it is possible to fill the space between the wall & the listener. I look forward to finding more spaces, virtual or physical, to be able to interact further with multiple senses to increase the potency of the artist’s vision.
BCN: Are you interested in other blockchain types, such as crypto-assets like bitcoin or NFTs?
Serj Tankian: No. I don’t know sh*t about it. Blockchain, Bitcoin, or any other aspect of blockchain is completely foreign to me. I don’t own any, to me [NFT tech] is a new world of presenting my art, so that’s my in. But I really don’t know much about blockchain but I have friends who have bought bitcoin early and they are very enthused.
BCN: Many people think blockchain technology can eliminate parasitic third parties in various aspects of our lives. Do you think that’s true?
Serj Tankian: That statement is true, I believe. I think it’s a subversive technology in a way or maybe it’s not subversive, and maybe it’s an alternative. Think back to the gold standard, and the way that money was based on it. Then they got off the gold standard because they couldn’t find enough gold. So they expanded so that most currencies are based upon the integrity of their government.
You can be outside the system with blockchain and Bitcoin. I find the entire thing very fascinating, NFTs or not, as the human nature of valuing things in a certain way very intriguing.
BCN: Are you planning on exhibiting your work in NFTs?
Serj Tankian: Yes, I do. However, I am looking for the next step. A physical museum or gallery exhibition would be a great idea. It will allow me to create more virtual and physical connections between my artworks. It is possible to interact with multiple dimensions of art, including painting, music and lighting. Maybe the NFTs could be projected, within the actual space, I’m starting to think of multiple dimensions and the increase of the potency of the artistic effect.
Do you have any thoughts about Serj Tankian of System of a Down’s interview? Is this how you felt about Serj Tankian’s description of NFT? Comment below to let us know your thoughts on this topic.
Image creditShutterstock. Pixabay. Wiki Commons
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