#24 New Wave: Ai Weiwei’s AI Dialogue, Anadol’s Innovation, and the Rise of Bitcoin Ordinals
#24 New Wave: Ai Weiwei’s AI Dialogue, Anadol’s Innovation, and the Rise of Bitcoin Ordinals
👋 Hello, we are Julian and Marcel, and welcome to our weekly edition of The Curious Collector. Each week we humbly curate what’s happening in the digital art realm. ✨
It is a subscriber-only newsletter, delivered every Sunday, highlighting mainly digital and sometimes physical art news.
In this edition, we're excited to introduce new talents joining the roster of AOTM and take a deep dive into Ai Weiwei's thought-provoking project. We'll also explore Refik Anadol's pioneering work presented at the World Economic Forum.
Plus, look forward to our curated selection of upcoming exhibitions, a digital highlight featuring Thion's generative art, and a spotlight on an intriguing Bitcoin Ordinal sale.
News Digest
Art of This Millennium (AOTM), a global gallery specializing in contemporary digital art, is expanding its artist collective with the addition of four outstanding new artists: Yet Seneca, Mark Wilson, Jack Butcher, and Yatreda, two of whom we have featured in recent issues.
We are genuinely intrigued by Ai Weiwei's innovative work, “Ai vs AI”, showcased in London’s Piccadilly Circus and live-streamed daily by CIRCA.
Over the course of 81 days, symbolizing the time he spent detained by the Chinese government in 2011, Ai Weiwei engages in a dialogue with an artificial intelligence, posing philosophical questions and comparing his responses with those generated by the AI.
It's part of a public art exhibition and invites us to pause and reflect on the profound questions of our times, offering a unique opportunity to witness how art can stimulate dialogue on important global issues.
Refik Anadol introduces the Large Nature Model at the 54th World Economic Forum, a groundbreaking open-source generative AI model focusing on nature, and a key component of his DATALAND project - a future museum and digital art platform dedicated to data visualization and AI arts.
It's inspiring to see digital art, especially when combined with artificial intelligence and environmental advocacy, gaining recognition on such a prominent platform.
Upcoming
Digital Chemicals by Dawnia Darkstone: Avant Arte, January 23, 3pm CET
Växt by Tengil: Art Blocks, January 24, 7pm CET
Centrifuge by William Mapan: Avant Arte, January 24, 3pm CET
Digital Highlight
"Tranquility" by Thion, a generative artist from South Korea, is a digital art piece that depicts nature scenes (e.g. green grass and small flowers), created entirely through code, offering a calm and nature-inspired visual experience. (mint is still open!)
Notable Insight
“Curation will win the long term game This isn't just an observable trend in our industry – it's a timeless lesson from history The real winners? Those who master the art of selecting the best, not just the most. Quality trumps quantity, every time.”
In the realm of digital art, curation is indeed crucial, a sentiment we wholeheartedly agree with. The true value lies not in the volume of work but in the meticulous selection of pieces.
However, despite this notable insight, it's still challenging to discover great works easily, as the journey of discovery remains fragmented and often overwhelming for newcomers and collectors alike. We may have a solution!
Sale Spotlight
“Terrains by ThankYouX sells out 1/1/100 unique artworks for 4.5 BTC (~$186,500 USD) total on Magic Eden, sees whopping 49 secondary sales for 2.89 BTC, floor: 0.0519 BTC.”
This collection is all about Bitcoin Ordinals, the equivalent of NFTs on Bitcoin, and we will dive deeper into this topic over the next couple of issues.
Artist to Watch
Loren Bednar, a digital artist since 2006, specializes in dynamic, colorful generative art. Starting with LOGO in 1993, he has created games, apps, and art using Flash, Unity, JavaScript, and WebGL.
His work has been showcased globally, including at Lume Studios and Museum Angewandte Kunst Frankfurt, and features pixel transforming projects on Art Blocks with phase and Divergence.
Collectors to Watch
This week we are once again presenting three collectors who we think have very special collections:
Closing Remarks
The art of curation proves to be more crucial than ever. It's not just about amassing a large collection but about carefully selecting works that truly stand out in quality and creativity.
This underlines our commitment to bringing you not just more, but also serves as a reminder that the real essence lies in the ability to convey quality and meaning.