Editorial is open for submissions: [email protected]

by Michael Jordan

The art of life is to show your hand. 

E.V LUCAS

I am excited to announce the minting of my 100th piece on SuperRare. It is called The NFT Community. It features over 170 artists’ hands, and it is dedicated to all the amazing people in the crypto art space. It is a celebration and in this article I’ll share more about the inspiration, the meaning, the background and some of the artists who have contributed. A special thank you to fellow artist Ziggy Ray who has assisted me with contacting and collecting hands from artists all over the world.

The Inspiration:

In my grandparent’s house, there was a picture of Praying Hands (1508) by Albrecht Durer. I was told that he was a master because it requires tremendous skill to draw a hand, and so since my childhood, I’ve been an admirer of his work. Albrecht Durer had a distinct signature, a big A over a little D. In 2016 when I started exhibiting my pieces in galleries, I mimicked this style by having my signature as a big M over a little J. I studied Actuarial Science, and during a maths lecture, I came across Albrecht Durer once again. This time for his piece Melencolia (1514) which included a 4×4 Magic Square where the numbers 1 to 16 were arranged in such a way that every row, column and diagonal summed to 34. I saw that maths and art have a lot more in common than I first thought. Originally I wanted 100 hands because this will be my 100th NFT on SuperRare, but we got such positive feedback from the community and I wanted to accept everyone who submitted that we went way past 100 artists. I thought of having 34 slides to reference Durer’s magic square, but that would have resulted in leaving some hands out. So instead, the final piece has 44 slides with 176 artists’ hands in total.

Some artists used this opportunity to flex their creative spirit and sent in these pictures:

The Meaning:

I believe NFTs have become successful because of the community and everyone’s willingness to lend a “hand” to newcomers. This piece celebrates the community. It focuses on the hands of the artists who have used them to create awe-inspiring work. This NFT also alludes to one of the very first collaborative pieces of art – the Cave of the Hands in Patagonia, created more than 9000 years ago. Since prehistoric times, we have needed each other to survive, and art brings us together. Art is more than just a wall decoration, it is part of the cultural glue that binds us together.

The Artists

One of the reasons why I felt confident enough to start exhibiting my works in galleries is because I didn’t get the contemporary art scene. I bought a book on the top 100 contemporary artists and only liked the work of Takashi Murakami. I honestly felt like art was losing its direction and that we needed to bring it back to its roots. A lot of my pieces are inspired by renaissance and romantic artists. When I started exploring the crypto art space I was excited but filled with dread. These digital artists are incredible and they honestly make me feel inferior at times. Which is a good thing, it motivates me to push harder and be more ambitious with my NFTs. It was very audacious of Ziggy and I to approach some of the biggest names in the crypto art space and ask for a picture of their hand. I thought at best we were going to be ignored, at worst, we were going to get blocked by Twitter for spamming. To my astonishment, many replied. This is just another testament of how amazing this community is that the people at the very top are prepared to, quite literally, lend a hand to the rest of us who are still climbing. 

So a huge thank you to the following artists and many others:

mbsjq

Fasten your seatbelt as UK Born mbsjq will blast you into a universe filled with colour surprises and innovative designs.

zomax

Cornelius Dämmrich started at a young age by drawing a naked homunculus with a machine gun and exploding planes when he was just 6 years old.

Coldie

When I joined SuperRare, Coldie was the first artist that drew my attention with his Vitalik piece and will definitely go down in history as one of the greatest. He is also a collector and made my day when he purchased one of my early NFTs. 

Muartive

It shapes its skills according to the art trends of the digital world with artificial intelligence and computer-generated imagination methods.

Tim Riopelle

Tim Riopelle blends science fiction with elements of abstraction and surrealism to create other worldly images. Placing a strong emphasis on color and texture, his work strives to open a portal for the viewer to enter a strange and beautiful universe.

@otherworlds

A psychedelic and surreal digital artist creating a mix of collages and illustrations.

@Thato

Thato Tatai is a South African contemporary artist. He is fascinated by the endless oscillation of meaning and his work explores the relationship between technology and creativity. 

Vegard Aarhus

The creating genius behind Mathilda and other crazy creatures. I absolutely love the work of this Norwegian artist.

Yura Miron

“Visionary artist/musician/collector. Inspired by my visionary psychedelic experiences, lucid dreaming, meditation. Trying to be present every moment of my life. Working with such themes as: fusion of nature and technology, solarpunk, science fiction, spiritual texts of dzogchen/buddhism, nature of consciousness & reality.”

ZY

Zack is the man who got me onto SuperRare and for that I am very grateful. He is also a master collaborator and creates pieces with our artists that feature roses. 

Michael Jordan

And here is my hand along with one of my pieces. Once again, it is such a privilege to be on SuperRare amongst all these incredible artists.

Lethabo

Lethabo Huma is a digital artist from Pretoria , South Africa. She uses her work as a mirror to her emotional responses to life experiences. Her drawing style has evolved from soft textures to more expressive brushwork. She draws inspiration from images that trigger emotions from life stories worth telling.

Retric Dreams

Max is a Digital 3D Artist creating dreamy melancholic artworks of timeless moments & distant memories. He is currently based in Germany and has been dealing with computer graphics for the past 9 years. He captures emotions of nostalgia wrapped in a purple nighttime world.”

Jason Ebeyer

3D Artist and Art Director Jason Ebeyer is known globally for his glossy figures & sensual style of artwork. Blending elements of fashion & technology with hyper surreal alien-like plastic models, seemingly plucked from the dreams of the digital generation. He has received acclaim around the world for his works unique fusion of soft emotions & erotic ecstasy. Producing artwork for the likes of Vogue Italia, V Magazine, Universal Music, Nike, Steve Aoki, Cardi B, Troye Sivan & Doja Cat.

Mighty Moose

Mighty Moose uses art as an outlet for thought, whether they are good, bad, deep, shallow, funny or dark.

Daniella Attfield

Daniella is a 22 year old South African artist and bookworm. She has done many successful collaborations and is one of the most recognisable artists in the space.

t.a.r.e

I’ve been the proud owner of more than one of Rob’s pieces. He uses computer algorithms to come up with stunning designs.

janne.limited

Janne creates animated collages in which the physical is mixed with digital. From this, new poetic worlds arise in which one does not know exactly whether they are real or not.

Dániel Taylor

Surrealism is at the heart of Dániel’s work and he enjoys the challenge of establishing its presence even as he varies his technique and approach. Clients include: Adobe, Marvel, Mondo, Playboy, Shedworks (Sable), Brewdog.

Corentin G.

French visual artist bringing his vision to reality through different mediums.

danieljakobian

I’ve also had the pleasure of owning one of Daniel’s pieces. I ended up selling it to another artist whose hand is also part of this mass collaboration project.

Conclusion

There are still another 150 artists that I need to talk about and so I’ll be writing another article to mention them and share their work. This piece wouldn’t be possible without everyone’s input and willingness to participate. I definitely want to give back to the community after an experience like this and want to assist some of the other artists in South Africa who might not be familiar with the crypto scene. If it means paying gas fees, plugging them into the community or teaching them about the benefits of blockchain technology, I feel motivated to give back. Please click the link below to see the final piece on SuperRare and tap the little heart icon if you like it.

Now join your hands, and with your hands your hearts.

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE