In Part 6 of the ‘NFT Art On Tezos’ series, Barry Interviews Patrick Tresset: a world-renowned artist that has had exhibits at major outlets all around the world.
Patrick is known for his work using robotic agents as stylized actors.
In Part 6 of the XTZ News NFT artist series, we will be meeting Patrick Tresset (@patricktresset on Twitter). Patrick is a world-renowned artist that has had exhibits at major outlets all around the world. Patrick is known for his work using robotic agents as stylized actors.
He has a ‘one of kind’ style, and some of his recent pieces that he has minted on Kalamint and Hicetnunc are created with thousands of robotically generated lines to create highly vivid textured portraits of people wearing facemasks during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Patrick’s comments about some of the ways that the pandemic have disrupted the art world and artists like himself are highly informative. Patrick references the struggle that many artists have faced during this time of crisis when many of the traditional art venues are shut down.
In some ways, this helps to explain the pull to NFTs and the strange convergence of unlikely situations that have led to the amazing NFT art scene. Kudos to artists like Patrick who have embraced the Tezos blockchain to mint NFTs in a more environmentally responsible manner.
Thanks for agreeing to have this virtual interview with me Patrick! Please tell us about yourself and your art.
I am a fifty-something artist based in Brussels. My practice is based on theatrical installations involving robotics (https://patricktresset.com), that produce drawings. My work is exhibited in museums and festivals around the world.
I explore human traits and the aspects of human experience and reflects recurrent ideas such as embodiment, passing time/time passing, childhood, conformism, obsessiveness, nervousness, the need for storytelling, and mark-making.
Why did you decide to create NFTs on Tezos?
COVID hit in 2020, in 2019 I had 18 exhibitions, 8 in 2020, there will not be more than 4 in 2021. So, the revenue from NFTs is welcomed.
With the ETH based platforms, there is the problem of the environmental impact as raised by my friends, Memo Akten and Joanie Lemercier.
The problem of Gas costs etc…I also had a problem with the atmosphere on the ETH NFT platforms being real money based with leaderboards based on sales.
So, I was waiting for something. https://Hicetnunc.xyz appeared as a surprise, at the beginning promoted by Mario Klingemann, an artist that I respect. I began minting on the place with 2 Tezos given by @tezosnftfaucet who explained how to start, create a wallet, etc. He has been giving Tezos away to a lot of artists.
What do you like most about creating NFTs on Tezos?
I don’t feel guilty about the effect on the environment, it hardly costs anything to mint and that gives me freedom to experiment.
For a couple of weeks, the evolution of the Hicetnunc platform has been amazing, totally in line with what I think art should be, a lot of artists I know joined. What I sold in the first week demonstrated that there was a potential to help sustain my practice, even if most of the prices on the platform range from 0 tez to a hundred.
An unexpected side effect is a community that emerged naturally around the platform and the creativity. In the beginning, it was artists collecting other artists. I see Hicetnunc as an artwork in development.
How do you envision the evolution of NFTs specifically related to art?
It is difficult to predict the future especially in our Covid times, and the economic effects have not fully hit yet.
Although Tezos based NFTs platform are developing rapidly, the ETH based ones are going to fight and have financial means incomparable to Hicetnunc or Kalamint. It is likely that they will occupy different markets.
It seems that the NFTs have really created a market for digital art that has been expected for the past 30 years. It is likely that it is here to stay. Especially that amazing artists have come to the surface, as well as new collectors.
Both artists and small-medium galleries need funding especially due to the pandemic. Although there will be some significant changes in the NFT art market, I believe that it is here to stay.
Thanks so much for taking the time to discuss this with us Patrick! The talent and intelligence behind your creations is very impressive and we are so glad that you are using Tezos for your work.
Stay up to date with Patrick’s activity through his LinkTree.
You can find Patrick’s Hicetnunc NFT link here and his Hicetnunc Drawings link here.
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