šš Art As A Consequence #24
š The best in art, crypto and sometimes luxury. Meet you in the email body.
Welcome to the 24th edition of the ART AS A CONSEQUENCE weekly briefing. I am delighted to publish my interview with Adrian Wilson, who is considered to be the first photographer in the world to specialize in digitally manipulating images. Adrian Wilson used a Quantel Paintbox from 1985, just five years before Photoshop 1.0 was released. Make sure to catch up on some of the highlights from our discussions below. More on art and crypto news included in the notable section. So, grab a snack š and happy scrolling.
Lol (lots of love),
Dimitria
Notable news from the art world š¦āØ
š After several months of preparation and many hours-long calls, I am very excited to publish my interview with Adrian Wilson on one33seven. Although lengthy, we cover Adrian Wilsonās artful career spanning four decades, which began with his encounter with Quantelās Paintbox tool in the 1980s. This experience kickstarted his career as an interior photographer for some of the biggest brands, including Hublot, Apple, and Victoriaās Secret.
āThe Paintbox did not create digital art, it created digital artists.ā
Quantelās Paintbox was the go-to tool for creating iconic commercial work, such as Nirvanaās Nevermind album cover or the film poster for The Silence of the Lambs. However, it was also a tool loved by artists, including Keith Haring, who flew to Italy for three days just to be able to use one (mind you, these were worth $250k at the time). Haring even noted in his diary:
āItĀ hasĀ totallyĀ revolutionizedĀ theĀ notionĀ of art and the imageāwhy hasnāt anyone noticed?ā
āKeith Haring, about the Paintbox
(June 29, 1989)
At the same time Adrian Wilson was specializing in digitally manipulating images David Hockney was filming the āPainting with Lightā mini-series.
āIām painting with light on glass. The only equivalent where you would get colours like this is stained glass itself where you can get a richness of colour that even paint canāt give. It has almost a neon glow.ā
āDavid Hockney
The Paintbox is culturally very important but also part of digital art history. As Keith Haring said, people didn't really know about it, and that includes curators and institutions. For the few people who have heard of it, the Paintbox is generally dismissed as a business machine for TV commercials, pop videos, adverts and flying logo news graphics. It was looked down on as a commercial machine, but it was a digital artistās studio
Thereās more, find out how Adrian Wilson orchestrated an exhibition for Jean-Michel Basquiat's 30th-year death anniversary at 57 Great Jones Street in New York and āHow Quantelās Paintbox Changed Our Worldā travelling shows with the Computer Art Society are reviving the Paintbox.
Other Notable News
š Sothebyās announced this week that it raised approximately $1B including both ADQās (Abu Dhabi investment firms) and Drahiās additional capital. The long search for capital is now ending after the deal has been shopped around for a few months.
š 77-year old Marina AbramoviÄ will debut her first museum show in China, 'Marina AbramoviÄ: Transforming Energy,' at the Modern Art Museum Shanghai in October 2024. AbramoviÄ is shifting focus by inviting visitors to actively participate in her largest exhibition yet, featuring 150 works, including 'Transitory Objects' made from minerals (!) believed to have transformative energy. Drawing inspiration from her 1988 āGreat Wall Walkā, the interactive show encourages audiences to engage deeply with the artworks, which incorporate Tibetan and Chinese spiritual practices. The exhibition also includes over 1,200 unseen photographs from her historic journey. Read the Press Release (with internal notes that the team forgot to remove) here
š One Banksy, two Banksy, three, four, fiveāand six! Six new stenciled graffiti artworks depicting animals have been sprayed in London by the unidentified artist. Unsurprisingly, within a few hours of their debut, some of the artworks had been removed by individuals for profit.
š Major FOMO as Pepefest took place at Beepleās studio yesterday (Saturday, 10th of August) and the Tweets look lit - such a great time, they even has the dog robots with a Pepe head. Looked really cool - have a look at Beepleās X account for more visuals.
š Bonus: Yanis Varoufakisās audiobook
Talking to my Daughter about the Economy
A Brief History of Capitalism
For your train ride or walk with the dog, put in your headphones and let the pages turn for you.
Thatās all frens! š toodeloo
See you next Sunday - if there is a next Sunday.
Visit artasaconsequence.net to discover more about my work in the art industry. You can contact me over email or find me on social media: Instagram | X |Ā LinkedIn
