Center Pompidou, LACMA Announces Major Blockchain Art Accessories
On February 10, the Center Pompidou in Paris announced that it had acquired eighteen NFTs by thirteen artists known for their work in the genre. The acquisition, which encompasses crypto art, plastic art, online art and generative art, is the first of its kind by a major French art institution, and extends the Pompidou’s history of acquiring work in new media. “Web3 is an innovative territory that artists have now seized to create original and daring work,” Pompidou director Xavier Rey said in a statement, “and this collection confirms our support for artists in their conquest of new modes of expression, which is the basis of modern art.”
On the other side of the globe, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art revealed on February 13 that it had received a gift of twenty-two blockchain artworks from a donor using the handle Cozomo de’Medici. LACMA characterized the gift as the “largest collection of its kind” to enter an American museum. Among the artists represented in the donation are Dmitri Cherniak, Cai Guo-Quiang, Matt DesLauriers, Monica Rizzoli and Claire Silver. AI works, images, the first decentralized ledger ever minted for the Ethereum blockchain, and NFTs are included in the trove, which is believed to have been donated pseudonymously by Snoop Dogg. Known for being a proponent of Web3 and crypto, in 2021 the iconic rapper seemingly pulled back the veil on his identity in a chirping.
“With this gift, my goal was to help bridge the worlds of art on the chain and contemporary art, which until now have existed separately,” Cozomo de’Medici said in a statement. “I am thrilled to have these historically significant works on the chain contextualized alongside many iconic works of art in LACMA’s collection.”
Whether donated or purchased, the entry of such works into the collections of respected public art institutions signals a seismic shift in the art world and points to the accelerated time frame that accompanies a cultural phenomenon’s sensational discovery and institutionalization.
Greg Solano, co-founder of Yuga Labs, whose CryptoPunks were included in both museum acquisitions, acknowledged the rise of blockchain embodied in the acquisitions. “See CryptoPunk #110 shown at the Center Pompidou, arguably the world’s most prestigious contemporary art museum, is a great moment for web3 and the NFT ecosystem,” he said, “and we are honored to help drive this cultural conversation.”
