Lawrence artist launches NFT project that addresses the future of art – KC STUDIO

Composite image of Richard Klocke and one of his pieces of paper (from the artist)

Richard Klocke’s “Hereafter the Art” deals in digital time capsules

Richard Klocke always gravitated to the conceptual aspects of art production. “I see how artists work with ideas,” Klocke explained from his tidy studio in North Lawrence. Indeed, artists who use ideas as artistic material can assume many interesting forms; consider conceptual art pioneer Sol LeWitt’s diagrammatic wall drawings that continue to be installed well beyond the artist’s lifetime.

Klocke wanted to know; not only has he maintained a decade-long studio practice, he has worked directly with such artists as an exhibition designer at the Spencer Museum of Art on the campus of the University of Kansas in Lawrence. By working with the likes of the master of light and space James Turrell, or the Romanian artist Dan Perjovschi, who uses comics as sociopolitical criticism, or the artist/activist founders of the environmental movement Extinction Rebellion, Klocke has come to one conclusion: “Art is always in this revolutionary state; it’s never the same.”

Think of an NFT as a unique form of digital art. . . whose ownership and sales history is transparently recorded or “stamped” in a cryptocurrency “blockchain” for all to see.

Years before, with an ongoing curiosity about ideas in art, Klocke wisely reached out to thinkers and creators in other disciplines to start a dialogue and gain other perspectives. He was particularly interested in what physicists, philosophers, mathematicians, writers and professors thought about the future of art. Klocke’s correspondence provided some interesting answers over the years. But several questions arose during the pandemic.

Like many of us, Klocke had noticed the blizzard of headlines in 2021 about NFTs or “non-fungible tokens” storming the art world with eye-popping sales numbers in the tens of millions. Now, what exactly is an NFT? Here’s a quick review. Think of an NFT as a unique form of digital art – either conceived solely for the digital realm, or unique digitized iterations of existing physical artworks – whose ownership and sales history is transparently recorded or “stamped” on a cryptocurrency “blockchain” for all. see. Yes, you must own cryptocurrency to buy an NFT.

The very concept of an NFT as art is highly disruptive to the costly and opaque transactions of private mega-galleries and auction houses that dominate the global art trade. NFTs completely bypass the middlemen, enabling individual owners to trade directly, globally, instantly, with other decentralized buyers and sellers.

Besides factors of quality and rarity, the value of an NFT can also take on some fascinating new qualities when programmed with “smart contracts.” For example, smart contracts can be programmed to pay royalties to the original artist every time it is sold – still unheard of in the IRL (in real life) art world. Other value-added components of an NFT, such as documentation, drawings, essays, audio and video, can be programmed to be released during an ownership period, like a time capsule.

That’s what hit him in the shower one day. Klocke wondered: Could NFTs be time capsules of ideas about the future
of art? He thought of artist collectives; surely there had to be NFT collectives. He found one in Prague founded by a lawyer, graphic designer and curator called NFTense. The founders of the digital platform made their values ​​clear: “Concern to make the world a better place, collaborative creative approach to work with artists, while generating profit for the artist.” It sounded good to Klocke; in addition, NFTense sought proposals for an NFT project with a philanthropic angle.

Klocke had to enter the game. That meant buying cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum to access grant money and buying NFTs. Klocke, once familiar with the system, applied for a grant from NFTense and won two Ethereum (about $4,000) to develop his project titled “Hereafter the Art” in the summer of 2022.

Klocke wanted to explore the research potential of NFTs by “inviting artists to think freely about what art is and what it can become.” Instead of simply selling NFTs, Klocke explained, “Artists who become part of this project will forever be connected via the blockchain to something special and should realize that they have a unique opportunity.” The opportunity is to use NFTs as an open artistic medium and for artists to go on the record now about the future of art.

During the summer of 2022, Klocke and his project team at NFTense made their international call for contributions to artists and curators. “Hereafter the Art” seeks a total of 100 artists, across continents and creative disciplines, who will create NFTs with two components: the first part visual, a self-portrait or “vision of the self”, and second, a corresponding essay about the future of art from the artist/author in the form of a smart contract-controlled time capsule.

There is a catch, of course. Buyers of the 100 NFTs will not know which artist they are getting until they buy it for one fixed price. Klocke calls this “game-ify-ing the research”, i.e. adding game elements to keep the collector’s interest. For example, buyers can choose to “publish” the accompanying essay or not. While leaving the time capsule closed may create more rarity for some works, it is a calculated risk as the smart contract is programmed to have random “openings” of digital works in the first year – determined by the algorithm. Artists are free to design additional factors to increase the value of their NFTs.

At the time of publication, the project’s website www.hereaftertheart.com has officially launched with the first artist call-up. Phase 3 of the project will involve the artist selection, most likely with an NFT collective as curator, followed by development, completion and marketing of the NFTs. Despite the recent turbulence in the NFT markets, Klocke remains focused on the bigger picture. “What I hope will happen is some public talks and programming, an exhibition or publishing the essays. I want to challenge the way art is made and the way art history is taught.” NFTs as art may not stand the test of time, but the ideas and visions of artists will surely carry humanity forward into an uncertain future.