MetaBirkins artist Mason Rothschild’s latest NFT project is igniting the market

Non-fungible token (NFT) artist Mason Rothschild has been keeping busy since his provocative MetaBirkins project pierced the cultural mainstream and grabbed headlines after Hermès filed a trademark lawsuit against the project.

The NFT collection of 100 furry digital handbags named after Hermès’ signature Birkin handbag was released in December 2021 as a commentary on the fashion industry’s embrace of alternative textiles. This angered the French luxury house, resulting in a year-long legal battle that challenged the boundaries of art and trademark law.

The 28-year-old artist, whose real name is Sonny Estival, told CoinDesk that the lawsuit represented a battle not only over Web3 technologies, but also over the future of art.

“Just because it’s an NFT doesn’t mean it’s not art,” he said. “An NFT is a kind of vessel, and the artwork it is attached to is the art.”

The jury ultimately ruled in Hermés’ favor last month, although he and his legal team have appealed the decision and have vowed to continue the fight for artistic expression.

Wiping himself dry, the Los Angeles native has continued to create art, curate fashion and advise brands in Web3. He continues to divide his time between Terminal 27, a retail concept located in Los Angeles and Tokyo that he co-founded in 2020, and Gasoline, his creative studio and full-service Web3 branding agency he launched in 2021.

Bensin’s latest NFT collection, titled “This Artwork Is Subject to Change,” launched as an open edition on Manifold last month. Priced at a reasonable price of 0.008 ETH (about $1.35 at the time), 10,987 dynamic NFTs were minted. Interest on the secondary markets quickly picked up, and the project has a trading volume of 931 ETH (just under $1.7 million) so far. At the time of publication, the collection’s floor is 0.04 ETH (about $72).

Rothschild has lit the proverbial fire since he created his artistic name over a decade ago. As a child, he was “deep into conspiracy theories”, with both “Mason” and “Rothschild” referring to fringe conspiracies about secret societies and powerful people. “I’ve literally been going after it since I was 11 or 12,” he said.

In recent years, Rothschild has expanded his creative endeavors and incorporated NFTs into his artwork, often mixing elements of design, realism and social commentary. “Everything I do is kind of ironic or taking a stab at something,” he said.

In January 2021, he founded Gasoline as a “disruptive creative studio” focused on Web3. His first NFT collection was titled “Do Not Sit”, and featured chairs that could not be used for sitting. His next NFT, the predecessor to the MetaBirkins project titled “Baby Birkin”, features a handbag with a fetus inside. It was sold at auction for $47,000.

“I knew this was something that was going to be huge,” he said of his move to create NFT art.

Benzin has since expanded its offer and has entered into collaborations with major brands on special projects. Last week it announced a partnership with Ledger to produce a gold hardware wallet – the new “gold standard” for crypto, it claims.

According to Gasoline’s recently published whitepaper, Gasoline plans to expand its ecosystem through partnerships with global brands, focusing on driving artistic value that allows Web2 brands to authentically enter Web3. This includes plans for NFT projects, memberships, physical activations and rewards.

“By 2023 we’re aiming TOWARDS 10,000 cartoon animal collections and betting ON art, access and aboard some famous names in the space with more than just one and done release,” it says, a dig at PFP collections like the Bored Ape Yacht Club . According to the white paper, Gasoline already has over a dozen collaborations planned this year and received “close to seven figures in external funding” to launch its operations.

“We don’t need to rely on a community treasury, supported by royalties, to deliver,” it says. “We believe Bensin will create the new standard for what it means to be part of an ‘NFT project.’

Rothschild said this approach to NFT creation allows him to exercise creative freedom over his projects and build out the Benzin ecosystem while working with major brands to expand their intellectual property (IP).

“When I see projects today, I see them become a bit stagnant when their only strength is their own IP,” he explained. “What our solution is … we’ll do about four projects a year, and [collectors] access all of these. They will all be in our voice. They will all be in our style and quality level.”

This artwork is subject to change (TAISTC) follows the same satirical, tongue-in-cheek structure as Rothschild’s earlier Benzin projects. As the name suggests, the artwork is linked to the NFT metadata “subject to change” at any time. Rothschild told CoinDesk that the title also encompasses the ethos of what Bensin is trying to do.

“It plays into the whole ideology of what gasoline is, which is constantly moving and evolving,” he explained. “We wanted to have a project that constantly spoke to what the meta was … we might change it weekly or bi-weekly, depending on what’s going on in the room.”

Taking inspiration from Jack Butcher’s Checks VV and To open NFT projects, TAISTC uses several interesting mechanics to differentiate the project from others in a way that feels fresh.

First, the project plans to collaborate with several NFT artists to design its rotating artwork. Collectors have the ability to “freeze” NFT’s metadata on an artwork they like, resulting in a collection of evolving rarity that will reveal itself over time. However, users will not know which artist Gasoline has commissioned until the next art change is made, shifting focus to the art instead of the artist.

“We wanted people to really judge how they felt about something really based on the art and not based on who’s behind it,” Rothschild said. “You always hear people say ‘oh, we like the art’ – yes, right. You like it because people hype it up and it pumps and the price is up.”

The project will also feature a burning mechanism that incentivizes holders to “burn” their NFTs to collect smaller and less frequent monetary grants. This gamifies the collection experience and will affect the project’s overall offer over time.

The idea of ​​”burning” assets has been visually represented by the project in its promotional materials showing wads of money being set on fire. On a more “meta” level, Rothschild said the project serves as an introspective on the evolution of money and the human desire to chase it. “If everyone is a millionaire, does it still feel special? It creates a race to adapt to the rapidly evolving value of the currency,” the project says.

“I wanted to talk about how cryptocurrencies are kind of displacing traditional fiat and how that’s the future,” Rothschild added.

In the future, Rothschild said TAISTC will continue to evolve as holders play with the collection’s supplies and artwork. He also teased that the collection will be used as a “marketing opportunity” to promote other projects Bensin is working on. “Let’s say we’re working with a fashion company. We want to use the open edition and change [the art] to promote what’s going on with it,” he said. “It’s a huge tool for us.”

In Rothschild’s view, the NFT world must continue to evolve to remain relevant and onboard new users in Web3. “I think the best thing for Web3 is really to encompass access,” he said. “Rarely does humanity move backwards when it comes to technology.”