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Artist Statement: Over-Time Series

by | Jun 3, 2021 | English, Overtime Series, Statements

NFT (Non-Fungible Token) are the latest fad in the implementation of Blockchain, a technology that makes it possible to attach copyright to digital creations (drawings, music, photography, etc.) In the same way that someone can buy a Botero print and that there is only one original, today, a digital work of art can be purchased. For the first time with NFT, they can be created and transferred as originals and without intermediaries.

But this is still a complex technology. I have read and studied everything that falls into my hands, but as an artist, I want to take the next step and, from experience, understand what it means to be a digital artist in 2021. To accomplish this, I will use the only digital copies that I have saved in my lifetime to create a series called El Paso del Tiempo. (Over-time)

In 2007 I read that El Tiempo (the best-selling newspaper in Colombia) was going to have an online event, (Comparte-arte) on a specific day and time, and only one opportunity to download free high-quality digital versions of three renowned Colombian artists: Fernando Botero with Tamer,  Ana Mercedes Hoyos with the portrait Zenaida, and Nadin Ospina with Constellations.

I wrote the information on a piece of paper and pasted it on my computer screen. I had an appointment with magic; technology was going to let me participate in the world of art in a different way.

I did not know if my computer had space or if my internet was enough to download the images. I do not remember how the process was; what I remember was the anxiety and fear of losing this moment and, after downloading the folder, the immense happiness of having -an original- even if it was digital.

In all these years, I have never shared this story. I have never shown anyone these images, and not because it is a secret, it just never occurred to me that someone could share my enthusiasm to have these works that are everything – an original – it is not: They are not unique, there is no market, they do not really belong to me, they cannot be smelled or touched, or hang in the living room.

 How can I explain that despite all these circumstances I have been saving them, taking care of them, enjoying them for 14 years, I have changed computers many times, I have lost photos and documents, but that folder entitled -arte col download- has always been present, I know where it is, from time to time I open it, I do a Google search for them, it gives me infinite pleasure to have them, they make me happy. 

And now that the pandemic has given me the time to understand NFT.  I thought about these three Colombian artists who were ahead of their time, I don’t know anyone who has also downloaded them, and as far as I know, the work of another artist was never shared for the same purpose.

This happened in 2007. Bitcoin emerged in 2011, and the first time I heard about NFT was with crypto kitties in 2017. The parallel between that El Tiempo exercise and NFTs is inevitable. Today those images would have other values ​​and would not be locked in my computer without seeing the light of day.

With this series: Over time, I will use everything that blockchain technology has to offer me as an artist: NFT, IPFT, Wallets, brave browser, tokens AND coins, online stores, etc., and everything is documented in a blog published on the Blockchain: loriana.crypto.

Respecting the original copyright, they will not be sold. The only fees would be transaction fees. My main goal is to create a series -from the heart- that allows me to learn how to navigate the practical, technical, and conceptual challenges of this complex process of being a digital artist in 2021.