TLDR: Nae is my niece, she is 9 years old. I am a photographer, and she is an aspiring baker. Like most kids, she likes the arts, and so I have been teaching her about photography. I also want her to become an expert on the blockchain and be ready for the future.
The backstory: in June of 2020, because of the pandemic, I decided to drive from Houston pick up my brother, his wife Alexandra, and my niece Nae and head to Chicago to stay with my sister Maria. During this trip, I started teaching Nae about photography. I brought an old polaroid paired up with the new film from The Impossible Project. I gave her few instructions, and she began taking photographs,
A few months later they all decided to move temporarily to Houston to be together during the pandemic. Nae received a used Olympus 4/3 mirrorless body camera for her birthday and I gave her the Olympus 4/3 kit lenses, a few instructions, and off she went on her own taking photos.
I will most likely be the one keeping up most of the blog for her as she is allowed limited screentime each day. I will be converting her photos to NFTs and I will be teaching her how to use Adobe Suite. As I have done up until now, my instructions are technical. She has a very strong sense of what she likes and of what she is trying to accomplish with each photo,
At some moment I suspect she will take over this blog (if she is still interested) I plan to help her have the skills she needs: photography, animation, blockchain, NFTs. crypto wallet, crypto payments, IPFS, etc. at that point she will be able to shape it into exactly what she wants it to be
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.
My NFT projects are divided into three main interest:
1-Unlimited Art Creations
Website www.unlimitedartcreations.com
The first one will explore the blockchain as a professional photographer,
NFT’s most salient superpower is that it established a record on the blockchain. It is easier to control the dissemination of my work, but it’s also a new opportunity to reach new audiences and a way to monetize my work easily.
2- Nae
www.naemakingthings.com (Under construction)
She is my 9 years niece, and I will manage her artwork; I think this will be a slow process because she is a busy little girl: she swims, is homeschooled, and is always planning all kinds of projects.
For now, I am just a guide of my niece’s path into photography, NFT, and maybe in the future, an artist and an entrepreneur.
3- Loriana Art
Website www.lorianaespinel.com
This is where all the art experimentation will be happening; I am not a per se digital artist unless photographs are digital art (the jury is out). NFT promises are bast and diverse, and we are just starting to explore them; here, I will create NFTs projects and test my personal take of the space.
And because I will drive myself crazy having three blogs, Lorianaespinel.com will house all my writings about NFTs.
For me, anything about NFT is about learning and experimentation… FUN.
