Marina Abramović, a well-known performance artist. She decided to take a bold step into the world of cryptocurrency by launching her very own NFT later this week. The NFT is based on “the Hero” (2001), one of her most interesting and personal performance pieces. In the original version of this piece, she sat astride a white steed, holding a white flag that she waved gracefully in the wind, set against a vast landscape of trees and sky in Spain.
The piece, was a tribute to her then-recently deceased father, who was a Yugoslavian war hero during World War II.
A Brief History About Marina And The Hero Art
Abramović, who was born in Belgrade, Serbia in 1946, is now revisiting that work in collaboration with The Cultural Institute of Radical Contemporary Art (CIRCA) in London. The movie airs from June 13 to August 13 on a network of screens ranging from Piccadilly Lights in London and Times Square in New York, all the way to COEX K-Pop Square in Seoul, South Korea.
The artist has also written The Heroes’ Manifesto, a reconceptualization of her ‘An Artist’s Life’ Manifesto from 2011. The new manifesto is being described as a response to the urgent need for heroism over artistry in today’s world.
Furthermore, Abramović’s NFT of The Hero (2001) will launch on Tezos blockchain, considered to be more environmentally friendly than others. She announces details of her inaugural NFT during a conversation with CIRCA Artistic Director, Josef O’Connor, at Art Basel on 18 June.
Why Did Marina Decide To Venture Into NFTs?
Marina didn’t really intend to venture into NFT. However, she stated in an interview that the entire idea came as a surprise. The Hero was originally filmed in PAL, so they decided to do a lot of post production work on the landscape. That took them months of editing each frame because they wanted the image to envelop the audience. Marina believes that ideas have to come as a surprise – frame by frame something new emerged from the stillness.
Marina and her team discover how the movement of the flag in the wind took on a new beauty and significance with each new frame. From there they discovered thousands of unique NFT and have decided to explore its possibilities.
Marina responded passionately, when asked why she was getting into with NFTs. She found the advent of NFTs as a suitable means to express her old arts in a more modern fashion. She needed a clear means of communicating with this new generation. One not birthed in the era of the original version of the Hero.
“You have to consider the future when making art because, Art must look forward”
Marina Abramović
Expectations From Marina Abramović’s NFT Inaugural Launch?
Marina told newsmen that she is excited to see what follows from the successful building of her new company.
For her, It is about finding solutions to the ongoing catastrophe and who can bring the solution? The heroes. The ones who sacrifice everything. The ones who bring the new light to illuminate this world. If she started out today, this is what she said she would be doing.
She concluded by saying What Nadya Tolokonnikova achieved in March – raising over $6.7 million for Ukraine relief efforts – it’s incredible. And hopes to see what other ideas people have in the web3 space that would help save the world.