Human Hardfork

Human Hardfork is rare digital art by Joe Chiappetta available on MakersPlace.

As humanity's hardfork begins, rare digital art continues to be collectible and totally germ-free!

Because of a number of unprecedented developments--both bad and good--including the coronavirus, economic uncertainty, currency wars, and blockchain ninjutsu, the human race is on the brink of a very major hardfork. I hope to see you on the surviving chain.

Joe Chiappetta
http://SillyDaddy.net

Portrait of Alon Goren

Portrait of Alon Goren is rare digital art by Joe Chiappetta, available as an edition of only 1 on MakersPlace.

I drew this portrait of Alon Goren while he was speaking on a panel at the Crypto Invest Summit (CIS) in Los Angeles. Alon is a Founding Partner of Draper Goren Holm, Co-Founder of Ownera, CIS (re-branded as LA Blockchain Summit), Security Token Summit, LA Blockchain Week, and probably all sorts of other cool things. On and off the blockchain, he is definitely a fine fellow to know!

Alon's influence in the crypto space has been an entirely positive one and the world could benefit from more folks like him. The more you hear him talk, the more you realize that he is an insightful champion for tokenizing art on the blockchain and selling these digital assets as an innovative new paradigm for artists. I share his zeal to help people and bring economic opportunity to the masses, marking a bright new future. It is one of the reasons why I am very active with rare digital art markets like MakersPlace, SuperRare, Dada NYC, and pixEOS.

This rising of rare digital art has already gathered impressive market momentum. In the past, digital art has not been regarded as being collectible. While digital art has existed since the 1960s, it has traditionally been very difficult to monetize or verify its provenance in an immutable manner. Yet now there are solutions to these issues and it has begun to transform the art industry. This will create a whole new economy through blockchain technology.

The rare digital art industry is barely 4 years old. While still in the very earliest stages of growth, art is now being tokenized on the blockchain, and such art is also known as non-fungible tokens (NFTs). These art tokens are traded internationally and have real-world value, representing specific artworks. Their ownership history is also recorded on the blockchain, verifying digital item authenticity and guarding against fraud/counterfeit items.

Despite the newness of this industry, some rare digital art markets have reported weekly sales over $50,000 USD for many consecutive weeks, and these numbers are growing. In fact, by 2024, online art sales are collectively forecasted to be over $9 billion annually according to a Statista study. So stick around. Things are about to get even more interesting.

Joe Chiappetta
http://SillyDaddy.net

Crypto Paste

Crypto Paste is rare digital art by Joe Chiappetta available as an edition of only 1 on MakersPlace.

Is it glue, or is it money? Yes to both!
The official glue of the financial revolution is finally here in all its blockchain glory. Crypto Paste is such a strong adhesive, you'll be stuck for life. 

Joe Chiappetta
http://SillyDaddy.net

CryptoArt Shrugged: What To Do During Rare Digital Art Technical Difficulties

CryptoArt Shrugged is rare digital art by Joe Chiappetta on MakersPlace.

CryptoArt Shrugged:

What To Do During Rare Digital Art Technical Difficulties

Imagine for a moment this scenario. The most amazing art the world may ever see has just been finished, and you're its proud creator. Anxious to release your work for sale as rare digital art, you head over to your favorite online art market to launch the artwork to the public... yet... something's wrong! The marketplace is supposed to be live but it's temporarily delayed. Or other unexpected technical difficulties--with your entire preferred blockchain--make it impossible to immediately release such precious art. 

Would this now be the time to...
(a) Panic?
(b) Complain?
(c) Keep clicking buttons until your will be done?
(d) Leave this sketchy, experimental field forever?

The answer--probably--is actually (e), none of the above.

Therefore what should creators do when their preferred rare digital art gallery--in which they desperately want to release new artworks on--is having downtime or is delayed? The short answer is... something else. As with most things highly technical, new, and still evolving, proper development for mass consumption takes time and frequent revision. Rome was not built in a day.

Remember also some related facts of development.

• The Internet was quite fragmented at its inception. In fact, many sites only worked in certain browsers. Many computers did not even have a web browser. The first web browser was created in 1990, yet it took at least 8 years before the Web Standards Project started to push for the Internet to have clear standards for web browsers.
• While Bitcoin went live in 2009, it took another 6 years before anyone could issue rare digital art on top of Bitcoin (through Counterparty).
• With Ethereum launching in 2015, it was not until over 2 years later that anyone could issue rare digital art through Ethereum.
• Launched in 2018 as a faster blockchain with no transaction fees (unlike Bitcoin and Ethereum), major rare digital art markets on the EOS blockchain (such as pixEOS) will not go live until the later portion of 2019.

With these things in mind, the "urgent" feeling of disappointment or even frustration when delays bump through new technologies are--in most cases--not cause for alarm at all. It's all relative, and just a normal part of the development process. In other words, that's life; shrug it off.

Nevertheless, there is a way to make the most of such delays. Below are some useful professional actions that any artist can take when there are technical delays in publishing art through a preferred rare digital art market.

Rare Digital Art Downtime Game Plan

1. Think of more relevant tags and text to add to your existing artwork.
2. Re-share previously released, yet unsold art on social media.
3. Look around the web to see if this art would be good as a new submission for a contest or exhibition (which could get you extra publicity).
4. Let existing collectors know from you by direct message that you will soon be coming out with a new piece, and you can give them an exclusive preview.
5. Write a full article on your blog where your newly released artwork will serve as the main illustration, thus giving the artwork a wider potential audience.
6. Add that design to a merchandising site so fans can order it on t-shirts, phone cases, and more.
7. Review and revise pricing on your previously released unsold artworks.
8. Ask a colleague to post a review of your existing work.
9. Catch up on the necessary accounting work associated with your businesses so it does not all pile up.
10. Study what people who are more successful than you are doing.
11. Become a rare digital art collector.
12. Make related art, thus creating a cohesive series.

As anyone can imagine, the list of useful, professional, and forward-moving tasks that can be done during unexpected delays are quite involved and productive, in-and-of themselves. More could easily be added to this list as well. Those in the crypto-art field long enough know too well that a strategy to manage blockchain delays is simply a good thing to have. Therefore the prudent will pass the "downtime" wisely, turning it into "uptime." And soon--yet never soon enough in the moment--that preferred site that had you in such a bother due to delays will be up and running--and so will you--already.

Joe Chiappetta
http://SillyDaddy.net

Portrait of a Creative Blockchain Technologist

What began as a big marker sketch on a reused plastic bubble-wrap envelope to mail art, has evolved considerably. After much editing, the sketch has turned into full-on animated rare digital art. This piece depicts Matt Condon, who is an insightful podcaster on Digitally Rare and also a creative blockchain technologist.

A number of personal drawings that I enjoy most started out as unassuming giveaway sketches on envelopes. Perhaps it's because drawing on such items is quick and uninhibited by nature. Since I come from the old-school comics publishing industry (and zine scene before that), adding drawings to envelopes was a pretty standard practice for me in correspondence. Most of these drawings were super quick, and some I really got into. I do not have any of these drawings of course--because I mail them out. Yet a few of these sketches I did have the foresight to capture on camera before sending them off into the world. 

Like most in this digital age, I hardly ever mail items directly anymore. So when I do use shipping services, especially when the contents are art-related inside, it is likely that I will create some nice design on the envelope too. I guess such behavior is coded into my old mail-order-genes.

Therefore now, by the power of God, the Internet and the Ethereum blockchain, this art is available as rare digital art on MakersPlace!

As a side note, while I do call this a crypto art "portrait," I suppose, with all the whimsical elements added on, the drawing is probably more of a caricature... or is it? 

Joe Chiappetta

http://SillyDaddy.net