Art & Cryptocurrency - A New Stage for Craft in the 21st Century
Empowering Creative Process
In a world curated by the resolution of your computer screen - creativity can be a hard thing to capture. Most artists face deep-rooted challenges when it comes reaching a supportive audience while simultaneously earning money. The internet era has been a boom for tools and socially connecting websites but earning has proven itself to be a risky and elusive process.
Cryptocurrencies are changing that. What’s a cryptocurrency? A cryptocurrency is digital money that is created, held and distributed through an online network. Steemit (a social media website that rewards bloggers with a “crypto” called STEEM) is a rapidly evolving resource that helps to break down the barriers that have prevented many artists from fully embracing the digital landscape. A digital artistic renaissance could be closer than you think... It’s still very early (if you’re counting in crypto-years) but platforms like this one will serve as catalysts to propel creatives into the 21st century.
The Traditional Problem
In the Art World today, value is assigned solely to the final product. It’s that red sticker on the gallery wall that represents “success” for most artists. Most everything else is a gamble to monetize and earn from. Traditional galleries are inherently risky. Once a piece does sell, the gallery takes upwards of half the commission. This is a problem. So much time and effort is risked on what ultimately represents just 10% of the creative process.
The Problem
A work of art is also about the story and the process. Sketchbooks, ideas, bar napkins, eraser residue, quotes, smudges, study models, late nights, early mornings, crumpled-up paper and globs of paint. These preliminary stages of the creative process make up an invisible 90% that is rarely shared with the world. The “process” within art can be where the best stories are hiding. It’s where the artist’s rigor, passion and craftsmanship are brought to a boil. The “final” piece is just a small window into a much bigger landscape. With Steemit, artists are finding a platform to share the stories beyond the frame.
The Solution
Artists should be rewarded for 100% of their work and not just the final 10%. Steemit provides opportunity to monetize your discovery and exploratory process!
Share Your True Work
Steemit isn’t a polished art gallery or a quiet museum. It’s more like a communal work desk. It’s a place where you can share raw thinking and receive constructive and honest feedback.
For an artist, this is a major opportunity. Here, you can share your work in the moment, just as you are creating it. You can write about it, take a progress photo, share an idea or inspiration. In most cases honest content receives honest feedback and actual value. That’s an incredible thing for an artist to be able to tap into. By finding value in process the Steemit platform could revolutionize the way artists are able to work and support themselves. In this community, your work can be elevated in an unprecedented way.
@sndbox is an Steemit incubator for creatives and communities. We help artists and content creators (of all kinds) earn cryptocurrency while tapping into a global network. Our mission is to empower a new creative class for the 21st century. For more, take a look at our blog homepage.
"May the work of your hands be a sign of gratitude and reverence to the human condition". Mahatma Gandhi
I think Steemit has a lot of promise as far as being able to even out that "rewards curve" a bit... one of the reasons I put our gallery on Steemit, under a separate account.
There has to be some way that artists and art lovers alike can come together in mutual support (other Steemit "guilds" have done it) to help artists supplement their incomes and exposure to the world. I know we already have at least a couple of dozen artists who are quite successful sharing their work here, along with "in process" shots of what they do... if that's doable individually, why not as a "network of support" as well?
I think it's also important because one of the trends in art is more towards "experiencing" rather than "owning," so end sales aren't necessarily the be all, end all for artists anymore. At our gallery, we see it in terms of lots of smartphone photos... OK, so rather than frown on that; let's develop ways where the artists are rewarded before the canvas (or whatever) goes on the wall.
three cheers for artists, for steemit and for sndbox!!!! The potential of this are so exciting - "Artists should be rewarded for 100% of their work and not just the final 10%. Steemit provides opportunity to monetize your discovery and exploratory process!"
Your post inspires me to look deeper into my process...what parts am I not sharing that are part of the story...Thank you!
Steemit is really the best place for an upcoming artist because they can have a free blog and a lot of traffic for their content and also earn money for their work!
Absolutely! And people actually / truly engage with you here. Good feedback is incentivized, so there's more of it.
I am so fortunate to be able to be a witness and onboard this new journey with all of the skilled artists here.
Steemit is a win win thing for the creative arts.
By sharing every process of your work, you get rewarded every step of the way. You also get rewarded when the finished work is ready. Like you rightly pointed, the creative arts can get rewarded 100% by sharing on steemit.
Agreed. You should be rewarded each step and misstep throughout the process. This puts a lot less pressure on that final 10% to happen. Steemit is a blank canvas for creatives to experiment with :)
As a historian and a writer, I'd say my final product is more like 5% of the total. And that's not a bad thing. You always want to be working with a deep well, right? So, yes, it is enticing to imagine sharing (and commidifying - in the best sense of the word) some of that "lost" 95%. I'll definitely experiment with that idea in upcoming posts.
As sndbox pointed out there is definitely value in it, as experience and skills for you but as inspiration for others as they can learn from your 95%, personally I am always a bit sad when buying artbooks that they only reveal the final sketches or drawings and not the 99% of trials and errors leading to there ending result.
Yes, thanks @kenfinkel. There is a lot to be learned from that remaining 95%! There's value there that pertains to the original creative as well as others pursuing something similar.
Steemit is the first place on the internet I got some real attention. and I tried lots of platforms.. this one is truly alive! I am more motivated and inspired and really happy to share my work....
That's exactly why I'm so excited about Steemit. With Steemit the artist gets what he deserves, but some get too little because they are not too well known.
Very true, this platform is very new still. So there's a lot of room to grow, improve and build the community. It's an exciting time to be here :)
u can say that again!
Maybe they need to spend more time here and gain trust from the community to gain the power.