We Chat To Mike Winklemann About NFTs And Digital Art

Digital and NFT artist Mike Winkelmann (commonly known as Beeple) does not need to be introduced. After all, in a way, he became the face of the NFT boom that blossomed last year. A little over a year ago, Beeple’s record $ 69 million NFT auction at Christie’s became a headline for months. Even today, no one in the NFT space knows about Beeple and his iconic NFT artwork “E”.verydays – first 5000 days“.

at the time, every day As the most expensive NFT sale in history, it broke all NFT sales records. This remarkable achievement was exceeded only in December 2021. NFT artist, pack.. Fortunately, NF Evening Angela Jampolo had the opportunity to speak with Beeple at the NFTIn America conference.

But who is Beeple?

A few years ago, Beeple was your average digital artist and wasn’t recognized worldwide. Indeed, digital artists and digital art itself have not yet gained popularity today. Indeed, Beeple remembered that he didn’t think of himself as an artist for a long time. In his own words, he was a designer “people hired to solve problems.” Obviously, Mike Winkelmann wasn’t always known as Beeple. In fact, he started going by Monica in 2003.

What is a beeple?

Apparently, a “beep” actually refers to a small furry bigfoot-like toy that beeps. The original toys were also some inspiration for his artwork. In short, the 2021 Spring collection features vials of hair that are “actually shaved from one of those beeples.” In addition, over the years, Winkelman often gave these toys to fans, friends and family.

How did Beeple become so famous?

Most of what his art has sold so far was only $ 100, even just four months before he made an eight-digit sale. This was when Beeple held an exhibition in Toronto in late 2019. So the organizers knew well that no one would buy it, so they decided to list his artwork for “a ridiculous amount of money.” They were right — no one bought the original work for $ 14,000 or the print for $ 1,000 each. Most of the people who bought it were $ 100 prints.

How much do you make beeple?

But when he sold his first pair of NFTs in October 2020, the tide was in favor of Beeple. $ 66,666.66 each.. Then, in December, his series of works earned a total of $ 3.5 million. In February, one of his first series of NFTs was sold in the secondary market for $ 6.6 million. A few weeks later “Every day-first 5000 days” Scripted history.

“Now I make whatever I want and pray to God that someone wants to pay for it,” Beeple said. NFTevening.. Currently, he is primarily a digital artist himself, and now he states that he is “beginning to go further into the traditional world (physical world)” *.

Top NFT Artist Mike Winkelmann on the Secrets of Success

After the Christie’s auction, many have stated that Beeple was successful overnight. This took 13 years, despite the fact that he didn’t create the work overnight. To some extent, Beeple agreed that he “came out of nowhere” for the traditional art world and the media as a whole. However, he reasoned that they focused only on aspects of NFTs, not on the social media he had acquired over the years.

“We’ve grown millions of followers on social media over the last decade, and with the advent of this NFT technology, we’ve been able to do this,” he said. “What people may not really understand in NFTs is that this isn’t the magic bullet you’re suddenly trying to sell. There’s no built-in audience and you build a community around your work. If you don’t, it will be very difficult to sell NFTs, canvases, photos, sculptures, etc. “

Building an NFT community is important

That’s exactly what Beeple did — he created an audience for years. “It had nothing to do with sales for the first 20 years here,” he added. “I think it’s really about making emotional connections with people. And if people don’t have an emotional connection to your work, I’m sorry, they’re not going to buy it. “

Beeple & Fame: After the Daily Christie’s Auction

A year after the record sale, Beeple said the Christie’s auction was still in process.

“Things were happening at [normal] When the pace went up, everything went to a new pace and stayed at that pace, “he said. “… because NFTs aren’t gone. Well, there’s this kind of shorthand — if you’ve heard of it. [NFTs]Then you may have heard of me too. ”

“Even now, when I’m at the fu ***** airport, someone wants to come to me and take a fu ***** selfie,” Beeple added. “That didn’t happen before, so I’m still used to another level of attention. But it’s very exciting, and that’s what I feel, and being in this position is I was very lucky and I was lucky. “

That said, Beeple believes that “some luck” did help him reach today’s place. He spent time and effort, but added that he did not invent the NFT. Sure, he didn’t join the NFT space as soon as you think. In fact, some others had been working on them for years before.

“It’s what I’ve dealt with, but I’ve reconciled to some extent with the fact that I’ll never handle it completely … because it’s just one of the weird things that doesn’t look like that. happened.”

What’s next to Mike Winkelmann?

Currently, Beeple is building a 50,000-square-foot building in Charleston that will act as his studio. This space also has a gallery, which may be ready within a few months. What’s more, the building also has an “experience space with lots of projectors.”

Winkelman hopes that this space will serve as a bridge between the world of traditional art and digital art. “A place where you can show off your physical work right away without waiting,” he explained. “It’s also a place to hold events and bring the community together. It’s very exciting and I’m really looking forward to it.”

Thanks to the American NFT for arranging a great interview with the legendary Mike Winkelmann (Beeple). Needless to say, I would like to thank Beeple for lending me his time. It was an honor to meet you.

If you want to see more like this, catch Complete Beeple Interview See more interviews coming soon on our youtube channel, and look at this space.