Wednesday 19 August 2015

Digital Art + the Auction House

I'm currently working on some editorial which explores the place and value of 3D printed contemporary sculpture within the art market context. As part of the essay, I interviewed Megan Newcome, Digital Strategy Director at Phillips Auction House in NYC - and found her responses so insightful that it'd be a shame not to post them here on my blog.

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1. To what extend is it important for auction houses to respond quickly to technology trends?

It's critically important for auction houses to embrace technology and understand the impact of what is, essentially, the digital transformation of the art world. Compared to other industries, like music and publishing, the art world was very slow to respond to technology trends because its economic model, premised on scarcity and objecthood, wasn’t drastically impacted by the Internet. But I think the biggest elephant in the room is digital art. It challenges the fundamental economic principles and rules of the art market. Traditional, commercial art world modes of exchange are now being challenged by the global networks - decentralized distribution, new forms of ownership, even new currencies.

2. Why do you think it was important for Phillips to host both issues of Paddles ON!?

I think it was important for Phillips to host Paddles ON! because we understood that the auction would potentially be a groundbreaking moment for digital art - and that it would require a different approach than our other auctions. It was very collaborative - we partnered with Tumblr, Paddle8, Rhizome, OK Focus, and ArtsTech Meetup for the New York auction - and Dazed, Opening Times and Arcadia Missa in London. It literally took a village! We understood that the success of the auctions would depend a lot on engaging and galvanizing the digital art community.

I like to describe it this way: Tumblr brought the digital art community, Phillips brought the ‘art world’ muscle, and Lindsay Howard brought the vision. It was important for us to have Lindsay on board who curated both of the auctions. She understood how to put together a collection of works that had both commercial appeal and were important because they were expressions of different digital practices - animated GIFs, websites, software, 3D prints, digital paintings, videos, and installations.

It was also important for us to have an educational component - we produced a series of videos with artists discussing their practices; we staged a reading room in our London gallery where visitors could access a collection of printed and digital texts; and we hosted a series of panel discussions in New York and London focusing on what it means to create, sell and collect digital art in the 21st century.

We also worked directly with artists and galleries who provided a lot of guidance in terms of pricing, handling and exhibiting the works. In both auctions, the proceeds went back to the artists. In New York, artists recieved 80% of the hammer price and the remaining 20% was donated to Rhizome. In London, artists recieved 100% of the hammer price and a portion of Phillips’s buyer’s premium was donated to Opening Times.

3. Does the fact that a 3D printed sculpture can be re-printed make it a less important collections piece?

I think your question is at the heart of the larger discussion around how the ‘digital object’ is made, valued and collected. This paradox of the ‘digital object’ is very challenging to galleries, auction houses, collectors who have a traditonal view of ownership - how is it possible to sell something that is either impossible to ‘own’ or can be copied? But the fundamentals of ownership are changing. Global networks, open source, crowdfunding, the economy of attention, are creating alternative forms of value that rival one-to-one ownership. New technologies, platforms, and artists themselves are exploring creative ways to monetize digital art.

4. How do audiences respond differently to digital design / does digital work attract a different audience?

Historically, digital art was very niche - you had to be a computer geek or hacker to ‘get it’. Now, the world is increasingly engaged with technology. Audiences are more likely to share screen-based art and cultural experiences than IRL experiences. And this is an important benefit that digital art has over traditional art - it connects artists directly to an audience. It puts more power in the hands of artists and less power for institutions and galleries. When people talk about ‘democratizing the art world’, I think that is what what it means.

5. What are your thoughts towards the value of 3D printed pieces of contemporary sculpture?

One of my favorite recent quotes is Carter Cleveland (founder of Artsy) who says, “The art of tomorrow is the technology of today.”

Artists are using the tools that are ‘contemporary’ to them - 3D printers are a perfect example. I think 3D printed sculpture, in many ways, is the most elegant manifestion of the ‘digital object’ - something a traditonal collector could understand both as a physical object and a digital object. We sold a 3D sculpture by Sophie Kahn in our London Paddles ON! auction - and it, by far, recieved the most inquiries from collectors visiting the gallery.  

Monday 17 August 2015

A look into Biomimicry


My next piece for Disruptive Magazine is now live. I explored Biomimicry in the context of 3D printing - it was certainly one of the most enjoyable articles to research that I've been working on recently. Featured is Nervous System, Lee Cronin and Janine Benyus. Their work is all really different, but through reading the piece you'll see how beautifully their practice combines via Biomimicry as a process for 3D printing.

I'm working a number of articles at the moment for a varied colection of print and online publications. Let me know if you're interested in commissioning me for something else as well!

Wednesday 12 August 2015

Texas Tripping

I'm currently in Austin Texas, having been invited to attend and cover an announcement from Stratasys Direct Manufacturing - a service bureau for 3D printing in North America.

Looking around the factory facility was really cool, and I also met and interview some really interesting (and lovely) people. I even got to hold the first ever 3D printed (and fired) metal gun, which was kinda cool.

Catch up with the written piece from the event on Disruptive.


Liberator chic

Despite the number of years since the notorious 3D printed gun altered the reputation of additive manufacturing, its disruption resounds. Back in 2013, the project made headlines through the release of a 3D printed prototype ‘Liberator’ gun (and open source file) – and today, its influence continues to be translated across discipline and industry. ‘Liberator Rounds’ is a sculptural collection and presentation of the open source STL from Cody Wilson, and stands as a ceiling mounted chandelier of 3D printed guns by artist Addie Wagenknecht.


With a history of embracing the challenges that contemporary, open source culture offers, Wagenknect’s understanding of use and objecthood in ‘Liberator Rounds’ only develops this discourse further. The implications of an open-access technology (like additive manufacturing) already deliver endless industry benefits, but the potential for creative innovation and cultural expression are evident in Wagenknect’s art – almost as an extension of the internet’s power to do the same.
The series is about ubiquitous objects in our environment and a shift in contemporary context, the playful and subversive quality of surveillance and data culture in our everyday environments,” says Wagenknecht. “The work plays with the underlying notion of how culture is produced and distributed—how they have been affected by our disenchantment and simultaneous obsession [with] digital culture.” (via the Creators Project)
Although numerous downloads and 3D prints of The Liberator have been made across the world, ‘Liberator Rounds’ is one of the most interesting visual statements of that now pivotal moment in the public history of additive manufacturing. We look forward to seeing what comes next.

Article written for Disruptive