The biggest thing in digital art right now! - Ben Mauro Interview - Art Department Podcast

[@novusvoss]

It's a revolutionary marriage between tech and art for sure! However as far as I can tell, what is being traded is mostly "fame" or "clout". Because the bulk of these NFT buyers are actually looking into NFT art as an investment strategy. Meaning they want a security on their investment, it isn't worth much if they can't resell it. What's the security? The artists fame. That's why non-artists, musicians, influencers can create high-value NFT art pretty much instantly. While mid- to high-level artists who don't have a large social media presence take on quite the risk for paying a fee each time they post their work on one of these NFT websites.

[@artdepartmentpodcast]

Yes, this space will certainly change from how it is now, and it will change by the day. The feeling of "anyone can do it", "struggling artists can get rich" will pass and it will normalise. It will only show over time if there are enough investors, patrons of the arts on every level that a broad spectrum of artists will be able to generate a sustainable income over the years.

[@MrRossT1]

" Meaning they want a security on their investment, it isn't worth much if they can't resell it." - - - not so. Very incorrect with this conclusion. Actually look up what NFT's are.

[@fractalelement857]

i think it's a pitty in this digital era we live that programmers are making so so much money in comparison to 3d artists and the rest of digital artists. If they think it's not worth it then let the programmers draw and sculpt all the content so we can laugh at the shitty results. That's really bad. Industries is killing art.

[@Deviner75]

art is the last thing nft is about

[@YohannSchepacz]

At the time of listening to this, Ben Mauro IS a multimillionaire ! Congrats Ben !

[@Daniel_Romanovsky]

Hard to believe, congrats to Ben, hope there is hope for the rest of us

[@artdepartmentpodcast]

I know right, I called it ... and the timing was just too perfect. All the power to Ben! :)

[@leonkrap9717]

This conversation would ignite enthusiasm of many talented artists who are being frustrated which means good and helpful. Nice talk. 😄

[@artdepartmentpodcast]

Thanks Noel!

[@showmethehoney1475]

Enjoyed all the ideas here!

[@andrewprasetya4394]

This is the only art podcast I listen to religiously! Thank you for all your advice and insights!

[@artdepartmentpodcast]

Thanks so much Andrew!!! Means the world to us!

[@YungContentshow]

I loved this guys... Thank for hosting it... Nice camera looks btw

[@artdepartmentpodcast]

Thanks!

[@luciano1142]

Great interview, thanks for sharing

[@artdepartmentpodcast]

Thanks for listening!

[@armstrong.r]

This was my first exposure to your channel and podcast and I found it pleasantly easy to sit through to the end. However, I was surprised nobody touched on the very important topic of environmental impacts related to ETH. I've been wanting to get into crypto art for months now but my environmental values have kept me out of the game thus far, but I just discovered some lesser-known and more sustainable alternatives to ETH thanks to another commenter and am researching my options now. While I understand the desire and need for large earnings for artwork, I think since artists like us should actively pursue and elevate more sustainable options and stop feeding ETH; you can argue that more investors are interested in platforms using ETH but the reality is that the artists finally have more sway in the conversation now that our work is so highly sought after, and I think it would be irresponsible to not make use of that power to help others. I would love to hear your perspectives on this issue and I want other viewers to reply to my take here so we can open a dialogue (which seems to be in frustratingly short supply on digital art Twitter).

[@MrRossT1]

You're using a computer and a cell phone. You're a hypocrite. 'Cause the amount of energy and pollution caused by your use of technology is HUGE!

[@armstrong.r]

@@MrRossT1 I'm well aware of my ecological footprint. Does having a footprint as a consequence of using technology that's necessary for modern life mean I shouldn't be wary of non-essential technologies that could drastically increase said footprint? No.

[@MrRossT1]

@@armstrong.r None of this technology is required to live, my dear. You're just trying to justify your own hypocrisy. Which in turn makes your "environmental morality/values" disingenuous on so many levels. You have no moral compass.

[@armstrong.r]

@@MrRossT1 You speak of moral compasses and yet only seem interested in berating people online to satiate your own cravings of condescension. I suggest you direct that energy toward self-improvement rather than toward others who are merely doing the same. Have a pleasant day.

[@artdepartmentpodcast]

Lets keep it civil please. We have touched on this issue briefly in our latest NFT special episode. However this topic is far too explosive and important to be discussed in KZbin channel comments. Maybe this is more suited for a more direct conversation in clubhouse. I personally think its not so easy to argue either against or for as its not as simple as either doing it or not doing it and therefore saving the environment. These are huge interconnected, complex mechanisms that far exceed a simple black and white explanation. The same with the meat or food processing industry, the clothing industry, ICE vs EV etc. Doesn't mean its something we should ignore or just all live our lives however we feel like ... but lets acknowledge its not something where one person can flip a switch and its all solved. So no need to get so worked up about it. :)

[@SRLStud]

Congratulations Ben, very much deserved success!

[@artdepartmentpodcast]

I called it! Where is my commission!! :)

[@sturm3d]

having a look at the novel and really love it, it's somehow reassuring these kind of jewels still exist.

[@artdepartmentpodcast]

Can't wait for the release!

[@sturm3d]

@@artdepartmentpodcast well, now i know i don't have to pay $2m to read the other chapters :-)

[@batmax337]

Great Discussion! Thank you for the infos.. Awesome ben! Looking forward to more huxley content.

[@artdepartmentpodcast]

Can't wait to read it as well!

[@zerojs]

This is a great video, Im currently waiting to be accepted in to several of these galleries and its great to hear advice about this!

[@artdepartmentpodcast]

Glad it was helpful! We're all waiting hahah!

[@servidig483]

VERY refreshing topic

[@artdepartmentpodcast]

Thx!

[@Ashezth]

I almost made it to the opening statement. Skipping this vid

[@pavelsokov]

Great interview! I started my rarible after watching this, looking forward to it. Cheers!

[@artdepartmentpodcast]

Best of luck!

[@ChrisRosewarne]

AMAZING TOPIC! Looking into it now!

[@artdepartmentpodcast]

Do it Chris! Hope you're well!

[@diegodealmeida9569]

Great episode guys !! Keep up the great work with the channel o/

[@artdepartmentpodcast]

Thanks! Will do!

[@stephennoble2693]

Darn such a great talk yet again. Thanks guys

[@artdepartmentpodcast]

Thanks for listening!

[@bpdd85]

Super interesting talk! I'm really wanna see how NFT will affect artists in the game/film industry as a means of income and if that will translate to the 'competitive' nature of finding jobs in the industry.

[@iitvoii]

If more artists can make more on NFT, maybe there would be less competition for in studio jobs?

[@artdepartmentpodcast]

Well see what happened to Ben's NFT drop on VIV3? :) The effect will be dramatic. But of course it'll be unevenly distributed like on every platform ....

[@bpdd85]

@@artdepartmentpodcast he earned 2mill last night, dunno what's gonna be left after taxes... but still, impressive

[@MrRossT1]

@@bpdd85 "dunno what's gonna be left after taxes" - - - make your first 2 million then worry about taxes.

[@artemlt]

I will scream like this child on 46:16 if will accept me on SuperRare. Thanks guys! Awesome interview. Ben Evolution collection is so epic dont miss it!

[@artdepartmentpodcast]

Sold out in 7 min! Bananas!

[@p1lzz621]

I have a concern tho, I see a lot of my favourite artists jumping on bandwagon, but not single one of them mentioning cons of whole NFT - wonder if it's due to lack of research or "easy" money is main goal here. As Ben said it is a great opportunity for artists to sell stuff they enjoy creating, but for me personally morality kicks in here - whole NFT marketplaces look like pyramid (I 100% believe that you get this money on a bank account - don't get me wrong here), not to mention whole environmental issues regarding to power usage. I don't wanna be that guy to spoil all the fun/hater, but would love to hear artists speak about cons/issues with this viral thing - what are the risks/environmental issues/how it may affect industry and where is the borderline for creativity/artism - example: You normally do environmental/cinematic/character art - but you see that renders like "Beeple" sell better on this market - I don't want to be evil advocate as Jan mentioned, but it's easy to lose your real motivation for creating art and start doing things just for money, especially when we talk about pretty big money here :) Hopefully more industry leading artists will speak about it sooner, then later, anyways, great podcast guys, keep it up!

[@tomstraughan4063]

Totally agree. I chatted in the with Jon J park in his instagram comments about the exact same points this morning. There really needs to be a focused concentration on moving towards NFT blockchains using renewable energy sources. As NFT's involves potentially dozens of transactions, therefore if you sell 100 copies, you multiply that carbon footprint by 100.

[@artdepartmentpodcast]

Thanks for bringing those points up, they are VERY valid. We are going to be talking about everything around NFT in an upcoming episode!

[@jillianyoung7006]

Yes, these are my concerns as well. Personally, I live in a frequently disaster-stricken country where the effects of climate change are felt ANNUALLY and this is really conflicting. I found a great github doc that summarizes which ones are more sustainable than the others. I hope the more sustainable process catch on in the near future. github.com/memo/eco-nft

[@tomstraughan4063]

@@artdepartmentpodcast awesome, really looking forward to it! Great podcast btw guys!

[@armstrong.r]

@@jillianyoung7006 Thank you for the link, it was very insightful. I've been wanting to get into this and finally earn money for my artwork but my values have prevented me from joining thus far, so I'm elated to see I have eco-friendly options to pursue! Do you have experience in any of the sustainable listings? I'm leaning towards VIV3 or KodaDot but I'm still uncertain.

[@christianwolfgang943]

Happy 4 u ben

[@artdepartmentpodcast]

Yes! :)

[@MACHIN3]

Exciting times!

[@artdepartmentpodcast]

Indeed!

[@darasto2023]

Out of curiosity are there any artists out there minting their traditional work and being able to sell as NFT? My traditional drawing do really well on IG and I still have the originals too so it might be better to mint them instead of shipping tradional way.

[@artdepartmentpodcast]

Yes I saw some of them doing that. Thats an interesting subject being able to sell a digital and real original.

[@cr0uchingtiger]

I guess the opening of this video hasn't aged well. Shame though, I busted my ass in the NFT boom and lost money minting.

[@straw981]

Great interview!

[@artdepartmentpodcast]

Thank you!

[@veneficarius]

cool stuff ! so i create gallery, make price and if someone buys it i get this price? or is it shtg else, like i can sell 9 copies of art (like in traditional art)|and than owner can sell collectible for x ammount of money. Is it like specullation stuff/ wall street ?

[@artdepartmentpodcast]

On the buyer side there is definitely a speculative element. In terms of the options of what and how you sell it depends on the platform.

[@ElSeñorGeometrico123]

NO PUEDE SEEEEER. ME LLAMO BENJAMIN MAURO XDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

[@servidig483]

Nft will become mainstream usable when we as humans will be fully digital, until then, unfortunately just another receipt or bitcoin

[@artdepartmentpodcast]

haha, digitise everything!

[@marcuskeil420]

I wonder if you are a junior artist, trying to break in to the industry, creating mid-lvl art would catch on even if you don’t have the fame or large following.

[@artdepartmentpodcast]

Everybody who achieved "fame" (whatever imaginary thing that is), started as a junior outside the industry.

[@rockon8174]

Build your following!

[@holedplot]

Ben Mauro Min-Maxxed life

[@artdepartmentpodcast]

hahahahah totally

[@rgb]

Ben turns himself into cryptocurrency around the 40:56 mark

[@artdepartmentpodcast]

I know! It just fit so perfectly I didn't want to cut it out hahahah!

[@rgb]

@@artdepartmentpodcast but seriously, really great conversation. Made me look into the NFT space and while I can definitely see why everyone is excited about it, I also see the possibility that these virtual galleries (and the crypto speculators that probably profit in the end) will become the next gatekeepers of which artist gets to become big, ultimately killing the the "artists creating art to support themselves" dream. I'd love to be proven wrong though. Cryptocurrency will ultimately win when we stop seeing its value through USD conversion.

[@BenMauro]

loool that worked out too perfect.

[@souratinet]

J'aime la video

[@artdepartmentpodcast]

Merci :)

[@tseidl]

who's killing a kid in the background?

[@artdepartmentpodcast]

My wife, hahahahaha

[@alan.smitheeee]

Well, this aged like milk.

[@manilacrypto9676]

congrats ben 7 mins sold out

[@artdepartmentpodcast]

Blew my mind ... the video came out at the perfect moment hahahah!

[@instantlybroken]

Is a very flawed concept. I always seem to hear the comparison between having a print of a van Gogh or having the original. If there is no difference between the original and the copy then there is no value to it other than the value of a copy. Let's just call it what it is, helping out one of your favorite digital artist. Unless it's a highly-publicized sale you're not going to recoup any money if you sell one.

[@artdepartmentpodcast]

I think its not just as simple as that as real money is being traded and investors are able to reap real returns. Its the same thing with photography. You can make endless amounts of copies. Yet prints sell for ungodly amounts of money.

[@Antares-vj7su]

Didn't understood a single thing..

[@artdepartmentpodcast]

I still don't either ...