Digital and physical art are merging, and it’s happening right in Charleston.
Off Clements Ferry Road in a 50,000-square-foot industrial warehouse, one of the world’s top digital artists is breaking down the barriers between two very different artistic realms — one grounded in the cornerstones of history and tradition, another floating in the possibilities of technological progress.
It’s all thanks to Beeple, aka Mike Winkelmann, the Charleston-based digital artist who became globally renowned when he sold his art in 2021 in an NFT (non-fungible token) format for $69.3 million at Christie’s, the revered 255-year-old British auction house.
This piece was sold for an astronomical sum. It was a digital display that looked like a pixel, Winkelmann’s first 5K “Everydays”, the name he gave to his daily artwork since May 1, 2007.
Winkelmann’s life has become more interesting since that sale. In many ways, it has become more complex. This could also be true for art in general.
Winkelmann stated that “it’s allowed me the opportunity to do things I didn’t think were possible before on an extent I thought was impossible before,” at his new exhibition space.
Winkelmann is continuing his digital “Everydays” and has started the process of reimagining images that were previously viewed on a computer or cellphone screen onto a gallery wall.
His digital art will appear in prints and paintings that are life-size.
Mike Winkelmann poses in a photo at the new exhibition space of 50,000 feet off Clements Ferry Road, Thursday, November 17, 2022. Mike Winkelmann, also known as Beeple, the Charleston-based digital artist who became globally renowned when he sold his art in an NFT (non-fungible token) format for $69.3 million at Christie’s. Andrew J. Whitaker/Staff
Winkelmann stated, “I didn’t think how this would look mounted on a wall.” “There are so many things to consider when it comes to a physical item… deciding the best physical representation and how I can get the message across better, while still staying true to the overall idea is a difficult task.”
One of the main points is the emotion that can be felt from a large canvas rather than the glow of a computer screen.
The ability to zoom in and illuminate tiny details in extremely high resolution allows for them to be magnified in ways that they couldn’t previously. Winkelmann’s “Everydays” contain many hidden messages that are bolder than ever. These include a forgotten cheeseburger in an apocalyptic universe and a written note that would be virtually unnoticeable online.
Winkelmann’s first NFT, which sold $28.9 Million, also allows for what was once frozen to be an ongoing conversation with up-to-date moving images. He explained that one piece could change many times during his life.
“Just another medium”
The exhibition space is designed to help people understand digital art, its production and its impact on the world.
Winkelmann stated that they are trying to bridge the digital and traditional worlds. “There are many people who are like “(expletive]” the traditional world. They’re burning it to ground and creating a new system. I find that a bit shortsighted to believe that this will become part of the traditional art world.
Although he does create his art on a computer screen, it’s just one more way he uses. Angela Mack, executive director of Gibbes Museum of Art, stated that Winkelmann is just joining a long list of well-respected painters, photographers, and sculptors.
She said that his dedication to creating art every day is the same as any artist who spends a lifetime painting. She calls her work ethic “incredible”.
Mack stated, “This is an art form some people view as progress and some people see them as a new mode of expression.” “From my perspective, it’s just another medium.”
This image released by Christie’s on Thursday, March 11, 2021 shows a digital collage titled “Everydays: The First 5,000 Days,” by an artist named Beeple. Christie’s claims it sold a digital collage created by Beeple (real name Mike Winkelmann) for almost $70 million in unprecedented sales of digital artworks that fetch more than physical works from well-known artists. The piece sold for $69.3 million in an online auction, “positioning him among the top three most valuable living artists,” Christie’s said via Twitter on Thursday. Christie’s/AP
Mack is among a few people who were able to see Winkelmann’s new space in person before it opened. Gibbes is expected to collaborate next year with the goal of accelerating the growth of the Charleston arts scene to the international phenomenon that it is Beeple.
“It’s so interesting to me that, in a city where there is a great deal of attention given to 17th and 18th century architecture and these aspects of the city that are living with us all the time, that we also have this incredibly new approach to art,” said Mack. “The technology element is just incredible. It really will expand how people view art, and it’s happening just down the street, so to speak.”
Forging community
Winkelmann hopes that this will be a place for him to share his work but he is also excited to give a platform to other digital artists. This is a significant part of the work for Winkelmann, a fairly isolated dad who claims he spends most of his time working or with his family.
This will allow us to form a more tangible community of digital artists.
The growing, but small, Charleston-based group of digital artists/NFT collectors is excited about this aspect. They also want to get to know Winkelmann better. This celebrity figure has only appeared a few times online in group chats.
The “Bored Ape Yacht Club,” an NFT collection, spurred an online community that opened Chris Orza’s eyes to a “whole new world out there,” as he calls it — a world of artists and traders who have become some of his closest friends.
Orza from Charleston said, “It’s all about community.” “I have made great friends all over the world, which I wouldn’t have met if it weren’t for NFTs.”
Although the internet is a great platform for connecting, Orza also developed a local network of Charleston Crypto Cats members and established in-person meetups to connect with fellow NFT, crypto and blockchain enthusiasts. Since its founding in the summer, the group meets at most once a month. It has grown from five people to fifty.
Winkelmann also participates in the group. Although he hasn’t been to any meetups yet, he has had brief contact with Orza and the other members. He is definitely an inspiration. He is eagerly awaiting his local exhibition space.
Orza stated that NFTs have allowed thousands of artists to express themselves and have their art displayed around the globe. They also allow them to monetize their work in ways that are unimaginable without blockchain technology. “So NFTs are exciting in that regard. But even more exciting when you think about how the physical world and digital worlds could collide, especially here, Charleston, which is internationally known for its history, charm, and music.”
Mike Winkelmann examines some of his digital artwork display frame at the new 50,000-square-foot exhibition space located off Clements Ferry Road. This was on Thursday, November 17, 2022. Mike Winkelmann, also known as Beeple, the Charleston-based digital artist who became globally renowned when he sold his art in an NFT (non-fungible token) format for $69.3 million at Christie’s. Andrew J. Whitaker/Staff
Orza stated that it’s a great time in Charleston, as Winkelmann helps propel it into the global digital arts realm. He’s not alone in his desire to make it big.
“We have so many talented and passionate people building here,” Orza said. “Charleston is just beginning.”
The space
The roadway is lined with semi-trucks and shipping containers as you drive to Beeple’s new space off Clements Ferry Road. The warehouse-like gated building is situated on several acres in an industrial complex. It looks like it could house a factory.
It is in a way.
Winkelmann built the museum-like space over the last year. It will be a place where he can show his vast collection of art, as well as walk visitors through his creation process and provide a platform for his peers.
A row of 3D printers in the workshop can produce any creative idea of the day.
It’s an open space for experimentation that Winkelmann finds fascinating.
Upon arrival at the front door guests are greeted in a room with a padlocked entranceway.
Once inside, they are offered a microwavable bowl of noodles in their kitchen and a glimpse at a life-sized rendering of an astronaut wearing an eyeball as a head in the conference area.
Winkelmann’s office can be found at the front of this building. This room is covered with his sketches and equipped with six TVs.
Studio spaces include a drawing room and ideas on whiteboard walls.
A traditional white-wall gallery space is next, which will house Winkelmann’s exhibit.
The “experiential” room is also available, featuring 20-foot ceilings and many bells and whistles.
Winkelmann is eager to share all that and more in the new space, which will open in March. The space will finally reveal Winkelmann’s forward-looking vision, which he created in Charleston with the world in mind.
