When classical art meets new age technology what is the result?
Meet “DMINTI,” the latest Web3 innovation available on your cell phone. And the idea was born in Israel.
According to its website, “DMINTI partners with the world’s leading contemporary and emerging artists in the digital and legacy art worlds to curate, produce and position impactful digital art and Web3 experiences.”
Its co-founders, Israeli tech entrepreneur and businessman Shalom Meckenzie, International business executive Carola Jain and filmmaker and former Guggenheim President Jennifer Stockman – together with a handful of other related experts – have created a space in the metaverse where art lovers can convene, explore powerful 2D and 3D designs and enjoy cultural conversations.
The site is the embodiment of the journey that art has taken from the classic world to the digital world and how today they are integrating into each other in unprecedented ways.
“In some ways, it is sad that everything is slowly heading into this digital world,” Stockman told The Jerusalem Post. “But I do not think we have a choice. The reality is that it is happening and if artists want to stay on the curve, we better understand what is happening in the digital world.”
Stockman said that when she thinks of art she thinks of a multitude of mediums from sculpting to art to photographs.
“Why shouldn’t a computer be used?” she asked.
While she admitted that “anyone with a computer” can make art today, she believes that digital art is becoming more discerning and soon it will be easier to differentiate between the mundane and the top-notch artists who are developing museum-quality work with technology.
STOCKMAN STARTED her career at IBM and then shifted into the art world because of her passion for creativity. But she said she never lost her fascination for what was happening in the computer and hi-tech world, from robots to 3D printing and design.
“The technologies available today change the game for artists because artists, who always tapped into whatever tools were available to them,” Stockman said. She highlighted how art could be made from anything from garbage on the streets to flowers.
“Even though it is a big leap for many artists to get into technology, we are seeing great interest among artists to get out of their comfort zone,” she told the Post.
It is also more practical for artists who will need to shift digitally to reach people in this ever-evolving world, Jain said. She noted how people can spend as much as eight hours a day on their phone, so if artists want to reach them, they need to enter the digital sphere.
The DMINTI metaverse allows artists to display their works as if they are hanging in a museum. People can enter the metaverse for a showing, walk through and explore art in galleries or even sit on a terrace and consider a single work. There are art groups and programs, too.
“We are meeting the younger generation where they are and we are enabling art to be part of the conversation,” Jain said.
The space is open to “every human being on earth,” as opposed to museums which are spread out and inaccessible to so many. And because it is the metaverse, visitors can come as avatars and explore anonymously if they wish.
“This is a great equalizer for the art world,” Stockman said.
At the same time, DMINTI has become a place where younger and more established artists can come together to learn from each other and create. The company is about to launch a special exhibit with renowned artist Judy Chicago, who has worked alongside Nadya Tolokonnikova – collaborating for the first time in a historic participatory art project, “What if Women Ruled the World.”
Selected works that have been created as part of this participatory digital art project will be on view in the DMINTI metaverse.
“We are looking to bring established and emerging artists together, to get culture luminaries who have ideas and want to use this platform to make their voice heard,” Jain explained.
Finally, DMINTI is also a way for artists whose works become digitized to sell and track them and receive payment.
“If your work trades, prior to the technology of NFTs, you were not in the blockchain and you were not able to trace it and say you are the rightful owner of that digital work,” Jain said. “Now, you can be compensated.”
During COVID, the art world did step up to explore digital technology for museum and gallery exhibitions, but by and large the industry shut down, Stockman added. DMINTI is also an answer to that. In the metaverse people can walk around, engage with others and see the art – no matter what is going on in the “real world.”
“We think the world will notice and come to DMINTI,” Jain concluded.