Many people would perceive NFTs as mere images of digital artworks or collectibles which they can sell for massive prices. Instead NFTs and metaverse have changed the way art exhibitions occur. Today’s episode of The Future of Nfts welcomes Mel Shapcott, founder and CEO of Invisible Lotus who is a Web 3.0 educator, bringing talent from both art and industry. As founder and CEO of Invisible Lotus she explores the intersecting edge of the two divergent worlds. Invisible Lotus helps artists and businesses succeed within the rapidly evolving NFT market by providing virtual and in-person consultations.
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Transcript
NFT Art and the Metaverse-Mel Shapcott
Participants:
• Nadja Bester (CEO & Co-founder of AdLunam)
• Mel Shapcott(Founder & CEO of Invisible Lotus)
Nadja
Checking sound. If you can hear me, please give me a thumbs up or your favorite emoji. Awesome. So, hello everyone, Happy Tuesday. If you didn't get around to kicking off the new week in high gear yesterday, then we've got your back because we will be chatting up a storm today with the awesome guest that we have in the room. Speaking of, let's give some time for the room to fill up before we get going. I will begin by just catching you up on this week's top NFT news. So, ahead of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar in November, FIFA has teamed up with Algorand to launch FIFA plus Collect, which is an NFT platform for football collectibles. This comes after Crypto.com, which announced earlier this year that the exchange was signing a crypto exchange sponsorship exclusive with FIFA canceled its $495,000,000 sponsorship deal with UEFA late last week.
Nadja
Good to see that there's still good things happening. Over the past week, likely due to the highly anticipated upcoming Ethereum merge, Ethereum domain names became the number one traded NFT asset on open sea, gaining as much as 170% in sales in only 24 hours. Although at the same time, open sea you might have come across is bearing the scars of this market downturn that we are in trading. Volume on the top ranked NFT marketplace has dropped by 99%. That's a heck of a lot since its peak in May this year. The company has followed suit along with many other top Web3 players, by laying off percentage, quite a big percentage of their workforce. This is really one of the reasons why we here at AdLunam are so interested in the future of NFTs, because I think what we are seeing now is really this radical restructuring of what NFTs will offer the market post this current bear that we are in.
Nadja
With that, I see that the room is getting crowded. Let's hit the road. Hey, Web3 world. This is Nadja Bester from AdLunam and you are listening to The Future of NFTs, the show that looks beyond current NFT use cases to what Non-Fungible Token technology is evolving into. All of this as seen through the eyes and built by the minds of the fascinating guest speakers we speak to each week at AdLunam. If you haven't been introduced to us just yet. The Web3 industry’s first Engage to Earn IDO platform. Our unique Proof of Attention allocation mechanism rewards users by exchanging engagement for allocation and our dynamic NFT investor profiles with built-in NFT fractionalization capacity makes it possible for you to benefit from your growing reputation as a crypto investor. So onto today. This is our 8th episode so we are way past a full work week’s worth of episodes on the show.
Nadja
We are live every Tuesday to catch us each week for in depth insights and if you've missed any of the talks so far with our fascinating lineup of guests and we do have a fascinating list of guests every single week, be sure to tune in on your favorite podcast streaming platform. Similarly, our sister show Diving into Crypto is live every Thursday and is subsequently also available as a podcast. Join us for both shows as we speak to thought leaders and change makers in this game changing industry. Now until today, you might have noticed that our focus over the past few episodes have touched on this confluence between NFTs and the Metaverse, including NFTs in the gaming metaverse with play to earn bull to earn game Cornucopias that we had on a while ago. Mapping NFTs and the metaverse into a web3 digital assets nervous system with Acknoledger or CrazyMeta that we had on last week on combining NFTs and the metaverse with physical assets in the fashion world.
Nadja
Today we are extending this conversation between NFTs and the Metaverse with my guest who really is one of the few people alive best suited to answer the questions that you have about this topic because she is one of not many artists on Earth who's actually been involved with an art exhibition in the Metaverse already. If you are an NFT artist wondering how to make your mark in the Metaverse or just a general web3 enthusiast keeping an eye out for the latest developments in the industry which is of course why you are tuned into the show right now, then this is the hour for you. Without further ado, I would like to introduce you to Mel Shapcott, a multidisciplined abstract artist. Her work focuses quite significantly on identity and memory and she is always excuse me she is also the founder and CEO of Invisible Lotus, a web3 education and consulting firm.
Nadja
Mel, welcome to the Future of NFTs.
Mel
Hello, Hello. Good morning. It's morning for me, I don't think everybody in here it's morning, but for me it's morning. Good morning. Having that morning beverage. Glad to be here. Super great to be waking up in web3. Love doing art, love bringing that to web3, love bringing that to Metaverse. Just super excited to be meeting here with you Nadja and I love everything that I see you doing in the space. Thank you.
Nadja
Awesome. Mel, I'm also very happy for us to have this conversation today, especially because I meet very few people who have actually made a career out of the educational field, myself included. I estimate that for artists the percentage is even smaller. It's always a pleasure to speak to an artist who has managed often against all odds because of course, the stereotype of the starving artist didn't gain popularity for nothing. Artists who have managed to stay true to Course and build a career out of their passion, the talent, the skill. Mel, who graduated with a bachelor in Fine Arts and a professional background as a web designer and a project manager. She's the perfect person for us to talk to about how technology has shaped her art career and, of course, continues to do so as she moves further into this crazy world of web3 that we are in.
Nadja
Mel is also very passionate about the role of women in web3 and she uses education to promote more gender inclusivity in the NFT space. If you would like to ask Mel a question, and I'm sure there are going to be a lot of things over the next hour that will pique your interest, I'll open the room for questions. At the end of the hour, you can either put in a speaker request or you can just DM your question to the AdLunam Twitter handle at AdLunamInc. So Mel, let's start you off easy. If this can be called easy, tell us about you, the journey that led you here and why here, why did you get into NFTs and the metaverse? If you are speaking, you're on mute.
Mel
uite some time ago and around:Mel
So, yeah, I think last year, NFTs started hitting the news at the beginning of the year and I thought, NFTs, this is what they were talking about. This is the vehicle, the method by which I can put my artwork on the blockchain. It was an AHA moment for me and just really just dove right in because like I said, I'm fascinated with art and tech and I can see the applications, the possible applications of this technology and how they could shape the future. I think that's in a nutshell, that's how I got involved with NFTs. At that time, I think last year, also reading the news, the stats, if anyone can remember, there was very few women participating in the ecosystem at that time. That just really encouraged me and inspired me to make sure to be a part of this and make sure to do what I could to change that balance, to change those scales.
Mel
Thanks, Nadja.
Nadja
Now, I love every time I ask someone this question, the trajectory that led to someone coming into the space is so different. I think the one thing that always stands out for me are people seeing this new opportunity and whatever that means for them, whether it's a financial opportunity or whether it's an ideology or an opportunity to branch out into a different career or a different aspect of their career. It's always so fascinating to see that as the technology continues to develop. This experience, you highlighted where you had heard of art on the blockchain, but what exactly that meant wasn't so clear. When NFTs came around, it was like, oh, OK, so this is the vehicle. Because I think this is the same principle that a lot of people kind of operate under when they come into the space is they might have heard of the metaverse or crypto or NFTs or whatever the case may be.
Nadja
It's not until it clicks for them that the floodgates open. They go from someone who has only heard of this and might have had a passing interest in it, to someone who almost fully fledged goes into this, which is, often the case with people that I speak to. You are an NFT artist, you're an educator in the Web3 space. As you said, in terms of your passion for getting more women into the space, which is incredibly important, you are also an evangelist. What is unique about your approach to NFTs?
Mel
I think my approach to NFTs, mostly I really want to understand them and I want to help people to understand them. It's not this mysterious thing. It's a technology that has allowed myself and others, other artists to access new markets, to access new groups of collectors, a new way of doing business within this industry. I think for me, that's why it's been so important to do the teaching, because I had questions like, what is an NFT? Somebody asked me that on a Q and A one time. They're like, well, where is your NFT if it's not in your wallet? I thought, well, that is a really good question. For me, really understanding what an NFT is specifically so that I can be informed and speak about that with other people and then just not being like this mystery of like, well, what is it that I'm using?
Mel
I think that's probably the biggest piece that I would have to share about how I approach NFTs. It's just something very objective and it's a tool that you can use. I think people should learn how to use them, particularly artists, particularly people that are looking to change their situation, move from an old paradigm where things might not have been working smoothly, and move into a new paradigm where there's opportunity to create a new possibilities.
Nadja
I think that is such an important point that you are highlighting, really getting down to basics, understanding what they are, how they work, and what their potential is. Because very often I think NFTs and the metaverse and pretty much anything in web3 is almost like these mystic buzzwords that people kind of throw around. And, I mean, there's so much funding well, perhaps not at this very minute, but in general, there's all of this funding flowing into the space. I wonder how many people genuinely would say that they can understand it at a very basic and fundamental level. Your approach, in the sense that you teach in order to understand that's always really the fundamentals that you are able to learn not by sitting down with a book, but really by engaging with other people and being challenged by sometimes very basic questions that people ask.
Nadja
That whole concept, if you can't explain it to someone who's five years old, then maybe you can't explain it at all. Very also appreciative of what you said, that NFTs is simply a technology in order to reach new markets. If you're an artist, there's all of these buzz, hype kind of price, people and everything around what is happening in the NFT space. Really, simply put, as an artist, it is a technology that helps you reach new markets. I really love that definition. I have a question around the relationship between NFTs and the metaverse. We have all of these web2 companies racing to get into web3. Of course, they have bigger budgets, they have an existing captivated audience, and somehow a lot of them are managing to do it much quicker than many of the web3 companies who are very frankly, quite busy riding out this crypto winter.
Nadja
This begs the question, what is the relationship between NFTs and the Metaverse? As someone who hails from the traditional art space coming into the Web3 space, how do you see web3 as expanding from something that is only technology driven to something that is inclusive of people like artists?
Mel
Okay, yeah, there's a lot of questions. I'm reading something that's technology driven that also helps artists. That was the last thing you said?
Nadja
Sure. In terms of NFTs and, the metaverse and all of these kind of web3 new ideas, how can artists and how will artists change what is happening in this space so that it's not only technology driven, but it also includes all of these other modalities coming into the space?
Mel
Alright, well, I think NFTs and the metaverse, they're actually parallel in a lot of ways. We've got the Metaverse, which is operating in the Web3 space. We also have NFTs, which is a technology that's operating in the Web3 space, and you can bring those NFTs into the metaverse. The NFT, as the technology, is a collection of metadata. It is your image, it is your title, your description, all of those aspects combined together to be part of that NFT. That NFT is often like a representation of something that might actually exist in physical space or could exist in physical space. We take those NFTs and we can place them into the metaverse. If we think of the metaverse as a place or a location that you can go to, you can have those NFTs in that virtual location. That's how I think about the relationship between NFTs and the metaverse.
Mel
Those entities can be a piece of artwork. It could be a gaming item that you're bringing into the metaverse. Those NFTs can be brought into the metaverse for different reasons. It could be the digital fashion that your avatar is wearing. That's another way that NFTs are brought into the metaverse. How will artists move past being, like, completely technology driven to bringing other aspects? I think what you're asking is bringing other aspects of art into the metaverse or other aspects of utilizing NFTs that's not so technology driven. That kind of what you're diving at with the second part of that question?
Nadja
Yeah.I mean, just generally speaking, if you can talk about this merge of NFTs and the Metaverse and why it is significant, perhaps for artists, but also how they will contribute to making it not just this Web3 space that we have been seeing but just continuing to build out this whole universe that we are all sharing as we are building.
Mel
Yeah. Oh, I would love to talk to that. I came across this concept early on, the concept of scarcity, and I felt like the metaverse is already full. I can't afford any land into central land. I can't even afford land in crypto boxes. The sandbox is out of my league. I thought, well, hey, this is just really unfortunate for me. There's no space for me here in Web3 because it's already gone beyond the point where I can afford to buy in and participate. And that was a pretty disappointing feeling. I ran into someone on LinkedIn named Lavinia Osbourne. I don't know if you've heard of her, but she's a real leader within the NFT movement and bringing women to blockchain. She turned me on to this idea that Web3 is limitless. Like, there are no boundaries, there are no borders, and we can literally build whatever we want.
Mel
It's not like we're confined by this finite land space that we have on planet Earth. We're in web3. We're in the meadow verse. If you can't afford to do something into central land, well, you can go ahead and do your own thing somewhere else. There's nothing stopping us. As artists and visionaries, I think there is permission to really dream and to think, well, what can we create? I think that is really just starting to dawn on people that we have the power and the space to create whatever we want. That's kind of what we're doing with our Abstract Metaverse exhibition. This is the first Call for Entry exhibition that I will be putting together with a group of friends that we work together. It's called the House of Abstract. So we're bringing this metaverse exhibition together. We're just like, hey, let's just make our own thing.
Mel
I was like, hey, I don't see a lot of Abstract artists in the metaverse. I'm like, where's our people? Where's our community? And so we're just making it. We're like, okay, we're going to use this technology of the metaverse of NFTs. We're going to combine that with our vision of what we see and want to see happen in this space and in our world and in our lives, and we're just going to create it. So that's what I've been engaged in. That, to me, is really fulfilling an exciting aspect of NFTs and Web3.
Nadja
Yeah, I love that because really linking it from this concept of scarcity where, okay, everyone is on decentraland. If you are going to be somewhere, it has to be there. Versus this idea that Web3 is not only borderless but also limitless. Because I think NFTs have received huge press for being this key that's going to set free the art world. Of course, utopia only ever exists in our heads and in bull market hype cycles. This reality is perhaps not as milk and honey as the websites would like, would lead artists to believe, but at the same time, I think what you are really driving towards is this permission to dream. Generally speaking, this is part and parcel of being an artist. The fact that this technology now supports really this limitless opportunity to dream and put your art and your work out there and reach an audience in a way that never would have been possible before, this is really so much of the power behind this Web3 technology is it's not just about what's on the surface.
Nadja
It's not just about the typical way to think about something. So, yes, there is a lot of scarcity, but at the same time, there's also really you have as anyone who is engaging in this space, you have the keys to the kingdom, so to speak, because you have the ability to create whatever vision is in your head. You can translate it into reality in this Web3 space. Speaking of this exhibition that you mentioned, I've known a good few artists in my time. I know that exhibition of one's work is one of those landmark moments that almost every artist dreams about as this Holy Grail of making it. Now, in the traditional art world, of course, there's this gatekeeping process that often makes it a question of who as opposed to what you produce. Now, I would love to know, how do you think the Metaverse is going to change the way art exhibitions are done?
Mel
ysical spaces up until around:Mel
I have a chronic debilitating illness, and it's not possible for me anymore to literally physically pack up my work, take it out to a show, and be physically present with it there. For me, the Metaverse has changed my ability to exhibit 100%. That option was taken away from me due to my health concerns. With the Metaverse and with my ability to exhibit my work, for me, I've had a much more typical or normal experience of an artist being able to share their work with an audience without having to go into a physical space. Now, it's interesting because it's also overlaid with the time period were in COVID. There were other people, not just people with chronic illnesses, that weren't able to go out into physical spaces for a number of reasons. Showing your artwork in the Metaverse eliminates all of these boundaries. Now, another point that I'll bring up is it's also global.
Mel
The space has been really amazing to connect with artists from around the world, from different points of views, from different socioeconomic backgrounds, and you don't necessarily get that in a physical gallery space because technically, logistically, it just becomes difficult, particularly with people that don't have resources to travel and things like that. All of this can happen in the Metaverse. We can have a very diverse group that is inclusive, and I think that is of a break from what we see in the traditional art world. Thank you.
Nadja
Yeah, that is really important to highlight because first of all, NFTs came to the fore or really came into its own during, of course, the COVID pandemic. This is in large part because no one could leave their house. Everything the focus for much of the world turned digital in general, as well as what are the opportunities at home, seeing that you cannot leave your house. I think also this idea of not only physical limitations, so whether it's physical limitations in terms of health or mental health, but also really, as you say, being able to connect to artists from different socioeconomic backgrounds highlights the fact that this is an opportunity that is open to everyone. Because very often and we know this because we see this in almost every industry, it really is a few countries, usually so called first world countries, where people who do have the opportunity and the resources to make themselves known, to make their mark on the world, those are the ones that stand out.
Nadja
Those are the ones that we end up following. Because the Web3 space is so very global and these, yes, they are always glass ceilings, and I think the glass ceilings exist in it's part of human nature. I think it's very difficult for us as homosapiens to move away from this idea that everyone can't have access to everything. We are always going to work in hierarchies unless we completely evolve as a species. Which is a topic for another podcast, not for this one. I think what you are highlighting about the benefits that the metaverse brings to artists in terms of exhibiting their work is really coming back to what you said earlier about this idea that being limitless is so much easier in this space than it would be in the traditional art world. Whether NFTs world is going to make you the next millionaire or not, that's perhaps besides the point, but really weighing up the benefits of making it in the quote unquote real world versus taking advantage of just all of these opportunities that are coming your way as a result of the Web3 space continuing to just expand, really, day by day.
Mel
Can I interject on that? Just to say as far as, transitioning from the metaverse and like, back into the real world, I see a lot of artists where this is happening too. There are people that have come to me coming into the space saying, I don't understand the Metaverse. Why would I show my artwork in the metaverse? Me coaching them through it, talking them through it, and now for me to look and see that they're exhibiting their artwork in homes and galleries through New York and in the Hamptons. They've really moved their artwork from the Metaverse as an emerging artist going to the metaverse and then out into the real world. I think that's a really important point. Also, thanks for letting me add that.
Nadja
That feeds perfectly into what I was about to ask you, because the next thing I wanted to touch on was this transition from the traditional art world to web3. What I'm very interested in is how the world of NFTs and the Metaverse are going to influence the art industry in the physical world. I think you started touching on this now. Do you also see trends in terms of, let's say, galleries, for example, being influenced by these new technologies? Or as I think you've touched on throughout the show so far, how artists are changing the way they think about art, perhaps as a result of NFTs, but then bringing it back into the real world.
Mel
Yeah, there's definitely already obvious influences on the physical world. We have Christie's and Sotheby's who auctioning off NFTs digital art. We also have First Dibs, which is an auction house and art auction house and antique auction house, which is dealt in physical goods for more than 20 years. They have just begun to offer NFTs as well. I think that there is this acceptance and acknowledgment that NFTs are going to play a big part in the traditional art world. I think the writing is on the wall. People can see that there's no way around that. The other way that this really plays in is with the provenance. I think this is a big feature that hasn't necessarily come into play yet, like fully functioning, but it's more of a concept that people are drawn towards that this can really be used to avoid fraud in terms of fake reproductions.
Mel
Being able to really track the provenance of the artists, I think that is all technical details that are going to come out is more important in the coming years. As far as other ways that the metaverse and web3 NFTs and NFT artists will be influencing the physical art world, I think that you were right in pointing that they're bringing new ideas as well. That this idea that the artist doesn't necessarily need to be under the control, say, of the curator or the gallery. They don't need to take those directions. There's this other outlet now of like, oh, hey, if this isn't working for me in traditional space, if this relationship is stuck in the past, and that's not really honoring where I've moved to as an artist in web3, you can go back to web3. I think that the web3 movement has been empowering for artists in the way that they see what they're creating in terms of the value that it holds and the power that they have over that artwork, in terms of who they sell it to, how much they sell it for.
Mel
We'd spend a lot of time in this space talking about what's appropriate relationship between an artist and collector. So there’s this dialogue that has opened up like in a big way between artists that are coming together in a sense of community. We're unified through NFTs. The conversation is not just about NFTs. The conversation is about how artists are treated, what is artists place in the world. All of this is going to push back on some of the paradigms, the unfair structure system that is part of the traditional art world right now.
Nadja
This is absolutely amazing because I think what is so often focused on in this space is this mainstream narrative of okay, as an artist, previously it was really difficult to get your work sold or your work seen in front of an audience. Now, of course, with NFTs and with web3 in general, it's much easier to connect to those communities. At the same time, there's so much more to the conversation than merely this idea of price. Because as an artist, there has been throughout the ages this narrative about artists, the struggling, starving artist who is kind of only doing something for the sake of the love for their work or the love of expression. I think that there has been a lot of people that have put up with a lot of really unfair treatment. We have systemized this into an art industry where very often, as with many other creative industries, the artist at the end of it all is the one who usually gets the short end of the stick.
Nadja
I think that these conversations that are happening in web3 are so important because for sure there will be spillover into the traditional art world where these questions, very thought provoking questions are being raised in this space. It's going to have this cascading effect of artists everywhere going, well, why am I putting up with this? Very important to have these deeper conversations around, not just the technology and the financial opportunities that exist out there. In your opinion, what is the future of NFTs and how do you think it's going to evolve from the current manifestation that we are seeing right now?
Mel
Sure, I've spoken about this in my classes some. I think right now as we all know, we're at the beginning of the use of this technology and right now we really see it being used for fine art and also the collectible industry. I like to speak about NFTs as really being the technology, really being the vehicle. Right now we have fine art and collectibles, two distinct industries that are using the technology of NFTs. As we move into the future, there are going to be many industries that utilize this technology. It's already happening within real estate, within medicine, within security. Every single industry that is on this planet today faces being disrupted by the technology of NFTs. The people that are really forward thinking within industries are thinking about it right now and they're learning about it and they're beginning to implement it. While you might not be seeing that because things are still in research and in development, I've been in conversations with people in many, many different industries.
Mel
There is a lot of money, there is a lot of time, there's a lot of effort being put into developing the tools and the ways for integrating and utilizing Web3 and NFTs in so many different industries. I think it will be somewhat of a framework that operates behind the scenes that many people won't even necessarily notice that their day to day has moved from Web2 to Web3. That behind the scenes, this is happening and is being adopted.
Nadja
This is really important because we often talk, I mean, as an industry, we often talk about this idea of mass adoption and when is everyone going to run over and jump into web3? As if the day that happens, that's going to be this final reckoning when web2 is going to be dead and web3 is going to reign supreme. Really, in reality, it's more a case of, as you say, so much R and D is happening behind the scenes for Web2 companies not to move into the Web3 space and become a Web3 company, but really to integrate this technology. I love what you said about NFTs being more of a framework, a technological vehicle for certain functionalities to happen to take place. Because ultimately, not everyone in the world is that interested in this technology and no need there be.
Nadja
Ultimately, if we want this concept of mass adoption, it simply means that the technology is going to get to the point where it's simply a no brainer to use this kind of technology as opposed to something else. That leads me into my next question. Having said all of this, what do you think is hindering progress and or mass adoption for NFTs?
Mel
Yeah, let's see. Honestly, I do believe that we are in a trajectory towards mass adoption. I think I just said too, I don't necessarily everyone's going to be aware that they're adopting. They're part of this trend of mass adoption. So what might be slowing that down? Let's see what might be slowing that down. I think right now there's a lot of fear. There's a lot of misinformation going around. I think, obviously we've got governments that are getting involved here making rules and making laws and that's causing a lot of fear and a lot of anxiety among people. I would think that is one of the biggest pieces, at least in the United States for myself, looking at what our government is and how they're treating and talking about Web3 and NFTs and crypto and jeez, it's just kind of a mess.
Mel
Like, nobody really seems there's like no real clear instruction or outline. I think there's a large degree of fear that the government is just going to come down and make it really painful for people that have been involved with Web3, NFTs and crypto. I think that is probably one of the biggest deterrence right now is fear of governments and how that they are going to regulate this space.
Nadja
It's really interesting because originally Bitcoin was created as an alternative to these systems that we are also entrapped in. It's really interesting to kind of witness this unfold over the last couple of years and just seeing how different governments handle this. Some governments really use the opportunity and others just have this total fear response of clamping down on it and if I can't understand it and if I can't control it, then no, it just can't happen. Which of course, as we are seeing is just leading to a lot of entrepreneurs from specific countries where it's completely regulated, just moving geographies and going to create their startup somewhere else. So, speaking of crypto and this brave world that we all find ourselves in, my final question before I open it up to the audience for questions. So, side note, if you are tuned in and you have a burning question for Mel, go ahead and put in a speaker request or you can just DM it to the AdLunam Twitter handle.
Nadja
Mel, what is your philosophy about crypto and this evolving world of Web3 and how it's changing lives or can change lives?
Mel
Yeah, so I personally already touched on it but my life was changed dramatically. I was in a position where I was unable to leave the home to go to work and this has allowed me to be able to work from my home. It's beyond that. It's not just remote work. Also wasn't able to have a remote job because of my various situation. Working in this way has allowed me the level of flexibility that I need to show up maybe one day a week, if that's what it takes, or a lot of days a week the next time. I think that this is all part of the way that it's helping people, it's opening up again. Just new ways of thinking, new ways of being creative about your situation. Like, well, what works for me? Maybe it doesn't work for me to go out to a job nine to five, Monday through Friday.
Mel
My body just won't do it. This has given me a way that's changed my life. It's made it able for me to work again. I've been in the space with people who didn't have a home or whose family didn't have a home and the resources were able to flow to them because they were able to tap into a new market that they weren't able to tap into before. So they've tapped into a new market. They now have resources that weren't previously available. Maybe because of the location that they lived in the world, they weren't able to get to a high paying job. Now they're able to access new business opportunities through Web3. They can earn that income and then they can buy a house for themselves or their family. I've seen stories like this happening and these are just some of the examples of how Web3 can change your life.
Mel
Again, I can't stress enough that level of creative thinking of like, okay, well, there's not somebody else in charge of my life, there's not somebody else making my schedule, my structure anymore. Web3 really gives you that freedom to architect around who you are. I think that's why we have so much emphasis on PFPs in this space is because it brings us back to the idea of identity. And like, that we are this individual. Web3 gives us that potential to express and to serve ourselves as the individual within this space. That's about my thinking on that. Hope that was clear.
Nadja
Beautiful answer. You put it so amazingly well that Web3 gives you this freedom to architect who you are. Really if whatever identity that you have in the real world, the physical world, which very often this identity is not something you've chosen. I mean, it depends on which country you were born, which gender you were born as, which socioeconomic class you were born into, what education you've had. There are all these factors that by the time you come into the world, they are already part of your identity and there's very little you can do about it. This idea that applying this kind of creative thinking, asking yourself these questions about what's possible, I think this is something that certainly is not only relevant for artists, but as people who are exposed to this technology at a really early stage. This is an opportunity that all of us have to really just mold and craft who we are showing up as and of course, how we can utilize these resources that are available to us.
Nadja
So, Mel, it has been lovely getting your insights on the future of NFTs and the metaverse. I'm now going to give the audience an opportunity to pick your brain as well. Let me quickly see if we have okay, so we have I see already a number of questions. First one inspiration from art comes from everywhere. What are some of the art NFTs that inspire you?
Mel
Okay, let's see. Well, so I'll just preface this by saying this. I'm much more of a creator than I am of a consumer. That kind of drives my awareness about things that's been like a long time aspect of who I am. Projects that have inspired me, I mean, definitely when I came into the space, the bored apes inspired me because I'd never seen anything like it. I had no idea what was going on, and that really influenced my first project, Lithium Punk. It is sort of a profile project. If you look at my profile, that is one of the examples of this project. It came out of this idea of playing with identity, of like, okay, you can have these different features and connecting with an image that allows you to resonate with those characteristics about yourself that you enjoy. Other projects that I appreciate, like, in the space.
Mel
Now, as far as Abstract artists, you can check out the House of Abstract. The artists in that space, there's too many of them to name, and if I start naming them, I think I'll make my friends and community jealous by pointing out too many names. I was also really inspired by the Fidenzas, really inspired by generative art in general. I think that's and I'm a World of Women holder, so I was inspired by that project as well. I know I had aimed off a bunch of PFP projects and not as many artists, but again, I don't want to single my artist friends out. So thank you for understanding. You can go to the House of Abstract. You can join our Twitter space on Friday. These people are in the space with us every day.
Nadja
Awesome. Well, there you go. I think that if you want to tap into a whole new world of artists, be sure to join in to the House of Abstract, because as you can tell, Mel has a very healthy perspective of this industry. You can be assured that the people that she engages with, the artists that she engages with are on a certain level as well. I see. We might have okay. No, not yet. So, Maxi, you have requested to be a speaker, but I can't see you just yet. In the meantime, Mel, I'm going to go ahead and ask another question. Let's see, between digital art and physical mediums, what is your all-time favorite?
Nadja
There you go.
Maxi, please go ahead. Yes, we can hear you.
Maxi
Can you hear me?
Nadja
Yes, please go ahead.
Maxi
Okay, thank you so much. My question is, how can more people art or music and find a platform where they can share that voice that they have? That is my question. Did you get me? I can repeat that.
Nadja
Maxi, I think I got you. How can more people express themselves through their art and find a platform to share this voice that they are creating? Is that correct?
Mel
That is correct. Thank you so much. Yeah. I think that's a really important point. There's so many different marketplaces platforms, blockchains. Each has a specific kind of flavor, a specific audience, a specific price range. Each individual artist and creator is going to find the spot where they connect and fit and best. I think it helps to just start by connecting it with the community through NFT Twitter. That's a great place to do it and finding out where the people that make maybe similar art to yours or have a similar resonance to you. Where are they selling their artwork? What marketplace are they on? I can say off the bat, the Tezos blockchain is pretty open, welcoming that there's a great community of artists on Tezos, and it is inexpensive to use, and it is also just incredibly creative in terms of the level of artwork that is being produced there.
Mel
That would be a great place to check out, and that would be my recommendation for folks that are getting started and not sure what to do and don't have a lot of money to jump onto Ethereum just yet.
Nadja
Awesome. Thanks, Mel. Maxi, I hope that answered your question. So, Mel, back to the question that I just started asking as Maxi came on. Between digital art and physical mediums, what is your all-time favorite?
Mel
Yes, I am actually partial to physical work. I've been spending some time thinking about that because I've been creating more physical work. It's not as easy for me to make the physical work, and I became ill. I could not actually literally underestimate how physical the job of an artist is. I don't even make big work or sculpture. I just paint on paper. It immediately became apparent to me that this was a very physical job in many different ways. That was when I began my adventures into digital art. I was in the Web3 space. I was looking at what other people are doing. I was like, wow, okay, I'm going to try digital. So, yes, I've done some digital. Honestly, I like the physical because for me, that is the process. We talk a lot about this in our Twitter space on Fridays. When you're working with physical, you can really express and as an abstract expressionist, you're using your arms, maybe you're throwing the paint, depending exactly what your process is.
Mel
Like I said, it can be very physical, and there's an expressiveness, a release that comes with this. For the artist, you're releasing your expression, your emotions, and you're getting a catharsis out of this process. For me, that is really a big piece of being an artist and my process and why I do it. So I did transition to digital. I am creating some digital works. I do not find the process to be that level of enjoyment. For me, it's something that I can do when I'm not able to be as physical, and I take it as a second best. There it is for me, physical versus digital.
Nadja
Yeah. I am with you because as a writer, the technology that I have at my disposal makes life so easy, and yet I still find myself using pen and paper and it's the most ineffective way of doing things, but I just cannot get into that creative process any other way. On some level, I completely relate to what you're saying. I have another question here. What do you tell people who say art NFTs have no future and are just hype?
Mel
Okay, so no future and just hype. I think, again, it goes back to separating out the technology and the art. So art is art. We appreciate art for millennia, and art is not hype. There can be hype around art to generate some interest in it, but art in and of itself, I think is separate from hype, and I think it's separate from the technology. Now, if you want to argue that web3 NFTs, that's all driven by hype, I think we've touched on that before already in the show, is that there's a lot of practical applications and uses. There's a lot of research and development going into this right now. I don't think there's actually just a lot of fake hype around NFTs and web3 either. That is something legitimate that's happening. We've got two legitimate aspects here that have come together to combine their forces.
Mel
You have art and tech, it's of thinking like right and left, they seem like opposites. I could see and understand why people might think that this is just maybe a joke or a hype, but I don't see that to be the case at all. Like I said, I see two really strong aspects of two different industries, like coming together to work together with this new technology. I do think that art NFTs are going to be something that carries forward and there's no way to take back the momentum that is already generated at this point.
Nadja
So, Mel, I think the way that you explain things have really resonated with the audience because the next question is, how can I join your NFT classes? Perhaps this is a question many people are asking because really the way in which you explain things makes it so simple, so easy, and so clear to just get it. I hope that many people in the audience have already had those penny drop moments throughout the hour. Please tell us, how can people learn more from you?
Mel
Absolutely. I did just run like a really long summer class, and I've run some really extensive courses for artists who are moving into NFTs or artists who are struggling with selling their NFTs and they want to create a community around that. They want to find new audience and new ways to market themselves. Definitely can work with a variety of people. Whether they're just coming to NFTs, they are curious to be a collector or consultant. Not really quite sure where they fit in for all the way through. Professional artists who are looking to transition from web2 into web3 and looking for some tips and tricks to get started faster. If you're definitely if you're interested, just send me a DM and I'll send you a link to my page with classes. Or if you want to go to my website, it's melshapcott.com/classes and you can read more about it there.
Nadja
All right? Awesome. I don't see any other questions. Let me just quickly go back and see. Okay, wait. I just visited your website and I have found Lift Punks very fascinating. Please tell more about it.
Mel
Of course. This was my journey into web3 and NFTs. As I said, I've started total parts and pieces of the story already today. Coming into NFTs, I was leaving period of chronic illness where I had some memory issues that kind of lost touch with my own identity. Became aware of the Bored Ape yachts, this idea of playing with your identity in web3 and this idea of the PFP project, and it wasn't really clear to me. My brain was a little bit soupy. If you've heard of Brain Fogs, I'm coming into NFT space and it's just like all of these influence are happening all around me from my personal life through all the way to understanding this new technology. And so this was just my response. It draws on the photographer, Cindy Sherman. She did a series of work throughout her career where she photographed herself.
Mel
She used props, wigs, things to change her appearance so that she could physically look different in each of the images that she photographed of herself. She did a series of self-portraits over a period of time playing with her identity. That combined with my experience with Bored Apes and NFTs, and my experience with chronic illness and losing my memory and that sense of identity and really being in that dialogue with myself now of like, okay, so if you've lost your memory, what is your identity? If you don't know what your identity is, can you really create any identity that you want? Like this whole concept of being in web3, of creating who you are, having that creativity to vision and to see something and then say, hey, I'm going to create that, and you can do that with your identity as well. That concept and those ideas are just so powerful to me.
Mel
That was like the basis for this collection. You can also see the abstract expression aspect of my process come through. You can see my emotion feeling like maybe things might be falling apart or trying to figure out how to reconfigure something that has been broken, which is what felt like had happened to my mind. Yeah, it's been a process of self-exploration through this artwork, but also drawing on these different influences that have been around me during this time. So hopefully that helps. Please feel free to send me a DM because we can keep talking about this.
Nadja
I'm so happy that this question was asked because that is just the absolute best question to end the show off with. We are so early in web3, it reminds me of this song by The Police, which definitely gives away my age. About every step you take every move you make I'll be watching you I think this ability that we have in web3 to gain first-hand experience from web3 pioneers who are at the forefront of this space is just so valuable and Mel. Listening to how you used what for sure must have been an insurmountable challenge and instead of having it kind of shoot you down and down in the dumps, you use this as a vehicle for expression and in the process really gave yourself an entirely new opportunity to go forward with in your career and your life. So just really beautiful.
Nadja
Thank you so much for sharing these experiences of yours. All of the insight that you've gathered over the last few years, whether it's in web three or just life in general with us today. To the audience, it was absolutely lovely to share another Power Hour with you. Be sure to follow Mel on Twitter at MelShapcott or her website, melshapcott.com, and I will catch you again next week for another episode of The Future of NFTs, brought to you by AdLunam. So until then, stay cool. Cheers.
