Moving Past JPEG: AR NFTs and Exhibitions
An Opinion Piece by 721 Collective Partners Aram Barnett and Nam Le
Will Nichol’s Palm Trees In NFT Series is a major step towards making NFTs more accessible to the world at large.
When we started the 721 Collective, we set out to create and curate culturally significant non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Currently, there is an absence of projects that make NFTs feel accessible or tangible to the average person. The steep learning curve of blockchain technology and concept of owning internet culture is a lot to wrap your mind around.This creates a need for NFT projects that invite more people to the experience and conversation if NFTs and blockchain technology are ever to be adopted by the masses.
The Palm Trees In Series represent a paradigm shift in how we value, own, and interact with NFT art and digital collectibles. The Palm Trees digital collectibles are the first NFTs that take the URL to IRL and give the public the ability to interact with digital art.
We believe the true power of art lies in its ability to translate ideas and cultures across space and time through people experiencing and engaging with it. The belief that everyone should be able to experience art manifested itself in the technical architecture of the project. When we created the Palm Trees In Series, we wanted to make sure that anyone can experience the artist’s work. We integrated the augmented reality (AR) experience directly into the website so that anyone with a cellphone and an internet connection can interact with the Palm Trees. This series is a work of art both technically and artistically.
Ownership of art and the notoriety associated with it is incredibly important. We wanted to craft a project that properly bestowed status to the owner of a Palm Tree. Owners will be able to change the geolocation of their Palm Tree and plant it anywhere in the world for patrons to experience and interact with these one of one unique pieces. Furthermore, owners will have the ability to add a small plaqared around the tree to display their name or whatever message they choose to put on it. By replicating the traditional art exhibition experience with the release of this NFT Series, we’re bridging the gap between this new world of NFT art and what people understand as the traditional art experience.
The NFTs in the Palm Trees In series represent not where the puck is but where the puck is going. The assets we’ve created will inhabit the metaverse, which is the blending of the real world and digital world. We envision a future where NFTs will live in both. Each Palm Tree comes with a 3d model that can be ported into digital worlds like Decentraland so patrons and owners can experience the Palm Trees in whatever environment they find themselves in.
We are fortunate to be in this moment to seize the opportunity to create something spectacular. We are also fortunate to have the skillset and track record to execute on such an audacious project. Prior to forming the 721 Collective, Aram had been working in crypto for 10 years and Nam had built a digital-first discovery platform connecting people with artists and art experiences called Pollinate Art. When we met at Human Ventures in 2018, we worked together on building AR NFTs called Vanimals. Despite it being too early in the market, the lessons learned were key to executing on this project.
Currently NFTs live on the screen and in a silo, when you wrap it into something that’s a real world experience, it makes them more accessible and more tangible. Our vision for the Palm Trees In Series is to help the world understand what NFTs are and to let people access and interact with 1 of 1 assets in environments that they are already familiar with to spur mass adoption.
The Palm Trees In series is an ongoing collection of AR NFTs created by Will Nichols inspired by his muse, the Palm Tree. The first exhibition titled “Palm Trees In: New York” will begin June 7th and run through the month of June. Five (5) Palm Trees will be available on June 3rd at 8:30pm EST on www.palmtreesin.com.
The 721 Collective is an NFT creation agency started by Aram Barnett and Nam Le in March of 2021. They will be releasing more exhibitions and releasing an AR NFT platform and marketplace to creators as time goes on.
