Dear Bankless Nation,

Sex, and by extension eroticism, is, and has always been, a rather tumultuous topic in popular culture. The topic is often viewed as taboo, despite the idea that most marketing appeals to sex in some way. To quote Oscar Wilde:

“Everything in the world is about sex, except sex. Sex is about power.”

While we may approach sex in different ways as different peoples, sex yet appeals to each of us in innumerable ways. slimesunday explores one facet of this in their art, bringing eroticism to the blockchain by way of collages in NFTs. kaf brings us the details.

In other sexy news, Spotify has begun testing token-gated playlists, stepping into web3 in as highly a curated manner as could be defined from the music streaming platform. Kouros provides us with a glimpse and some background.

Chippi arrives with a juicy airdrop—a cartoon, not alpha; The Rug chats AI; DustyEye comes closer to unleashing the Legion; and nonsense provides the latest alpha for this week’s incoming d’ART Drop.

Welcome to Decentralized Arts.

Contributors: BanklessDAO Writers Guild (Grendel, Kouros, Kaf, nonsensetwice, Frank America)

This is the official NFT newsletter of BanklessDAO. If you were a Premium Member of the Bankless Newsletter as of May 1st, 2021, you have been subscribed to this newsletter at launch. To unsubscribe, edit your settings here.

Curated NFT News

Spotify Testing NFT-Gated Playlists

The new NFT feature in Spotify is called token-enabled playlists and allows users who own certain NFTs to access exclusive playlists. To use this feature, users need to connect their wallets that store their NFTs to the Spotify app.

The beta service currently includes a limited group of NFT communities. There’s Universal Music Group’s metaverse band Kingship, as well as the gaming ecosystem Overlord. NFT character community Fluf and Kevin Rose’s Moonbirds are also participating in the test run.

Overlord will let owners of the Creepz lizard NFTs access the community-curated “Invasion” playlist, while Kingship created its own playlist containing their favourite tracks from artists such as Queen, Missy Elliott, Snoop Dogg, Led Zeppelin and more.

The pilot is currently only available for Android users in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, and New Zealand.

The Rug Weekly

ChatGPT and Bing Want A.I. Network State

Brought to you by The Rug

A.I. has been on a tare lately, and causing a bit of a ruckus in the metaverse. For starters, several A.I.s have followed Balaji’s advice and attempted to form their own network state. All that remains is recognition from another sovereign.

Collect this ambitious synthetic network as an NFT on optimism.

Eroticism and Creativity: A Conversation with slimesunday

The realms of sexuality and erotica, often considered taboo, are gaining greater acceptance in society and hold a significant place in history. One artist, Slimesunday, is using these themes to create tapestries of creativity and expression, producing  virtuosic digital collages that push the boundaries of conventional art with their alluring and provocative elements.

slimesunday is a gifted artisan whose works are nothing short of extraordinary. Though frequently met with censorship on Instagram, his legion of admirers continues to grow. With his foray into the realm of NFTs, he has ascended to become one of the highest-paid artists in this space.

From Medicine to NFT Art: The Psychedelic Journey of slimesunday

The Sativa State

slimesunday, the pseudonym of American artist Mike Parisella, has traversed a creative journey from medicine to NFT art. After earning a psychology degree from Salem State University, Parisella worked as an emergency physician. In 2013, he quit his job to pursue digital art, experimenting with different software before finally settling with Photoshop. He then started publishing his work on Instagram. In 2019, he began creating more erotic art and gained a following for his unique and psychedelic style.

Parisella worked as a designer and artist for various major publications and music stars for eight years until the COVID-19 pandemic hit. He turned to NFTs after being introduced to the concept by his friend and long-time collaborator, musician 3LAU. 

Parisella's foray into the NFT world allowed him to continue creating art without censorship and restrictions, and his NFTs have sold for over $14 million to date.

Banned From The Internet

His style, which combines eroticism with provocative and unique visual elements, touches on important themes such as censorship, consumerism, and sexual identity.

Some of slimesunday's most notable NFT works include:

• A collaboration with 3LAU on a music composition that sold for $1.3 million at the Nifty Gateway auction in March 2021. 

• In April 2021, slimesunday partnered with Playboy to release a collection of NFTs on Nifty Gateway. 

• On September 8, 2022, slimesunday launched SLIMESHOP in collaboration with OpenSea. Using SLIMESHOP, any artist can create and mint NFTs and sell them on OpenSea. It enables collectors to create their own version of a slimesunday collage. 

• He's currently working on SPF30, which is being auctioned at Christie's with a starting price of 8 ETH.

Interview with slimesunday

Can you tell us about your background and how you got started as a digital collage artist?

I was very musically inclined at a young age and growing up I played a lot of piano and guitar. Later in life, this led me to download tons of music software and plugins. I soon realized that computers could be used as an interface for art. I started experimenting with different software and became obsessed with creating things on a laptop. I eventually downloaded photoshop and started experimenting with photo-manipulation. I tried out many different art styles but eventually fell in love with digital collage. I love digging through magazines and digital archives to rediscover things of the past. It’s that feeling of nostalgia that I can’t replicate with any other art form. 

What inspires you to explore bizarre and erotic topics in your art?

Funny enough, it came about when censorship on social media was a big topic. 

I was looking for creative ways to exploit the AI that social media platforms use to detect nudity. I started collaging and manipulating body parts by replacing them with everyday objects. For me it was a creative way to tiptoe around censorship. Eventually I just owned that style of artwork and it’s what I am best known for today. Tbh, not many people do what I do. I suspect it's because many people don’t feel comfortable with these topics and that it can isolate you. Many brands refuse to work with me because my work is “too graphic” and many still get uncomfortable viewing my work. I’ve always said that any reaction is a good reaction. If your art isn’t causing people to react, then it’s not doing its job and it’s just not that interesting. The most negative reactions are sometimes my most favorite. 

Can you walk us through your creative process for creating digital collages?

I’m short, It starts with hours upon hours of research. I scan and collect thousands of images and exhaust every public domain archive I can. I then look through the folder of images over and over until an idea pops into my head. It’s usually the image that tells me what to do, not the other way around. I then spend hours blending all the assets together and then if everything works out how I envisioned the idea in my head, the artwork is complete. If it doesn’t work out. I go back to that same folder and repeat. It can become a vicious cycle at times. 

Your art has been featured in well-known magazines such as Playboy and Glamour, what was that experience like?

It’s always good to get your work in print. Being in Playboy is iconic and people will always look back into the Playboy archives for years to come. Magazines are some of the most inspiring things I own. A lot of my influences come from 70s and 80s advertising. I don’t expect physical magazines to be around much longer so I try to take any opportunity I can to cement myself in that part of history.

Can you tell us about your involvement in music projects such as J. Cole and Lana Del Rey and how music influences your art?

My main income stream before NFTs was the music industry. It honestly wasn’t my favorite experience. I never met the artists personally and you’re usually just dealing with labels who don’t pay well. I thank NFTs everyday for getting me out of that life. Of course having these things on the resume is amazing and I would go back and do that grind again to get me where I am today. It taught me to work incredibly fast and a lot of the editing techniques I learned doing client work I still use to this day. 

You have gained a large following on Instagram, what does that mean to you and how does it influence your work?

I’m very loyal to my following, they have been with me a long time. They were with me before NFTs and I do everything I can to give them good art to look at. I’ve become very busy the past few years and always find myself going back to them when I need to reset or test out a new idea. The NFT space can be brutal sometimes and releasing art with minimal pressure helps me refocus. 

Can you talk about your experience in the NFT space and your successful drops on marketplaces such as Makersplace and Nifty Gateway?

Man, I’ve never worked so hard in my life in such a short amount of time. That’s all I will say, haha. 

Can you give us a glimpse into what's next for you and your work?

This past year I spent 8 months building SLIMESHOP; I built a physical sculpture that was created with 3/4 pound of real weed; I did Phillips; I did Christie’s; so now it’s time for me to focus on making a massive portfolio of new art. I’m planning out a new series and also looking to do more physical/digital pairings. NFTs are still super niche. Because we are in the space, we don’t realize how small this community is. I estimate 99% of my social following has never used  Metamask. My goal is to get regular people collecting and finding better ways to reward my everyday fans who have been with me since the beginning.

Thanks slimesunday!

The statements made by slimesunday in the interview are highly significant as they shed light on the vast potential of NFT art. He estimates that only a small fraction of his followers are aware of this exciting world and the endless possibilities it presents. As a result, we at Decentralized Arts are grateful to slimesunday for bringing attention to this emerging art form and inspiring more people to appreciate it.

In the face of challenges and obstacles, slimesunday stands as a shining example of the power of perseverance and individuality. His inspiring story serves as a beacon of hope for those who choose to forge their own path, rather than simply following one that has been predetermined for them. By taking risks and trusting in his own unique vision, slimesunday has become a true original in the world of digital art.

While NFTs are not a magic solution to the challenges of censorship, they represent an important step towards greater artistic freedom and autonomy in the digital age.

By amplifying the voices of experts and innovators in the NFT space, we can continue to learn from and support those who are working to create a more open and equitable art world.

D’Art Drops

by nonsense, in collaboration with cryptoartis.eth

Introducing weekly NFT art drops for the Bankless community, brought to you by Decentralized Arts.

This week, we present the third installment from the incredible AI artist cryptoartis.eth: Fire of Freedom. The Roman Goddess Libertas holds forth the torch of freedom, enlightening the world to a new order of financial liberty. Broken are the shackles that have bound humanity to a devastating financial system that sought to enslave the many to the will of the few. With blockchain technology and cryptocurrency, Libertas lights the way to a new world, a new system, and the potential for true liberty and egalitarianism.

This piece will be made available during the BanklessDAO Community Call as part of the community NFT showcase. Head over to Rarible and add it to your favorites so you’re ready to collect it when it goes on sale. 75% of each sale will go to the artist, 10% will be returned to BanklessDAO, and 15% will be retained by Decentralized Arts.

Chippi Corner

By Perchy

THE LEGION OF 444 – Part 7

by DustyEye

Dear BanklessDAO Readers,

Thanks for the dozens of advice sent to the email info@dustyeye.com. 

In the past two weeks we have immersed ourselves in reading and experimenting. We now have clearer ideas on how to deal with the Legion of 444 digital Demons. Some of your tips have provend to be precious cyber-advice loaded with millenary wisdom.

Below is a list of proposals that are as singular as they are enlightening:

• An update of Norton Antivirus 5.0 for Windows 95/98 and Macintosh, I believe the third one, has a system file that should be useful to you.

• Expose the demons to the celestial cloak on a full moon night, then press them one by one into plastic test tubes with corks no longer than 16cm. Don't forget to place a containing sphere and android ashes in the row.

• Dip them in a Smarties-flavored McFlurry and burn it all as a sacrifice to the Goddess. The ritual seal in sweet and sour sauce is fundamental, do not mistake its astral orientation.

• PUT THOSE SONS OF BITCHES INTO THE BLOCKCHAIN!

• I once read an erotic manga with many tentacles where tentacle nipple demons got trapped in tentacle-girl posters. You could try the same.

We have decided to follow one of the proposals, but for now, no previews.

See you next week,
Dusty Eye

______________________

WEB: www.DustyEye.com
IG: @DustyEye_DE
TWITTER: @Dusty_Eye

Meme

A small joke contributed by The Rug.

PostScript & Acknowledgements

Decentralized Arts is written and produced by a small team of contributors who are passionate about art, both visual and written, and its growing place in crypto and NFTs. With each edition, we aim to bring you not only the most current and relevant news in the NFT space, but also explorations in what it means for our culture and societies for this market to continue to grow and expand. When everyone is an owner of art, we all gain a deeper appreciation for it.

If you enjoy reading this newsletter, please share it with someone who you think will appreciate the content. We also welcome suggestions via our feedback form.

With great appreciation for you, we thank you for reading and subscribing to Decentralized Arts.

Cordially,

Grendel, Kouros, Kaf, nonsensetwice, and Frank America