NFTs
‘Let’s Push Boundaries’: NFC Summit Wins Awards, AI and ‘Post-Human Modernism’
The iconic Carlos Lopes Pavilion in Lisbon welcomed more than 5,000 participants in the third edition of the NFC Summitfor an “immersive digital culture program” that includes art, fashion, games, films and beach parties.
More than 260 speakers gathered to discuss topics ranging from Bitcoin Ordinals to meme tokens, with artists and personalities from the NFT space including Beeple, Deekaymotion, Claire Silver, Punk6529, and Patrick Amadon discussing their work.
Digital artist Mike ‘Beeple’ Winkelmann. Image: NFC Dome
“I think it’s really exciting, I think we’re going through a kind of photographic renaissance,” said conceptual artist Kevin Abosch, in a talk on “posthuman modernism.”
Abosch discussed his recent project “Civic education,” a series of AI-generated “synthetic photos” depicting protests and civil disobedience. “Don’t get me started on how honest ‘real’ photography is, it can be more dishonest than anything,” he said, arguing that photographic subjects are “aware” of the presence of cameras. “And conversely, a synthetic photograph can be imbued with more honesty than a traditional photograph.”
The first AIFA Awards, held within the scope of NFC Lisbon, recognized the work of AI filmmakers. The AImagine Award for Best Film was won by “Denny the Shark,” created by collaborative duo Ethereal Moon, consisting of Melody Bossan (aka LeMoon) and Dina Lockamy (aka Ethereal Gwirl).
“We’re trying to prove the idea that emerging technology opens up the field on a global scale,” said Leo Crane, co-founder of the AI Film Academy. counted Decrypt. He argued that the awards show AI’s ability to empower creators, allowing them to “really compete with multi-million dollar films in a way that wasn’t possible before.”
NFC Summit also saw the second edition of ABS Digital Art Awardawarded to the piece by French artist RVig “Les Fleurs du Mal.” The work reinterprets the poetry of Charles Baudelaire’s poetry as a series of ribbons that “evolve and flow according to the structure of the poetry.”
“Art is always evolving,” said RVig upon accepting the award. “Today, digital art and NFT still face skepticism. But in my humble opinion, we can all be inspired by Charles Baudelaire – let’s push the limits.”
Edited by Stacy Elliott.