Had an epic meeting last night with Sam and Jakub and brainstormed a million ideas. We settled on the proposal below for creating a unique NFT that would exemplify all of our strengths in a creative process.
SOLOS would like to propose the following piece for inclusion in NFCastles 2022.
SOLOS is an artist collective focused on the intersection of physical and virtual media. By bridging these two worlds we create new cultural artifacts that transcend and transform what is “real” and what is digital. This intersection is at the heart of our practice.
Drawing upon Dvořák’s own travels and how they informed his work, as well as his symphonic poems which transformed poetry into music, we’d like to work in a similar vein, transforming one of Prague’s most well known locations into a virtual environment with an accompanying musical piece.
We are a team of three artists who share a similar vision. Jakub Grosz (CZ) (3D and Interactive Media artist), Sam Gittis (US)(Music Producer) and Jeremiah Palecek (CZ/US)(Painter). We will create an interactive virtual environment, that transforms both Prague’s streets and one of Dvoraks symphonic poems into a contemporary composition. We seek to educate those attending the exhibition about Dvořák’s contemporary approach to music, focusing specifically on his symphonic poem Zlatý kolovrat. In poetry, an ekphrastic poem is a vivid description of a work of art. Dvořák worked in the opposite manner, transforming poetry into sound. Sam seeks to create his own composition based upon Slavonic rhythms and cadences from Dvořák's Goblins' Dance, with a contemporary twist. MIDI files from Dvořák's pieces will be used as a point to launch off from, and the composition will be transformed into electronic music. In addition to this, textures from Jeremiah’s paintings will be infused into the digital environment itself, illustrating the thin veil which separates art and reality.
Similarly, Prague’s Zlaty Ulice (Golden Street) itself will be 3D scanned and integrated into a VR environment. It will be presented both via a VR headset and on a large screen (Jakub can provide the one in the picture above). A video navigating this world will also be made available as an NFT. We choose to work with Prague itself because it is the thing which binds us together, as well as Dvořák himself. So the collaboration is one that spans both nations, and time. We choose a site near the Lobkowicz Palace to further establish visitors sense of place, since they will be physically present near the same place where the virtual environment is located. This will give viewers a distinct sense of place, and how it relates to virtual environments as well as those that are “IRL”. This digital identity is often very important to how people see themselves today, and how they form their identities. The internet, and VR can both expand and inform our sense of place and identity. Blockchain will allow us to preserve this creation in perpetuity as well, giving us a snapshot to both the event itself, and its location, as well as the artists involved. It is truly a medium which examines the cultural stories that bring us together. Just as during Dvořák’s trips to the US, and the knowledge he gained from being there, we seek to look at Prague, and use our own artistic interpretation to transform and bring our own disparate pasts into a single artwork. One created by a music producer, painter, and 3d artist.