Coldie is a real one. Best described as a mixed media artist, the Californian resident is a true OG of the NFT scene, with his work dating back to 2018, including the iconic themed “Decentral Eyes,” “Sellout” and, more recently, a collaboration with Snoop Dogg.
His distinct 3D stereoscopic work jumps off the screen, and, similar to the likes of Josie Bellini and Trevor Jones, Coldie leans into crypto culture — the good, the bad and everything else in between.
“Decentral Eyes — Vitalik Buterin — Variant 02” by Coldie (SuperRare)“Art is history. It’s visual history. As I got deeper into the crypto culture on my journey, I was trying to be somewhat of a historian of the time, creating pieces that were contextual to what was going on, whether it was Vitalik [Buterin] or John McAfee. Or later on, [Edward] Snowden and [Warren] Buffett. To me, it was like a time capsule I was trying to create in real-time.”
“When I look back to 2018, I remember Andreas Antonopoulos doing speaking tours and McAfee talking about eating his junk. That was amusing to me, so it made it easy to make art about. It was a lot of fun.”
Coldie says it didn’t take long to understand the basic fundamentals of NFTs and blockchain technology. Then he discovered you could put art on it.
“Then the whole unlock of royalties and provenance. Those two things alone are revolutionary. I didn’t know if it was going to hit or not, but I felt it was going to give digital artists a chance, and if collectors could understand it, too, then there was a viable chance that it could take off,” says Coldie.
Paying homage to other early motion experimenters, Josie Bellini and Trevor Jones, Coldie also emphasized the impact of Beeple’s NFTs.
“Since Beeple came in, there’s been so much stuff popping up. That was a major inflection point where there was a lot more motion graphics than the early days where it was more like animated GIFs. Today, there’s more long-form storytelling. I guess it’s just an evolving space.”
“Proof of Work — Variant 1” by Coldie (SuperRare)Personal style
Coldie pioneered 3D stereoscopic work, and the iconic “Coldie” signature is instantly recognizable.
“I consider myself a mixed media artist, but it’s collage art. I’m always searching for the illusion of depth in my art. I’ll be layering things but then taking it from the flat plane and then spacing it out so you can get a depth.”
“A lot of my early stuff I did, I did things with 3D glasses, but when I came into the NFT world, most people didn’t have 3D glasses at their computer. So, I kind of evolved my art into 3D animated motion to show people the movement without them having to put the glasses on.”
Just two weeks ago, Coldie did a collaboration drop with ClickCreate titled “Flow State,” which sold out 180 pieces as a relatively inexpensive entry to collecting Coldie art (between 0.042 ETH and 0.069 ETH), but it was a mad dash to the finish line with an impending deadline.
“I spent about four hours and retooled the whole thing. It’s like a puzzle, you know, so it’s always evolving, but with a deadline, it’s great because you have to get it done. This allows for a kind of loose and organic result,” says Coldie.
⭐️⭐️NEW ART RELEASE⭐️⭐️
‘Flow State’
Edition of 180
Now minting for @clickcreateio sub pass holders
.042 ETH
The remaining will be available tomorrow at 3p ET
.069 ETHhttps://t.co/oHOSBf63EZ pic.twitter.com/rTYpjVs3b3
“Decentral Eyes Dogg”
In the mad celebrity rush to get a piece of the NFT action in 2021 and early 2022, many athletes, musicians and entertainers fell on their faces, damaging their reputations in the process by deploying misguided cash grabs from fan bases.
There were, however, a handful of celebrities who “got it,” and one of those was rap legend Snoop Dogg. Snoop and his inner circle, including his son, Champ Medici and manager Nick Alder, have been big proponents of Web3 culture.
When Coldie was put in touch with Snoop, they vibed, and their values aligned, and as a result, the “Decentral Eyes Dogg” collaboration was born in November 2021. After some intense bidding on SuperRare, it sold for a staggering 188.8 ETH ($754,300) on Dec. 4, 2021.
Decentral Eyes Dogg by @Coldie x @SnoopDogg
The first ever NFT artwork collaboration between @SnoopDogg and @Coldie, featuring original artwork by both artists + a new audio track by Snoop Dogg
Live for bidding NOW on SuperRare!
Auction ends Dec 3https://t.co/XGHr9SyIuj pic.twitter.com/cqv9NJNTdy
— SuperRare
