Snark.art[1], a digital laboratory for blockchain-based art, has unveiled its first artistic collaboration with artist Eve Sussman. The new art piece, called 89 Seconds Atomized is an attempt to introduce and illustrate the concept of collective ownership, the company said on Wednesday.
89 Seconds Atomized is a re-invention of Sussman’s acclaimed video artwork, 89 Seconds at Alcazár, which attempts to capture the moments before and after the image depicted in the seminal work Las Meninas. The 1656 painting by Diego Valezquez is one of the most analyzed and discussed works of art in history, and widely considered one of the most important.
Created with Rufus Corporation, the original 89 Seconds at Alcazár video premiered at the 2004 Whitney Biennial. For Snark.art, Sussman has digitally shattered the last artist’s proof from 89 Seconds at Alcazár into 2,304 digital blocks, or “atoms”. Each atom is 400 pixels of the entire visual frame with an approximately 10-minute duration, the total running time of the video with the complete multilayered soundtrack.
“Collaborating with Snark.art has been a process of reimagining what it means to distribute an artwork in an entirely different way,” said Sussman. “The exciting part of this experiment really begins once all the atoms are dispersed to the new community of owners and they need to collaborate to bring the video to life as a whole.”
All atoms will be available for purchase for US$100 each using credit card payment or cryptocurrency on Snark.art’s website starting November 30. Collectors will be able to buy up to ten pieces atoms, receiving a unique digital signature proving ownership.
Following the sell-through of 89 Seconds Atomized, the piece will live on through the community of owners. While the owner of an individual atom will be able to screen the content of
