CAN Review – Cryptopom’s work features a distinctive use of textual elements to provide additional narrative detail or in some cases a textural element to her portraiture. Her latest piece ‘Know Your Place’ is a colourful artwork that depicts the cryptoart world as a place that unfortunately doesn’t afford women their rightful place in the ecosystem. The period costume that the characters are dressed in echoes outdated patriarchical views of women and the addition of the small colourful bird in the gilded cage reinforces the lack of freedom that Cryptopom experiences in the cryptoart field. The patronising ‘QUIET DEAR’ adds to the sense of toxic male control that pervades this piece. Bids are coming in as I type this with less than 10 hours to go!
‘Not an addict’ uses text to convey a haunting plea by the female character in this inventive portrait that uses crumpled lined paper and ink splots to allude to the fragile state of the protagonist. The lively line work and colours add a vitality to the piece that adds to the sense of desperation that the character is expressing. The overall effect is one that feels incredibly personal … an apology that is steeped in regret, yet there is always hope and new beginnings as there is a clear desire to change. Reading the description on Opensea reveals that this work is based upon Cryptopom’s own experiences and only makes the piece that more important in our eyes.
The final piece by Cryptopom provides a mantra of sorts by a new generation of ‘crypto-fluid’ people. The ‘BUY’ sticker is front and centre on the forehead of the young punk, and the desciption provided adds ‘Buy the dip’, alluding to the character’s (sensible) motto, which is buy low and presumably sell high. Again, Cryptopom’s work and expressive line work is reminiscent of a postmodern fauvist, while retaining elements of comic book culture and grammar in the form of the textual elements that provide further exposition to some of the work.
Cryptopom’s work reveals a love of colour, portraiture, stories and comic book culture. It has depth and meaning, not only in the imagery but also in the textual elements in each artwork, and background descriptions. CAN are delighted to have such work featured on our website.
Name
Cryptopom
Social media links and website profiles
https://twitter.com/cryptopom1
https://opensea.io/collection/laneyberryrojasart/
https://foundation.app/cryptopom https://rarible.com/token/0x60f80121c31a0d46b5279700f9df786054aa5ee5:322334:0xbd7a1c16d7b3af4af6d1a0fd7437466d765656ce
What is your background as an artist in general?
I’m Laney, and I’m a Chilean-Scottish freelance character artist and video game developer. Bit of background– I’ve lived all over the world (from Chile to Taiwan to Spain to Hong Kong to Savannah, GA) and have finally settled down here in Scotland (one of my two homelands). After graduating from the Savannah College of Art and Design, I successfully Kickstarted my own idea for a point-and-click adventure game (now on Steam, as of 2018). I’ve also done bouts of work in the field of art therapy with children with physical/mental developmental issues, and older people with Alzheimer’s.
What is your overall process in generating art?
I start either from a physical sketch, or I just immediately leap into Photoshop with my trust Wacom and get to work. The main thing is, I want a solid narrative and theme to start with– I’ll do my research from there, finding reference photos and imagery to inspire me. Then, I start developing the drawing in Photoshop, usually layering colours and textures over the piece, and usually incorporating text and handwriting in some manner.
How would you describe your art in your own words?
My style is heavily influenced by graphic novel design and pop art, always revolving around portraiture– I love creating narratives based around a character, and trying to explore either social and political themes using people as my focus.
Favourite artists / influences?
Graphic novel artists are a huge influence to me, particularly those from the indie scene (Chynna Major, Adrian Tomine, Craig Thompson, Sophie Campbell, Daniel Clowes), but I also love me some Mondrian (the colours..!) and Lichtenstein.
How did you discover the new blockchain world of Crypto Art and NFTs in general?
I’ve been involved in cryptocurrency since around 2016 or so (holding and a little bit of trading), and it was through there that I heard about the mad, mad world of NFTs..!
Has the digital nature of cryptoart NFTs changed how you approach your art practice?
It has absolutely inspired me and resulted in me producing more than I EVER used to. It also made me realise that I can actually make a living off my art, which is a brand new feeling for me.
What if anything, has surprised you about this new area of art practice?
The community..!!!!! I have been absolutely blown away by the people I’ve started meeting in the NFT art space, and a couple of friends and I even started up our own little art collective (with a mission statement and squad goals– life each other up, boost each other’s work via retweets, likes, and word-of-mouth, and offer emotional support to one another). It grew from three people to over eighty in less than a week..!
How would you like the field of cryptoart and nfts to evolve over time?
I’d mostly love for it to turn into a scene which values community, kindness, friendship, and empathy over anything else.
How can access and information to this new field of art practice be encouraged?
I think that a lot of platforms would benefit from a lack of exclusivity (invite-only or application-only marketplaces), and offer a more democratic experience like OpenSea does
Anything you’d like to say that this form hasn’t covered?
Nothing at all, I’m just happy to have been invited..!!!
