NFTS? WTF!

Yeah... I know. Not an intuitive choice.

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After a couple years of researching and making art in the "real world", namely t-shirts, drawing, and painting, I've come to the point of view that there is no guarantee that beneficent art actually does good. Someone pays for every “good” thing that we make.

 

With rampant ignorance of climate issues, strict urban planning policies, and anemic local markets in most of the Global South, us artists are forced to operate in environmentally dubious territories to try to reach people worldwide about worldwide issues and earn a living.

 

Be it long-distance travel on motored vehicles, material sourcing and discarding, product packaging and shipping, or online hosting and sales of digital assets, the environmental footprint of our work is far more significant than most people think about. Everywhere we look we find extractivism, Emissions, and pollution.

 

This conundrum of art-making externalities taints the validity of “green” art, if it does not generate tangible benefits to vulnerable populations. for example, NFT transactions in certain networks raise red flags for environmentalists - myself included - and Greenpeace and WWF divested from their collections a few years ago due to public scrutiny.

 

we must, therefore, do our very best to cultivate collaborative networks that allow artists and oppressed beings to thrive through processes that are transparent, carefully tested, and adjusted when necessary.

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Aware of these impacts and taking into account that I do not intend to fuel one reparative initiative by destroying others, I’ve attempted to clearly define the impacts of my t-shirt making processes (https://vitorious.art/about), and choose to experiment on web3 via blockchains and marketplaces that appeared to:

 

 * legitimately Strive to decrease their carbon footprint via proof of stake, renewable energy investments, and carbon offset programs. I continue to research and engage with people that operate in and out of the web3 world to find ways to diminish the negative impacts of my artwork.

 

 * Provide opportunities to engage with an international audience with more environmental awareness and purchasing power than the dominant shortsighted capitalist culture in Brazil. These opportunities may be lifelines for artists who seek to ignite positive change, especially in countries that have been historically plagued with self-centered individuals and entities with hostile stances towards environmentalists and are ignorant about manmade issues and potential solutions.

 

Even if I become a target for “gotcha environmentalism”, at the moment, I do consider web3 as fertile ground to plant seeds of regenerative change. While some quibble over how "green" my green initiatives are, man(un)kind continues to spin out of control and burn our only viable home. We won’t stop climate change by pointing fingers. We must roll up our sleeves together to elevate Nature’s messages on our screens and pages and help free others from screams and cages.

 

I welcome any and all authentic comments and resources on any of my posts so I and others can better educate ourselves. I will take your feedback into consideration to improve the tools I use to ethically share my artwork broadly. If it means shutting down a collection, I'll do so with no hesitation. 

 

The work is not about me or about "art", it's about the animals.

 

The Resources I have reviewed for guidance thus far have been archived here:  https://www.vitorious.shop/wtf/resources

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Where we (under)stand

March 15, 2025

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My NFT projects are in their infancy with a small, non-crypto audience, which makes this a promising moment to broaden their reach to crypto art enthusiasts worldwide. This experiment is a test of some potentials of web3 to create tangible benefits for wildlife.

 

Since its conception from scratch in December of 2024, over a dozen NFTs have been collected on Rodeo and the NFT NYC 2025 platform. I intend to keep on building upon the affordable NFT listings I currently have on OpenSea and Foundation until June of this year in order to evaluate market penetration, community engagement, and carbon offset measures. much more can and needs to be done to help endangered species. 

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As far as I can see, the NFT market is saturated with popular designs that are overloaded with “shiny” elements but vastly void of meaning or usefulness for society at large. This is where WWW and my other initiatives stand out with thoroughly thought out missions and pillars of positive impact that benefit oppressed beings and educate consumers about their choices.

 

Gradually, as I further my partnerships and marketing strategy, I wish to generate traction for the "betterment of the world" through my art. Once Global tensions begin to settle - which for all of our sakes cannot happen soon enough - It would seem reasonable that market conditions will become more favorable for a new influx of crypto art transactions, including in the Global South.

 

However, these trends have been and will continue to be impossible to predict; therefore, I cannot honestly feed anyone's expectations. Buddhist philosophy clearly demonstrates that expectation is a foolish, toiling investment. Anyone who guesses otherwise is doing just that: guessing. We must not underestimate the gap between understanding truths and soothsaying. The difference is immense.