This week it hosted the largest acquisition of blockchain-based art from an American museum. A recent addition of nearly two dozen NFT artworks is presented to one of Los Angeles’ most recognizable museums from one of NFT’s most recognizable names.
Let’s take a look at what collections made the list, what you can expect from the acquisition, and more.
On-Chain Art Goes IRL: What & Where
Los Angeles County Museum of Art (commonly known as ‘LACMA’) is one of LA’s most signature museums, and the largest museum in the western US LACMA hosts a rotating offering of historic paintings and pieces. LACMA is also home to permanent outdoor public works like Chris Burden’s “Urban Light” (pictured in the header above), Michael Heizer’s “Levitated Mass”, and others. The museum is located in the heart of Los Angeles, right next to the La Brea Tar Pits – a unique area in LA where natural asphalt has bubbled to the surface for thousands of years.
You may not be able to secure a ticket to the museum as an NFT (at least, not yet), but you may see some NFTs on display soon. A new era of history enters the halls of LACMA this week, courtesy of renowned NFT collector Cozomo de’ Medici.
Ethereum (ETH) has been the genesis of art on-chain, though many other chains are seeing developments in this vertical - even Bitcoin. | Source: ETH-USD on TradingView.com
Worth Collection
What made the Medici gift pieces for the museum? A LACMA issued a press release along with the corresponding one Twitter thread from Medici details what’s to come for the museum’s blockchain-based acquisition. This is a great compilation of some of the most recognizable and legacy collections in the NFT space. Named ‘The Medici Collection,’ 22 NFTs include beautiful ‘heritage’ pieces, generative and AI-made pieces, photography, code, and more. In addition, Medici and his team did an excellent job of bringing the global element of blockchain-based work, featuring 13 international artists from around the world.
The addition adds substantial weight to LACMA’s existing digital collection, which has become a growing category for the museum as its space expands. In a statement included in the press release, LACMA Assistant Curator of Contemporary Art Dhyandra Lawson stated:
“It is a great honor for the works from The Medici Collection to find a permanent home at LACMA. With this gift, my goal is to help bridge the world of on-chain art and contemporary art, which until now have existed separately. I am very excited that the works of the chain that this historical significance is contextualized next to the many fine works of art in LACMA’s collection.