Victor Solomon discussed his journey into bridging his in-real-life artwork into nonfungible tokens (NFTs) and how he cultivates the community and culture that surrounds it.
It has been reported that Solomon’s work centers around basketball, not just the object, but the sport itself. For Solomon, the inspiration for his work comes from his early childhood of wanting to play hockey, a sport that was not accessible for him, and his eventual discovery of basketball, which he discovered to be more accommodating.
He said:
“Basketball was such an inspirational platform for me since there’s no barrier to entry.”
Solomon added that the open nature of basketball is an “incredible parallel for everything that's happening in Web3,” and throughout the episode, he explains the symbiotic relationship he has experienced in building out VesselVerse, the basketball of the metaverse.
However, Solomon drew attention to the “invigorating” nature of being able to create things that cannot exist in real life, like a “planet inside a hollow basketball,” but also the process of taking the physical elements into digital renderings and composites. For him, building a collection and a community to rally around it was second nature. His extensive experience in the traditional art world gave him the same insight and structure on how he releases digital collectibles.
The report said that drawing inspiration from other NFT projects like Nouns, Solomon’s digital collection, VesselVerse operates similarly to his real-life pieces, except one “vessel,” or basketball is auctioned off every hour. Contrary to physical installations or show pieces in a gallery, Solomon noted that creating within Web3 offers participants and collectors a broader and larger say in the direction of the work rather than a one-off experience.
Likewise, Solomon described how “exciting it is to be able to work shoulder to shoulder alongside a growing community,” where diverse collectors enable an “open forum to constantly visit, discuss and consider the direction of the project.”
He added:
“What attracts me as a founder is unlocking that opportunity for everyone to be able to have a voice.”
Thus, for him, the juxtaposition of Web2 and Web3 has highlighted what he considers a “massive unlock.” As he describes, the collaborative nature and “community spirit” has not been something he has been able to experience in his physical work and is “energizing.”
Source: Cointelegraph