Yue Minjun’s digital debut: The Laughing Man enters the NFT realm on August 8th
Yue Minjun, one of the most renowned Chinese political pop artists, is set to release his second non-fungible (NFT) collection, “Kingdom of the Laughing Man.” The collection, featuring Minjun’s iconic laughing figures, will be launched on the LiveArt platform on August 8th.
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Artists are embracing the digital frontier to spread their message
In a world where art and technology increasingly intersect, Yue Minjun is the latest artist to venture into the realm of NFTs. Yue found in NFTs an avenue to create and share his beliefs with his fan base.
Since the 1980s, the Chinese cynical realism movement has been founded on the works of Minjun, who is renowned for his sardonic take on Socialist Realism, which is supported by the Chinese state. To develop his most recent works, Minjun has been working with artists like Liu Wei and Fang Lijun.
In a recent statement, Minjun’s has spoken about this new venture in digital arts, stating that he had “explored numerous media with my art over the years”. “This new digital frontier excites me the most as I can bring my art to life in a way that I haven’t been able to with physical media.” His enthusiasm for the digital medium is palpable, and fans eagerly anticipate how his signature style will translate into the digital realm.
Kingdom of the laughing man is a public statement of Minjun’s beliefs
Beginning with “Boundless,” a collection of 1,200 distinctive NFTs in the PFP (Profile Picture) format, the “Kingdom of the Laughing Man” collection will be released. This structure, made famous by Cryptopunks and the Bored Ape Yacht Club, provides followers of Minjun’s work a new decentralized method to interact with his work. Every NFT will be a distinct work of digital art, giving collectors a chance to own a portion of Minjun’s online debut.
The collection is shown in association with the iv gallery in Los Angeles. On August 8th, the LiveArt platform will host the second drop of Yue’s collection, with presales beginning at 5 am PDT. This is a widely anticipated event in the NFT art community because the NFTs start at 0.35 ETH ($645 at the time of writing), making them quite expensive.
The NFT Market is becoming a new landscape for artistic expression
Despite a decrease in total sales from $2.9 billion in 2021 to $1.5 billion in 2022, NFT markets have continuously grown on artists’ and institutions’ attraction. Besides having some of the largest auction houses selling NFTs now, museums like LACMA and Centre Pompidou acquired NFTs in 2023, and American sculptor Maya Lin minted her first NFT works in March.
Artists are still exploring the possibilities that NFTs opened regardless of a swift downtrend market. It’s noteworthy that as digital art becomes more prevalent and a location that consumers pay attention to, artists are creating new methods for connecting with viewers and collectors. The persistent interest in and promise of this new creative form is demonstrated by Yue Minjun’s introduction to the NFT industry.
