Crypto, art and charity. What may once have seemed like an unlikely trio are coming together to help raise money for charitable causes.
Back in September, cyclists Jason Berlin and Jovel Velasquez undertook a cross-country cycling trip across the U.S. known as Tour de Crypto.
Starting in the Hamptons, New York and finishing in Huntington Beach, California, the aim is to raise $1 million in cryptocurrencies and USD for the Houston Area Women’s Center (HAWC), a non-profit organization that helps survivors of domestic and sexual violence build safe and healthy lives.
In a bid to raise more money for HAWC, Blake Rizzo, head of charity affairs for Tour de Crypto, said that they will be auctioning off two one-of-a-kind paintings that have been donated to the tour. These will take place at the upcoming Washington Elite conference, from the 30th November until 1st December, 2018.
Rizzo explained that the idea started with artist Nanu Berks, originally from Argentina, who reached out to him on Twitter. After hearing what the guys were doing she said that she wanted to donate some of her art for them to auction off.
I was waiting on Nanu to respond and then the next thing I know she’s telling me that she wants to give us her best, most famous painting that she’s been traveling with across different art museums, said Rizzo. I was floored because I wasn’t expecting her to give us that piece.
Balance on the Chain
The artwork in question is called Balance on the Chain and is a double-sided fine art crypto piece. Focusing on the arts movement connecting creative energy to creative projects in the blockchain, Berks is emphasizing the masculine and feminine energy integration within the blockchain systems. The piece, which is 3x4 ft and weighs 22 pounds, is composed of upcycled materials, from wood to recycled spray paint can leftovers located in Austin’s city recycling centers, and the cyber scraps of old hardware from local repair shops.
The masculine side of the painting shows the BTC in gold, while the computer circuits, which represent the technology, are traditionally seen as "male" or "masculine" disciplines to study. However, Berks notes that as it has been spray painted on an abstract mix it can’t be defined or confined, which show traditional "feminine" assumptions of how our brains work and emotions are mapped out.
The truth is that masculinity and femininity have little to do with sex and gender, but more with the balance of both energies as represented in nature for a wholesome balance, Berks added. I like representing how both extremes create a perfect synergy and how assumptions can be dissolved, so although one side is thought as "more masculine" than the other, the truth is that both represent each in a balanced blend.
The feminine side of the painting shows the eye of the collective consciousness, intuition, and many fractal structures as seen in nature, said Berks. She goes on to say that these are also considered "feminine" neuro networks or "ancient trees that connect at their roots for entire forests, around the intuitive eye of nature." Equations are also depicted on the artwork, with positive messages of compassion and crypto symbology, which Berks states add a bit of balance.
By traveling with Balance on the Chain it has helped to ignite conversations about the technology and the balance between masculinity and femininity. It has been shown at the NYC Cryptohou.se during Blockchain Week 2018 and before that in LA for the LA Dreams Expo. Berks pieces sell for between $6,000 and $30,000.
Blood on the Podcast Floor
The second piece of artwork to be auctioned off for the tour at Washington Elite is Blood on the Podcast Floor by Helsinki-based artist Vesa Kivinen, an international mixed media artist who has created a mixed media platform Artevo.
It was while Rizzo was at World Crypto Con in Las Vegas that Kivinen reached out to him while he was doing some artwork there. He approached Rizzo and offered to donate a piece of artwork to the tour without knowing Berks’ initial involvement in it.
The art piece is a tribute to an eclectic array of people such as the Bad Crypto Podcast, which in Kivinen’s words are "borrowing a part of the thunder of Michael Jackson, they are a good kind of bad of what that logo stands for, with the crown on top, and of course they are king of the hill when it comes to crypto podcasting, so the headphones are in reference to that."
It is also paying homage to author and journalist Hunter S. Thompson, which is made up of the World Crypto Con logo, including a taser, an electric prob, bomb and cigarette. This is in reference to when actor Johnny Depp first met Thompson in December 1994. Other symbols on the artwork include a backward FM symbol, traditionally meant for radio, but turned around now stands for motherfu*cker and #130, which is the episode that Kivinen appeared on the Bad Crypto Podcast. His pieces typically sell anywhere from $50,000 and upward.
What makes this piece even more unique is that it has been signed with some familiar faces within the crypto space. These include Ronnie Moas, Bitcoin bull and founder of Standpoint Research, Vinny Lingham, co-founder and CEO of Civic, an identity protection and management startup, Maxine Ryan, co-founder and COO of Bitspark, the world’s first cash-in, cash-out blockchain remittance platform, Charlie Lee, creator of Litecoin and the Bad Crypto guys.
Rizzo said: "There is a lot of excitement around that piece with those signatures."
The money raised from both paintings will go toward the $1 million target for HAWC, which will be enough to fund half a year of services to HAWC’s 120-bed secure shelter.
