Sales of Marina Abramović's First NFT Series, 'THE HERO 25FPS' Exceed $300,000 in First 24 Hours
The famed performance artist minted her very first NFTs on Tezos
350 words, 2 minute read
Frames from Marina Abramović’s first NFT series, ‘THE HERO 25FPS’.
Marina Abramović is among the best-known, and most controversial figures in modern art. In the course of a career spanning more than 40 years, Abramović has consistently pushed the boundaries of her medium, especially in the field of performance art where she has become known for blurring the boundary between performer and audience.
One of her best-known works, THE HERO, was originally created as a tribute to her father, a Yugoslavian resistance fighter who fought against German occupying forces during World War II. The video piece shows Abramović on a white horse, holding a large white flag, blowing in the wind. THE HERO was first exhibited in 2001, and gained an additional layer of significance following the 9/11 attacks.
After a period of very public reticence about NFTs, Abramović changed her mind about the technology earlier this year, announcing in June, at Art Basel, Basel, that she had turned THE HERO into an edition of thousands of NFTs, created from 6,500 individual frames that make up the video. Collectors would have the option of purchasing individual NFTs created from single JPEG frames, or from GIFs made up of multiple frames.
THE HERO 25FPS launched on Circa Art on July 25, and in the first 24 hours of being available, sales of the NFTs netted $325,000 USD from more than 1,700 mints. This makes THE HERO 25FPS one of the highest-selling NFT projects ever launched on Tezos.
Elsewhere in the Tezos art ecosystem in July, a piece by generative artist Zancan sold on the secondary market for $113,000 USD and a collaboration between artist Iskra Velitchkova and Zach Lieberman netted over $350,000 USD in primary sales. Meanwhile, the Tezos NFT art community celebrated celebrated single editions works of art minted on the Tezos blockchain with the #1of1 event, which exceeded $295,000 USD in primary market sales.