What is the meaning of life? A Talk by .ART Founder Ulvi Kasimov

Earlier this week Ulvi Kasimov, founder of .ART, presented a lecture to the members of the Association of Galleries in Moscow, Russia. Emelyan Zakharov, co-owner of Triumf, a Moscow gallery of contemporary art, said the opening remarks.

The lecture, titled ‘What is the meaning of life?’, was dedicated to the latest technologies in the field of art, in particular to the .ART Digital Twin solution. Kasimov told the audience how easily this tool can be used, thus creating an undeniable provenance and authenticity for one’s work. Moreover, absolutely every object can be an object of art. It’s not just about painting, sculpture, even performance that can be documented in video format and then get their own .ART Digital Twin. A drawing of your child or a music track by a non-professional artist can become an object of art.

Everything that is done with love is art of its own kind.

This topic is highly relevant for gallery owners in the audience to whose. The lecture turned into a lively discussion after only 20 minutes.”How can one transfer this certificate of authenticity to a new owner?” Zakharov asked. In fact, the transfer is carried out quite quickly—the data of the new .ART Digital Twin holder is fed, and the ‘keys’ are handed over. Moreover, you can also regulate the privacy of the ledger.

“If I want to register not one work, but my entire collection, then I need to register a certificate for each work separately?” – the founder of Astra Gallery Alina Kryukova asked many interesting questions during the lecture. .ART Digital Twin allows you to group several objects under one domain name. It is not necessary to get a separate certificate for each of them. At this stage, all technical aspects are ready, after confirmation from ICANN, and this solution can already be actively used.

“How to establish authenticity? How to understand that a fake has not been registered? ” – asks Polina Askeri from Askeri Gallery. In fact, this is a very delicate question. It should be clear that .ART is not concerned with authenticating work. .ART Digital Twin allows you to group several objects under one domain name. It is not necessary to get a separate certificate for each one of them. At this stage, all technical aspects for uploading several art objects under one domain name are ready. We are waiting for the confirmation from ICANN and this option can already be actively used.

Among other things, the lecture featured a book by William Deresiewicz, The Death of The Artist, how creators are struggling to survive in the age of billionaires and big tech. This book is a compilation of interview and can be classified as intellectual nonfiction. “How can creative people make a living in the digital age?” Derezewitz asks his readers this question, but it is also a question he asked several times to the people he encounters in his journey to write this book. Based on interviews with writers, musicians, artists, artists, the author argues that if in the Renaissance the artists were artisans, in the 19th century – bohemian, in the 20th century – professionals, then in the digital age a new paradigm is emerging that changes our ideas about the nature of art and the role of the artist in society.

The lecture lasted more than an hour. Each question was more interesting than the other. The main question that was asked was “What’s the point, the meaning?” As always, the meaning is to conquer time and stay in history.