Don’t put Ed Balloon in a field.
The multidisciplinary artist has by no means lent himself effectively to labels, exploring his quirky artistic imaginative and prescient by way of the lenses of music, movie, and stop-motion animation with tasks like Run Ed. Now it’s time so as to add generative artwork to the record.
His new undertaking, Magnificence Provide Is Out of Du-Rags, launched this week on the newly-launched Prohibition platform, explores the complicated cultural legacy of Black hairstyles by way of algorithmic code. Billed as “the first on-chain generative art project featuring braids and locs,” the gathering represents a deeply private and cathartic second of expression primarily based on Balloon’s personal experiences.
“The du-rag is a way of hiding, but you don’t have it, so you have to let the world see and accept you for who you are,” he explains. “That is the statement that I’m making.”
In a conversational nft now podcast interview, Ed Balloon dives into his imaginative and prescient for the undertaking, the state of music NFTs, and the significance of uplifting artists of shade.
Matt Medved: You’re a multidisciplinary creator who thinks when it comes to transferring pictures, artwork, and music. How did NFTs change the artistic canvas for you?
Ed Balloon: It gave me a lot extra flexibility. I feel exterior of Web3 as artists you’re like: okay, do a video, do a music, then cowl artwork— it’s very linear. Once I got here into Web3, it was like, no. It allowed me to see it as a spot the place I can create, be sincere, and disrupt. I by no means actually checked out making stuff like that when it got here to music till I got here to this house. Having conversations and simply seeing different folks create helped me visually to see “maybe I would wanna tap into that.”
I all the time wished to be sure that within the Web3 house, folks knew that I used to be a musician and performer. Folks didn’t actually know. They knew in regards to the puppet, and so they knew in regards to the visible cease movement factor, however they didn’t know that I additionally was a musician, despite the fact that I’d say, “Hey, I’m a musician, but I also do this, right?” So I felt like I needed to do one thing.
To finish “Fuck Around And Find Out” day … I made a decision to drop my genesis on superare. it’s a music nft that pays homage to black hair. This piece additionally was impressed by the legend @yatreda who was one of many first artist within the house who superbly introduced gentle to African hair con pic.twitter.com/4llag7Xp0X
— Ed Balloon.eth (@Ed_Balloon) January 3, 2023
As a musician your self, what’s your tackle the state of Web3 music? What do you suppose it’ll take to deliver this ecosystem to the following stage?
It’s bizarre as a result of I really feel prefer it’s proper there and it’s all the time dismissed. IRL concert events, ticketing — simple. However there may be this factor about ensuring that folk perceive what’s taking place within the tradition. For me, I got here into music with the concept of a bunch of us disrupting what we knew, what we noticed, what we thought we knew, the patterns, and stuff like that.
Coming into Web3, I’m seeing the difficulties of simply folks probably not understanding music as an entity and having to show that. It’s one thing the place I’m like, “How do I find ways to have conversations and just be like you like music? Dope. You like visual art? Cool. Maybe we need to blend it too sometimes.”
Possibly that’s a option to have those that are right here perceive getting a collectible, but additionally see it as one thing like advantageous artwork as effectively. Music hasn’t even been checked out, to me, to my information, as one thing that’s advantageous artwork. So I really feel like even being in Web3 permits us the pliability to have the ability to not solely be this one factor.
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115- certainly one of my favourite outputs to this point pic.twitter.com/16KZPbdCWm
— Ed Balloon.eth (@Ed_Balloon) July 21, 2023
Inform us the imaginative and prescient behind your latest undertaking on Prohibition.
It’s going to be one of many first tasks that’s truly going to show field braids and locs on the chain.
I had carried out a drop on SuperRare known as, Entice Balls on a Loc Tree. It was a music piece and I used to be utilizing my locs, and I manipulated it in a means the place it was like a tree department and I had these balls on it, and it was actually cool. I cherished it. I had just a few folks asking me questions relating to that. It was in a means the place there was a disconnect there. That sort of triggered me. However I didn’t actually need to speak about it.
I’m afraid to speak about it as a result of I’m unsure the way it’s gonna be checked out. As a Black artist, it’s all the time a really troublesome advantageous line between what you possibly can speak about and what you possibly can’t. I used to be afraid, and I wasn’t too positive why. However I did know from these conversations, I discovered myself sort of triggered.
“As a Black artist, it’s always a very difficult fine line between what you can talk about and what you can’t.”
Ed balloon
It brings me again to numerous occasions rising up folks mentioned “Hey, you need to shave your hair, or you can’t have your locs, or you’re not going to get that job, or you’re not going to be able to do this, you’re not going to be able to do that.” What I discovered so odd was that listening to this stuff introduced me again to that place from these conversations on this ecosystem. We have now PFPs of animals sporting durags and I’m like, “Oh did we not know that durags are actually here for hair protection?” There’s a disconnect there.
So this undertaking, I used to be like, “How do I talk about this now?’ I said, “We’re going to code box braids and locs and we’re gonna put these bad boys on the blockchain.” My objective is to be sure that we’re showcasing the wonder on the subject of our hair, the artwork that goes by way of it, the method, and the time. Typically after we get our hair carried out, it hurts. Folks don’t perceive that. I wanna showcase the colours, but additionally how you are feeling dope and contemporary when it’s carried out. It’s these stunning issues that I used to be attempting to deliver to life by way of this undertaking. That is artwork to us as effectively. We love the designs that we make with them. We love how they sway within the wind. That is us and settle for us for us.
Oh my goodness!! the ED RUN COLLECTION IS TAKING OFF!! Oh my gosh ! Welcome new members to the fam!!! FYI – 50 p.c of secondary gross sales go to purchasing artwork kind underrepresented artists within the house !
— Ed Balloon.eth (@Ed_Balloon) July 29, 2022
What’s the mission of The Ed Balloon Generational Wealth Fund?
I actually need to have the ability to be able the place I should purchase artwork from artists of shade, particularly Black artists on this house, as a result of sadly, it’s nonetheless very troublesome for artists of shade to promote their artwork. So I [decided] I have to discover a means the place I can have this fund that goes to help that.
I felt like this was a means additionally to be an instance for different tasks that need to incorporate this as a result of I wasn’t seeing that. It’s one thing that I nonetheless champion and attempt to do as a lot as I can with it. I additionally nonetheless attempt to give visibility to the artists that we do gather as a lot as I can with my platform.
“A lot of platforms don’t know how to move in this space currently.”
Ed Balloon
What’s your spicy take on the NFT house?
Possibly it’s not that spicy, however I nonetheless suppose numerous platforms don’t know the right way to transfer on this house at present. They’re doing issues which have already been carried out, assuming that it’s going to assist them. However, that solely traps them, as a result of the house is all the time altering. If you happen to’re not in a position to have your personal imaginative and prescient, you then’re not gonna have the ability to transfer with this house. My objective is to assist however I really feel like numerous occasions they’re not attempting to go to artists, which is bizarre as a result of we’re the voices of reasoning and we’ve got numerous the imaginative and prescient.
This interview transcript has been edited for concision and readability.
For the complete and uncut interview, take heed to our podcast episode with Ed Balloon.
