A Scrappy, Make-Something-Out-Of-Nothing Approach To Art
“NFTs changed my life. Minting my first batch of NFTs, I knew that I would be able to have an art studio, something I had dreamed of for a really long time.”
“I’m proud of the integrity behind my work. I’m proud of my scrappy, make-something-out-of-nothing approach to art. I’m proud of my lack of artistic pedigree and formal art education.”
You’d expect nothing less from a woman – and Claire Salvo not only champions women’s place in web3, but her art and attitude speak out against that.
She is outspoken on Twitter about collectors who are just out to flip work or buy only from a small pool of artists. About racial bias, homophobia, misogyny, and unethical behavior, she believes that the cycle of being bullied into silence has to change and that it’s perfectly okay to talk about uncomfortable things.
There is absolutely nothing ‘scrappy’ about Claire’s art. She studied Communications in college and worked as a DJ and producer in the music industry. At 26, “having a quarter-life crisis,” she returned to art. She moved to LA, freelanced in PR, and produced a lot of commissioned work. Then in 2021, NFTs came along in a big way. “NFTs changed my life. Minting my first batch of NFTs, I knew that I would be able to have an art studio, something I had dreamed of for a really long time.”
Digital art is perhaps only 5% of Claire’s work. “When I make something, there is a physical component. I usually include the original work or a 1-of-1 hand-embellished print – it’s part of why people like what I do. It’s really cool to see my art hanging in someone’s home who a year ago didn’t know me.” Claire loves the idea of digital provenance and being able to see where art started and whose hands it has passed through.
Signing up on Dall-E, Claire ended up drawing the image that she had generated in ballpoint “and that to me feels like an interesting marriage.” Claire isn’t threatened by AI, feeling that there is an X-factor with physical work, made by hand, that cannot be replicated by a machine.
Claire feels that the culture of web3 produces an expectation that the value of work is going to appreciate significantly in a really short period of time, whereas in the traditional art world, it can take a lifetime for the value of work to increase. Claire has never experienced that with people who have collected her work traditionally or through Instagram. The possibilities are endless!
