Thread by @sterlingcrispin

I don’t mean this in a derogatory way, but I find it fascinating and bizarre that nobody talks about @muratpak ‘s integration of marketing itself into their work. I asked @Sothebys + @niftygateway clubhouse about this relationship to hype beast culture and marketing-as-medium,

but perhaps my question wasn’t pointed enough. With artwork like #PakWasHere and Oracle (RT to win) it’s obvious that marketing is at least 50% of the equation. I think their work borrows more from Supreme and Daniel Arsham manufacturing demand, than from conceptual art.

I think some of this stuff is interesting, but it’s totally missing the point to say “Pak makes animations” or “Pak makes interesting conceptual NFTs” what Pak is making is demand. They’re manufacturing demand as a medium, and their roots in advertising should make that obvious.

This is all a direct evolution from social media, likes and shares are perverse incentives that drive artists towards making ever shinier things. We are all A-B testing our creativity by (un)consciously producing what gets the most engagements. NFTs are a hyper-model of this

but obviously here The Game is to produce the greatest economic demand, which may not be the shiniest object. I’m not even saying this is explicitly bad or good. But to not understand this is to not understand what Pak is doing. Marketing and hype is the medium, and the message.

My point in all of this, mostly, is that I think you all know this already. But for some reason it’s taboo to say out loud and I think that’s silly.