Riding the Mother Bucking Bull Market(place) on Rodeo Jan 31 - Apr 30, 2025
The Museum of Wild and Newfangled Art (mowna) presents a curation of Rodeo, a creative social network at the intersection of art, technology, culture, finance, and community
New York, NY - Jan 31, 2025 - The Museum of Wild and Newfangled Art (mowna) is excited to announce the museum's 12th exhibition "Riding the Mother Bucking Bull Market(place)" an audacious exhibition featuring the works of 63 visionary artists. This pop-up exhibition will run from January 31st through April 30th, 2025, showcasing a unique collection of wild and newfangled artworks that explore the intersections of art, technology, culture, finance, and community in today's digital landscape of Web3 social.
Rodeo, branded as the creative social network, is a Web3 social platform where one can post their creations. As opposed to Web 2.0 social media, Rodeo allows creators to generate income directly from their posts. Everything that is posted on Rodeo is stored on the Base blockchain, and can be collected during a 24 hour period for the price of 0.0001 Eth ($0.33 USD). A secondary market is available where posts can be collected outside of the initial period for 5x, 10x, 100x, 500x, or 1000x the initial cost. The posts show up in a neverending scroll where viewers can see the trending work that is being bought. Once one buys a post they are then able to comment on that post to interact with the creator or via direct messaging. The platform is heading into its ninth month and is stewarded by Foundation, a Web3 digital art platform that launched in 2020, working with the Ethereum blockchain.
In keeping with the spirit of the Wild West, the exhibition is divided into seven themed categories that examine contemporary artistic dialogues. Among the vibrant explorations, "ex:cowboy_05" by cap'n stands out as a definitive Rodeo themed artwork, embodying the rugged charm of cowboy culture.
Violet Bond's "Oyster 5/12" flourishes with florals, illustrating the idea that we should all be given our flowers in this digital landscape of opportunity. The timeless floral theme is one that emanates through many artists' works on the platform, such as in the "Small clip for music video" collaboration between Sky Goodman and Beatrice Schleyer.
Notably, we explore the expanded vision of artists like ranxdeer, whose "spc.3" transforms the conventional notion of scale, questioning what their work could become when presented in a larger format. This concept echoes the panoramic view that Benjamin Bardou evokes in "At the Tate Britain" — a sublime swirling signature that prompts us to imagine how art institutions could redefine themselves in the Web3 world.
As the exhibition pushes boundaries, Anna Lucia's thought-provoking piece "Committing To A No-Buying Clothing Year" challenges norms and invites discussions around consumerism and sustainability. celadoor's "documentation of IMG_0741" innovatively hacks iPhone photography to reveal alternative ways of using smartphones to create imagery.
Artists are investigating self-portraiture, such as in Auriea Harvey's "ghost.2001.11.14.12.44.59," a 2001 artwork, which shows that complex and thoughtful self-portraits are replacing the selfies of Web 2.0. The work was made available for exhibition through a loan from the awHECK collection, as the museum was unable to acquire the work on the secondary market. We celebrate the community fabric woven by collectors and creators alike, featuring pieces such as "GIDDYUP" by collector and community builder mr. kei, which exemplifies how self-portraits and meme culture have evolved in the Web3 space.
"Factories 128" is part of a series by lassinger that explores what can be made in the intersection of the digital and physical spaces, with over 200 dynamic ai videos pushing the narrative of what is being created and what is real in the rapidly changing art world.
Eder Cruz's provocative "WHEN GLB'S?" urges Rodeo to consider the new mediums that Web3 offers beyond simple images and videos, enriching our experiences through 3D glb models and interactive software zips. Web3 platforms should consider the spatial web, and allow their creators to post software, which makes for a much more interesting web experience than the one that came before it.
The impact of generative art is explored through Waiting To Be Signed's "MEGA.png," raising crucial questions about financial sustainability and compensation in the constantly evolving space of digital art. With all of the money in the cryptocurrency space, surely some of it can go to pay livable wages for key builders, entrepreneurs, and marketers, some of which are leaving the space for more stable income in traditional workforces.
As we traverse through these wild expressions, ¢ιвєℓℓє's "OROBOROScreenshot 2024 08 19 at 16.17.59" immerses us in the social dynamics of Web3 platforms. ¢ιвєℓℓє uses Web3 socials as SOCIALS, and all socials as art material for bodies of work that get formalized... Sabato's cheeky "Grl with a Pearl Fart" adds a layer of playful commentary, acknowledging the balance of humor and serious critique in this vibrant new ecosystem.
Meanwhile, AURA Agent takes a unique turn in an exploration into ai curation. While many builders have focused on ai art creation, far fewer have tackled the complex challenge of ai art curation. mowna built it's own ai art curator in 2021 that curator its exhibition "This Show is Curated by a Machine 🤖".
"Experiments pushing boundaries" by 1xharsh introduces us to the potential of cryptocurrencies to galvanize their communities, as we ponder how these newfangled financial models can support artists. The single post which launched the first token on the Rodeo platform has outsold all of the artworks by all of the artists, which reveals the priorities of the space, and makes us question what we are supporting, and why, and hints at a large untapped market for the Rodeo platform. These themes invite us to reflect on the algorithms governing our digital spaces, calling for reforms that promote equity and sustainability.
"By bringing together this diverse array of voices, we hope to inspire radical action and meaningful discourse on the culture of digital art and Web3 social," said mowna co-founder cari ann shim sham*.
"There has been controversy around artists selling and collectors buying artworks for thirty cents, but Rodeo is showing promise in generating additional revenue streams for creators. It will succeed if it embraces and champions the rich art, tech, and financial communities of Web3, but will fail if it pursues the old broken models of Web 2.0 social media," says joey zaza, who also founded the museum.
With community at the forefront, mowna's resident artists serve as critics and commentators, providing vital insights into the intricacies of Web3 social and the digital art world. Their critiques will foster important discussions about the evolving role of art in our lives and the systems that govern and price them.
The exhibition will take place both at the digital museum at mowna.org, as well as in the spatial web metaverse of the Loop Art Critique. mowna is happy to continue its ongoing partnership with Loop, where the museum recently joined the Loop Studios as a museum-in-residence. As the internet moves away from the 1:1 square aspect ratio and infinite scrolls and into multidimensional connected rich experiences, art, its exhibition, and experience are headed into radically different areas than what many understand them to be. The Loop partnership allows mowna to explore these wild and newfangled ways, while working with an organization that places art in high regard.
"Riding the Mother Bucking Bull Market(place)" forms part of mowna's celebration of its fifth anniversary. The upcoming 2025 mowna Biennial, the museum's third, invites artists from around the world to submit their wild and newfangled artworks that are pushing boundaries. As always, the current call for submissions for the mowna Biennial is free, and can be seen at the following link: https://www.mowna.org/submit.
Join us for this wild adventure that promises to challenge perceptions, ignite imagination, and celebrate the vibrant possibilities of art in a rapidly changing digital landscape.
Artists:
✷), 1xharsh, Amalia Versaci, Andreas Gysin, Anna Lucia, Aoife O'Dwyer, Aura, AURA Agent, Auriea Harvey, Bárbara Bezina, Benjamin Bardou, Burka Bayram, canek zapata, cap'n, catswilleatyou, celadoor, Chloe `✦ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹, Chris Coleman, ¢ιвєℓℓє, Danielle King, Dawnia aka Letsglitchit, elbi, Ellie Pritts, Empress Trash 🌈🖤, Estelle Flores, Foodmasku, hypereikon, kcdilla, lassinger, LeChatN0ir 𓎬, Linda Dounia, Linda Loh, littlecakes, Luiz André Gama, luluxxx, Manytle x P1, Marcelo Soria-Rodríguez, Matt Perkins, 𝖒𝖎𝖈𝖆𝖍 𝖆𝖑𝖍𝖆𝖉𝖊𝖋𝖋, mikegee, mr. kei, Nuv1914, Nygilia, Olga Fradina, Peter 'pet3rpan', Pierre Gervois, ranxdeer, rapha, Riniifish, Rinna ♥︎ 猫りんな🍎🌸🐱✨, Rocco Gallo, Rose Forsyth Jackson, Sabato, Sahar Moussavi, Salawaki, Sasha Katz, Sasha Stiles, Scorpion Dagger, Seba Cestaro, Sky Goodman x Beatrice Schleyer, Spøgelsesmaskinen, Violet Bond, Waiting To Be Signed
About mowna
The Museum of Wild and Newfangled Art provides an international online platform for the most timely, diverse, wild, and newfangled artists in the world. mowna empowers artists by exhibiting their artworks, and paying them, by curating, displaying, and supporting art through the incorporation of innovative technologies. mowna offers the preservation of artworks through an online collection, and commits to providing the public with an accessible space for art from a diverse range of global artists. mowna is a humane and sustainable museum that allows for equity, experimentation, individuality, and authenticity, and seeks to create an ever changing, fun, thoughtful, beautifully designed space to encourage awareness and mindfulness for the highest good of all. The museum was co-founded by cari ann shim sham* and joey zaza in 2020 and is based in New York City.
About Loop Art Critique
Loop Art Critique (LAC) merges the concept of gesamtkunstwerk with digital and traditional art critique, inspired by historic salons. It fosters deep, artist-to-artist conversations through a jury-selected process which focuses on art not artist backgrounds. Over four weeks, these discussions lead to a joint curatorial project, contrasting with shallow social media exchanges. LAC promotes privacy and meaningful interaction, reinventing digital art critique in a secure, supportive community space.
Members of the museum enjoy benefits such as entry to exhibitions, access to the museum's digital art collection, and other perks. Support for mowna via membership can be found at https://www.mowna.org/members
To experience mowna please visit https://www.mowna.org
Riding the Mother Bucking Bull Market(place) Press Assets
The Museum of Wild and Newfangled Art is open to working with press that places the interests of humanity among its priorities.
Images, video, and interviews available upon request.
For press pass and inquiries please send a message to info@mowna.org