Redlion had the pleasure of speaking with Misan Harriman, one of the world's premiere photographers. His perspective on web3's potential to make art a democratized space was inspiring. Check below for the full interview, this quote was a highlight we had to feature:
"I cannot stand intellectual snobbery... as someone who has been lucky in my professional life outside of web3, I've gotten to the 1% of the 1% of photographers in the world.
What that means is that I've been in all the rooms, with all of the top curators of most the leading museums in the world. I have seen the behavior of people in the traditional art world, and yes there are some lovely people. But the amount of gatekeeping and what I call, "Emperor's new clothes," you know, the amount of mediocrity I've seen, in the most powerful rooms made me realize:
'What if the next Jackson Pollock or Gordon Parks, is not as lucky as me?
What if they don't have access to the curators that live in in New York, or London, or Paris?
What a tragedy it would be to have future geniusesāfuture people that are meant to show us the fidelity of the human condition through their artāwhat if they drop their paintbrush, or their camera, or their iPad and take another career? Just because they haven't been chosen by a small collection of people who have never created anything themselves in their lives?'"
There are some artists who "[don't] fit the mold, they don't speak the right language, they have a heavy accent, they have the wrong skin color, they worship the wrong gods, they are women... I could go on all day.
What I love about the irrevocable proof of provenance, and the possibility of smart-contract-enabled art and collectibles, is the democratization of merit-based opportunity for artists that deserve to be supported."
To hear the rest of this talented, humble, and inspirational artist's interview, check out the embedded interview below:
