Zak Tustont NFT Artist Interview | NFT Culture | NFT and crypto art Interviews and more
Zack is a great talent and a rising artist in the NFT space. Similarly a big supporter of artists and collectors, we are honored to sit down with her and learn more about her background and why she entered NFT.
Where are you coming from
I come from a beautifully diverse family (geographically) – Dad was born in France, Mom was born in Britain and they met in the Middle East. I was born in Canada but spent my adolescence (8-21) in a small town on the East Coast (USA). I was later deported by US immigration in 2012 and started a new life in Canada again, but that’s another story.
Can you tell us about your background and what led you to become an artist and finally experiment with NFTs?
Music has always felt like nature to me – I’ve been writing bands / music since I was 10 years old; So it’s easy (for me) to capture emotions and vibes through that medium. My word history now goes back almost 12 years (gigging, studio, live sound, FOH mixing for summer festivities), it’s a big part of my life.
For the visuals আমি I think I started doodling and painting out of necessity কিছু in some ways it really helped to pick up some of my hyperactive imagination. Next came the digital side which is a learning curve for me, but so fruitful.
I arrived at NFT Space in February 2021 – in collaboration with an artist I met on Instagram, Jeremy Torman (tormanjeremy). His beautiful AI stylegun needed his sound design to work, and the next thing we know is that “Knock” sold for over 4 ETH. I had no idea what NFTs were at the time, I had been in Crypto for 6 months before that. Needless to say, it was a hell of an acquaintance with the NFT.
When did you first mint your NFT? Which platform did you choose and why? I created my first piece in March 2021 at the Foundation. After being invited to FDN by a friend and highly talented abstract painter, Mo Tunke (@paschamo).
This is a special part to me, Mentalist420, owned by French Inhale, who once told me that it serves as a measure of the progress of my journey in the NFTs. The audio for that piece was made to ground the listener in moments তাই so some elements weave in and out of incoherence to keep the listener present. Making it felt like a kind of healing ritual, if it made sense.
French Inhale NFT
Can you tell us one thing you can’t live without? (And why)
I can’t live without creative outlets.
Without an outlet, I think I’m short circuit- too much input and not enough output.
Who is your favorite artist (s) (NFT)? What resonates with you about their style? Who is your favorite NFT artist? What makes this artist unique?
Esto Andrews / Alex Pardi / Salvador Dali
They all lean towards ambiguity. This is something that I have been attracted to in my creative process.
Poison is coming out of my head.
NFT artists, there are many that I can list but the top 4 will be
Andres Zigelboim (res andreszighelbo1) There are some of the most thought-provoking art I’ve seen since entering this space. He takes you on a mind-bending journey with his work.
Laura (auraLauraDoodlesToo) A very talented digital / traditional painter and a true community leader. Laura, with her team, is creating a 3D Metaverse Sound Adventure game, uralauralliagame.
SenΞ Paul (3 Sen3Paul) One of the best cinematic 3d artists in space, his “Pick Your Own Last” BOT series was the first of its kind and still touches my mind.
LaserLudewood (serlaser_lew) A strange laser wizard. Makes his own tools and sets up the mirror / glass / fog environment of this other world in his closet.
What compelled you to follow the NFT industry?
After a few months in the community, and meeting a lot of good-natured people – it felt like home to me.
My personal pursuit of success in the NFT industry- this place has given me opportunities that I would never have gotten out of here. Coming here I felt like I finally had a chance to fight.
What is a part of the NFT industry that you bought but want to miss? My dear friend RΞY’s (reylarsdam) early work, his 1/1 work on Thursday (unavailable to me) now hahaha If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go? Why this location? South Pole to see what Admiral Byrd is talking about.
What are your other passions besides art? Why?
I can be the best parent and partner. This is something I will always work on. What I do here I could not do without the love and support of my family.
Do you create other forms of art?
I love drawing and writing songs.
How do you come up with your specific style?
For a long time. I use the tools and software I use to work for myself and keep my creativity alive. Many happy accidents
How has your style evolved over the years?
Of course, I’ve spent the last decade honoring my Sonic brand with my sound design. Working with other artists is where the fastest and most groundbreaking evolution takes place.
My visuals have come a long way in getting to where I am today. Exams will always be my best teacher because exams end only when the need is met. If I continue to push the growth within myself, there is never a need to stop.
When Jeremy and I first started selling that part of the collaboration, I wanted to learn more about machine learning. I am discovering how I can use my archive of vector art, music and sound design skills to integrate with this powerful coding tool. I spent the whole year of 2021 studying how it works, how to bend this new tool to help me in my creative process. (E.g. using my archive of vector artwork as a dataset to train my own custom stylegun models).
At the beginning of 2022, I decided to change things through my meta-garbage movement and get back to my vector art route.
What was your biggest failure and what did you learn from it? Anything else you want to share?
My biggest failure is taking too much external influence and ignoring my insights.
I started this year with the mentality of just having fun and creating my own moments without trying to land myself in the right place, at the right time and in the right light. It is essential to believe in my gut for how I work. Which leads me to the last thing I wanted to touch on- give me a little insight into my meta garbage project (why I call it my industrial garbage).
Context:
When our band was gigging at FT আমরা we were definitely a “band band,” which meant our music had an acquired taste যেমন like Tool or Incubus. So after we perform our set, we get rare applause from an overall unprepared crowd. One night I came up with an idea to ask the crowd to ‘boo’ us after each song. People have liked it and will really get it. It continues and we become the band that everyone likes to hate.
At the end of each night- people would stand and clap regardless because they had a great time, so it was a win for everyone.
***
I am basically applying this concept to this project. So I asked a group of artist friends and my collectors to record their video in response to my garbage industry – the only rule was to record them before opening the folder. So instead of sending them my art- I send them a random weird picture- to get a normal response to shock, confusion and / or annoyance. I think we have 14 videos so far, and I’m using those 14 videos as promotional material to get people’s attention on the project. It has been hysterical. I didn’t have more fun than doing any kind of project.
What is coming in the near future?
The way I run meta-garbage programs has three levels:
- Trash – version of known origin (sold out … for now)
- Garbage – 1 / 1’s FDN (Current)
- Garbage – 1/1 Large Format with Unlocked Clothing (Platform TBD)
If you could collaborate with an artist, who would it be?
It’s a tough subject, I always just reach out to my favorite artists and think that will work well together, stylistically. With that said, Xsullo.
Do you have any upcoming drops?
I will publish 1/1 available in my “(industrial) Garbage” collection – which will unlock the 3rd level of the project after it is sold – wearable waste.
I won’t talk too much about it but I’ll tell you that the King of Midtown (the first 1/1 garbage collector) has seen / accepted the prototypes and I’m so excited to show everyone what I’m making (except for the shoes)
Where can collectors find your work?
Website link:
https://ift.tt/3pmgy0M
Social bonds:
NFT Marketplace Link:
Meta-Trash:
https://ift.tt/GzIBhNP
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