Interview: Ian Anderson | Designer Republic NFT Culture | NFT and Crypto Art Interviews and more
Lovely to connect; What shall we call you?
Ian Anderson / The Designers Republic
/ Divine Rights / TDR Bingo.
Can you tell us about your background and what led you to experiment
Including NFT?
It is written in the scriptures…
“Ian was born in Croydon (formerly the future city of London) before England won the World Cup. He fought in the Punk War 1976 — 78 with Infra Red Helicopters in Bracknell New Town and studied philosophy at Sheffield University 1979 — 82. He is self-taught as a designer Designer Republic was announced on Bastille Day 1986 in the steel city north of Sheffield, dubbed SoYo North of Nowhere (where every Wednesday is)” TDR is an ‘internationally renowned pop-cultural hyper-creative design studio’ focused on Graphic design and brand communication across all media, driven by strategic thinking, problem solving (thinking and doing) and strong narrative.Playstation flagship game Wipeout / Wipeout2097 / Wip3out, Warp Records, Aphex Twin, R&S Records, Pop Will Eat Itself, Autechre TDR was regularly called ‘the world’s most copied design studio’ in the 90’a / 00’s after working with Sony on , the Orb, an issue of the iconic design magazine Emigre and exhibiting at NFT in NYC etc… We have just launched our first NFT collection, TDR Bingo — a ‘numbers game’ collection of 253 X 001/001 artworks. Each piece is unique and rarity with embedded collectible features and exclusive to TDR Bingo. The works are remakes/remodeled (a bong maybe reusable) Bespoke number-based designs referencing iconic TDR output – from commercially unavailable TDR fonts to high-profile hijacked digits – from the future to now. When did you mint your first NFT? Which platform did you choose and why? I have not personally minted any NFTs; I’m not sure I really understand the whole thing, why I’m doing this… and why I’m working with the people at Divine Rights, who created NFTs and have more insight into what they’re doing. We are taking a DIY approach minting through our own website, using a bespoke smart contract – on our own terms, to learn/inform/understand, to be in control. Lead, not follow. This is a test where we can learn from our community. Each of the 253 pieces in the collection is unique, we are not dealing in multiples. We are learning the pros and cons of this approach as we go. We’re realizing that we need community support to grow the community which is why I’m really excited to see the events and physical consumables we hope to roll out as the project develops.
Can you tell us one thing you can’t live without? (and why)
An audience.
Who is your favorite NFT artist? What makes this artist unique?
How do you define ‘favorite’? Based on what criteria? I don’t have a favorite — have too many criteria and can tick boxes I don’t feel like ticking. I don’t understand why people impose hierarchy on personal taste and creativity. I’m more interested in options, in everything multiplied by everything, and the possibility of liking or disliking anything and everything whenever / wherever depending on mood swings and/or changing context. I like conflict. The twilight zone between yes and no, between perspectives, between falling in love and being completely turned off by the same thing at the same time… I don’t feel the need to resolve that scene, but I want to celebrate and explore it. I’m more interested in art than artists, digital or otherwise, and more in ideas than idealists.
What made you pursue the NFT industry?
The TDR mantra has always been “Communicate by any means necessary”, and NFTs provide another avenue to connect/provoke a response from an audience. In the past we have taken every opportunity to explore different avenues, different ways of working with different people/different clients. As such, it is somewhere between an experiment (to see what happens) and an experience (to learn things we don’t know). What interests me the most is the community potential that will hopefully grow out of NFT… who knows where it will take us, and ideally, for me, some direction will be determined by community feedback/desires etc… Ironically, digital work is physical. May manifest itself in the form of… TDR Bingo March, a TDR Bingo Book (We have an idea to engage collectors and what they do with their NFTs as part of the story if the wind blows this way.) The NFT thing is an adventure. . Who knows what will happen… I truly hope we can build a community that can work together.
What is one part of the NFT industry that you bought but wish you missed?
I’m not a producer but a consumer but… I wish I bought ‘Dormitory Town is Full of Twats’ from TDRBingo. Most of the art I own is precious to me because it was originally a gift and has personal gravitas. Everyone has their own connection to art — what they like, and for some, what they own, and why… which is just as it should be — just as every artist has their own motivations for what they do and why they do it.
If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go? Why this position?
It depends on why I need to go wherever I go. I am fortunate that The Designers Republic over the last 35 years has taken me all over the world consulting and designing for clients, contacting galleries for TDR exhibitions, opening TDR stores, speaking at conferences and on lecture tours, and running workshops at art schools, conventions and festivals. Wherever you are, the destination’s grand gestures are less important than how you spend your time and who you spend it with. It’s somewhere between the stories you create and the inspiration you take It’s as much about making time as it is about taking time. It’s not the place about the people. Ultimately, it’s about coming home, whatever that means.
What are your other passions besides art? Why?
The irony is that as a creative (an artist or a designer, or both – you decide) I ultimately have no passion other than feeding into what I do. I’m obsessed with music, I love architecture porn, I can spend days watching sci-fi and crime dramas, I read psychology books (why we do what we do), I love hearing what my kids are doing (they’re a part of it now I’m growing up too fast to want to be), I support Sheffield Wednesday FC. I am a people watcher, and I like to travel to see/see people from different situations/cultures etc. I really like the idea of switching off and doing nothing… I might be passionate about it, but I don’t envision it happening until I’m too old to enjoy the space it creates!
Do you create other forms of art?
Yes (but it depends on how you define art). TDR has sold prints/books/fashion/homeware/merch etc. since the 90s, sometimes through our online store (temporarily closed), sometimes through our physical shop The People’s Bureau of Cat Street, Harajuku (Tokyo) (closed), Sometimes through FB/Insta. TDR has held over 50 ‘solo’ ‘physical’ exhibitions around the world as well as contributed to over 100 group shows (see Ginza Graphic Gallery 2011). The original series includes Atoms Vector Pixel Ghosts / Hello, What’s It Me You’re Looking 4 / AZTDR / New and Used / Customized Terror / Synesthesia / Oh Aah TDR / Work by Consume Die (Fo-Koo Corporation) etc. Designer Republic has never been just a design studio, more a state of mind, indulging us whenever the mood takes us… which brings us here, to be with you.
How do you come up with your specific style?
This is a strange question.
How has your style evolved over the years?
I hope so too. For a designer it’s a slightly different question. There are factors beyond self-expression to consider in how we approach the problems we solve This means it’s more a question of attitude/approach/application, and how it evolves and navigates the territory between clients and audiences. I think of TDR as a filter. The filter has certain characteristics — the way we think, the way we solve problems, the aesthetics of how we communicate our solutions to problems, how we balance the subjective and objective, etc. These are relatively constant variables based only on human personality. The variables involved at any given time (being who we are) are the people we work with, and our relationship with/with them, and whatever they bring to the table, and what they want out of it… what the client wants to say, and how their audience It wants to hear the excitement in him.
What is coming in the near future?
A new shop is coming soon with my friends at Shop Will It Itself… so it should be more organized, easier to order and have more re-issues and special editions with new releases / new old releases / new designs / tees / sweats / books / Final pieces pulled from print and archive… There will also be a separate TDR Bingo “outlet” and we’re working on some interesting collaborations with the good folks at Ghostly…
TDR Bingo will be on display at the NFT Liverpool Show in August, thanks to @hushart and @mondoir. ‘The Future Is Not What It Used To Be’ is the title of the piece in the exhibition. There are always plans for a TDR show… any ideas where we can do one? Or more? Always ready for talks and workshops…
If you could collaborate with one artist, who would it be?
Everyone. Nobody does.
Do you have any upcoming drops?
TDRBingo®. Eyes down!
A project powered by visitors to TDRBingo®. Reclaim #TheEther and help TDR fight the Blas! Be a part of the community,
Connect with TDR and gain priority access to Divine Rights Superpowers? Exclusive merchandise? Physical limited edition? Cooperation? in-
Individual events? Consumer information?
The future is neither/or…
For now, a Divine Rights NFT ‘allows you to be the sole owner of a digital TDR product, with proof of ownership’.
Time and forever more.
Yours permanently until you decide otherwise.
Buy/Trade/Collect/Swap/Sell… Try it — you might like it.
Minting already live?
We’ve already rolled out minting to people in our Discord community – we wanted to make sure early joiners had the first chance to buy. Minting is currently exclusively open to everyone TDRBingo’s NFT batches are made available, you can mint at our website http://www.tdrbingo.com. Each NFT has a unique title and you can select one from the titles shown in pink. They turn black when sold, and then you can trade them on the secondary market.
They each come with their own coded identity, such as ‘ankle deep in jibber jabber’ or ‘what I want is what I want’. one of mine
Favorite title is ‘Candy Pants Lives in a Skip’. The artwork is not visible at the time of sale – we are creating this project for people curious enough to explore with us. It’s a leap of faith to join. Once all the pieces are cut, the unique design will be revealed – remember, these hand-crafted, exclusive designs use the original TDR font referencing the iconic TDR output. Each artwork represents a number from 1 to 22. What numbers and styles do you mint – how’s your luck? Eyes down!
Anything else you’d like to share?
Sounds like shared care.
Where can collectors find your work?
Website link:
http://www.tdrbingo.com
Social Bonds:
Discord: https://ift.tt/5Zzf0mM
TDR Bingo Twitter: https://twitter.com/TDR_Bingo
The Designers Republic Instagram: https://ift.tt/1DkSZov
Ian Anderson Twitter: @iantdr
https://ift.tt/UiVA7oJ
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