Blockchain, the technology used by cryptocurrencies, has taken the world by storm and artists and entrepreneurs are exploring its possibilities to secure files, make them shareable and at the same time finding ways in which digital creators can monetize their content cutting out the middle men out of the equation.
Joachim Lohkamp
Joachim Lohkamp is founder and CEO of Jolocom, a company dedicated to the development of decentralized tools, and is also an active member of the think tank on collaborative economy OuiShare. With a long career in the entrepreneurship world, Lohkamp has worked as a consultant in the automotive industry (Fiat, Mercedes) and aviation (Lufthansa, Laudaair, Finnair, LTU, Swissair). Jolocom develops tools to protect data (chat messages, email and all types of files), tying them to the identity of the creator or owner and, at the same time, allows to share in multiple ways. Jolocom uses technologies widely discussed in the media, such as peer-to-peer or blockchain.
Lars Holdhus
Unsurprisingly, Lars Holdhus is one of the first artists that sees the cultural potential of Blockchain, a system of data distribution used for cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. The work of this Norwegian artist provides a deep immersion in technology. Issues such as automated learning, artificial intelligence, coding and cryptography are present in his visual and musical works.
His latest creation as visual artist is Infected Objects #1 Abstraction, exhibited at the Milan Swiss Center, the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo and the MoMA PS1 center. Holdhus releases his music productions under the moniker TCF for labels such as Liberation Technologies. His forthcoming album will be released by PAN.
Lars Holdhus will share his ideas on decentralizing the Internet as a social space and cultural distribution space, including the economic factor to pay the artists without intermediaries.