Cozomo de’ Medici makes massive donation | NFT CULTURE | Web3 Culture NFTs and Crypto Art

by James · February 15, 2023

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) has made a groundbreaking move by acquiring 22 NFTs of generative artworks, all of which were donated by a mysterious and prolific NFT collector known under the pseudonym Cozomo de’ Medici. The donation includes NFT collectibles from sought-after generative artists such as Dmitri Cherniak, Cai Guo-Quiang, Matt DesLauriers and Monica Rizzoli, as well as from the Crypto Punk and World of Women collections.

Cozomo de’ Medici was motivated to donate the collection to LACMA by a desire to start a new movement there, similar to the effect William Randolph Hearst had when his donation of hundreds of works of art converted LACMA from a history museum to an art museum. In a recent interview with ARTnews, he said: “I told them about my collection, which tells the story of art on the chain, our development so far. That conversation sparked an idea to donate a significant part of the collection to LACMA that would help get a robust digital art collection there.”

LACMA has taken several steps to promote digital art, including its current exhibition “Coded: Art Enters the Computer Age, 1952–1982” and a Paris Hilton-backed fund to purchase digital artworks by women artists. LACMA CEO and Wallis Annenberg Director Michael Govan said in a press release, “As one of the first museums to support artists’ experimentation with technology, it is fitting that LACMA will receive the first museum collection of blockchain art.”

The donation of Cozomo de’ Medici has made LACMA the first museum to have a collection of blockchain art, a significant milestone in the NFT industry. The Center Pompidou also recently announced the acquisition of a small collection of NFTs, and last November Yuga Labs donated a Crypto Punk to ICA Miami.

Cozomo de’ Medici and LACMA have intentionally referred to these works as blockchain art, art embossed on the blockchain, or art on the chain, as opposed to NFTs. Cozomo de’ Medici believes that the term NFT has a stigma attached to it, and that the digital art world divides into two categories: PFP NFTs associated with speculative mania, and digital art, as generative art projects.

Aside from the donated pieces, LACMA will also include several other works of embossed generative art in its collection. John Gerrard has donated one of his works in the “Petrol National” series, and Erick Calderon, founder of the generative art platform Art Blocks, Tom Sachs, Jessica Wimbly and others have had the NFTs included in LACMA’s collection.

The donation of Cozomo de’ Medici’s collection and the acquisition of other NFTs by LACMA represent a significant shift in the art world’s perception of NFTs and digital art. By acquiring blockchain art, LACMA further cements its position as a pioneer at the intersection of art and technology.

4/ My hope is that this donation helps to forever cement the art movement on the chain in the canon of art history

Paving the way for museums everywhere to hold the greatest digital works together with the greatest physical ones

And inspires us all to continue making history together 🍷⚔️

~CdM pic.twitter.com/6MDRjuDc2u

— Cozomo de’ Medici (@CozomoMedici) 13 February 2023