NFT Utility as an Art Performance using AI featuring Tammy Lovin

Episode Summary

Welcome to the Summer Series of Culture Factor. I’m Holly Shannon.

When I spoke at this year’s NFTNYC, I used my down time to interview the experts about their engagement in the Web3 space. We’ve talked on Culture Factor a lot about *what* Web3 is and *how* it’s being used, but I wanted to try and understand *why*.

Almost every person I spoke to had a similar reason for being part of Web3. They all wanted to help fulfill our most basic, fundamental, evolutionary need: connection.

This is unsurprising. Connection has always been at the core of the web itself. The difference between web 1, 2, and 3 are the methods used, and tech available, to generate connection.

Over the next few weeks, I’m going to explore the methods that artists, collectors, and businesses use to bring about connection. .

I'll break down the whys, not just the whats, of this new digital space we find ourselves in.

Season 4 of Culture Factor is produced by Avery Rogers' Paleblue Studios

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Transcript

Holly Shannon 0:02 

Welcome to the Summer Series of Culture Factor. I'm Holly Shannon. When I spoke at this year's NFT NYC, I use my downtime to interview the experts about their engagement in the web three space. We've talked on culture factor a lot about what web three is and how it's being used. But I wanted to try and understand why. Almost every person I spoke to had a similar reason for being part of web three. They all wanted to help fulfill our most basic fundamental, evolutionary need connection. Over the next few weeks, I'm going to explore the methods that artists, collectors and businesses use to bring about connection, or break down the lies not just the watts of this new digital space we find ourselves in Welcome to culture factor, and I'm so glad that we were able to put this together. Live let me let me actually just jump right in like you. First of all, hi, Tammy. Nice to meet you. 

Tammy Lovin 1:05 

Nice to meet you. And thank you so much for having me. This is wonderful. And I'm I was so excited. I was going through your Instagram feed, and I'm seeing all your arrows like, here's me in Times Square, and it's on loop and, and look, here's another one. And we're like it's across from each other. And like I felt that was like so much fun. I could tell from your posts that you were really excited. Must have been cool for you. Yeah, actually, beforehand, I didn't know that the billboards were going to be exactly opposing each other, which was like, like, such a cute coincidence, it felt it almost felt like a meet cute, be between my art friends, you know, like, Oh, they're facing each other. Holly Shannon 1:50 I love that. I love that. I agree. I agree. So all right. So everything for you is virtual. You were a 3d artist, originally. So you are already working virtually? What type of 3d art were you doing? Tammy Lovin 2:09 Yeah, so I am a 3d Digital Native artists, which means like, I usually work in software that allows me to model and to render my items and my environment and everything that I put in there. So for me, just like transitioning to being a full time digital artist was really handy. You know, it was like, really right there. But as but I also incorporated in my artwork, stuff like AR and VR, which you know, even even if they are like, usually considered a different medium, the fact that I can model something in the NVR, and basically put it back onto my desktop, and go ahead and change some stuff and render it there. It's all basically just like interlaced, so I don't really consider them to be different environments, even though I use different tools for them, you know, they present the same in a way it sounds like Yeah, yeah, for me, for me, they're kind of like this whole digital artworks that I can, you know, just like pool and construct and apply textures and all that. And the mediums just kind of like converge for me, you know, I don't really separate them, as long as they're digital is not like a physical medium, you know, like painting and stuff like that. As long as I'm using digital tools. In my head, they're all like a one big thing. So so I'm assuming then just based on what you're saying that the transition to NF T's, there wasn't really a moment or something that propelled you into that it was just a natural iteration of what you were already doing. And maybe just an opportunity to present your art to a bigger audience that was starting to adopt the NFT technology. Is that right? Yeah, you're, you're quite right about that. But there is one thing actually that I did change in my process, because basically, my audience changed with NF Ts. So I've been in the empty space for about three years now. And when I first started to create for NFT, my first actual digital collection was called crypto rocks. And I made it a specially for the NFT environment, which meant that I made five pieces of each item which were was this like crypto rock, and it was designed to be opened on mobile phones. It was designed to be kept in wallets. And it was basically designed to interact with it on the blockchain. So that was like really different from what I did before when everything I created remained. Just you know, like a 2d kind of thing that you could have you on social media like on Pinterest or Instagram or you know, all the steps, we use the first time when people have some sort of an interaction with, you know, my creation, because like, for instance, one of the things that I added on, when you would purchase this first item from my genetic collection, you would get like a code that you could put in any app that uses jiffy, you know, that has Jiffy integration. And if you would put that code it would pop up, it will pop up like a special set of GIFs, or gifts, you know, whatever you want to call them. That'd be basically only the collectors would have access to. So that's like kind of an interaction, I wouldn't have been able to offer to my collectors if it wouldn't have been for the blockchain and STS. And the same goes for another unlockable that I offered, which was an AR filter. And you will basically get a special dedicated link to it. And with that link, you could access it via Instagram, you know, but it wasn't public, like there was no other way to access that. Now, they're actually you know, it's been like two years or something, and I release them publicly. So like, if you want to, if you go to my Instagram, you can actually see what the collectors saw, which is like an AR filter. And you could do like the rocks in an environment. And you could just like, you know, turn your phone around, and you can see what's you know, you can see the artwork, 3d in AR. But at first it was just dedicated to the collector. So that's something that I've never done before. And it was just like, you know, Blockchain really Holly Shannon 6:39 did that. So it was almost like a catalyst to making your, you know, coming into NF T's it was almost like a catalyst into a bigger pool. Maybe putting you in front of collectors that you wouldn't have before? Or was it a whole different? Was it new? Or were the same people? I'm sorry, I'm asking sort of a jagged question. I guess I'm trying to understand like, did it? Did it create new audiences for you? Or were you already working with clients that got it, and now they were just buying your stuff as NF Ts? 

Tammy Lovin 7:22 

Well, it was really interesting, because they were all brand new, it was a completely new new audience. It was not even just like a completely new audience, it was a completely new territory, because my first collector and like the first, like, I think the first five were actually based in Asia, which before this I have never had contact with. You know, it was like a market that I didn't even think about, it was not open to me. But they found me through clubhouse. And they search for my art, they liked it. They like, you know, the way I would, you know, use gifts, and they aren't like that they thought it was like really cool. So my first collectors were from Asia, which was a market that have never touched base with before. That's phenomenal. Yeah, absolutely. And like the, I mean, it was like a quite a big difference. Because like my clients before, were mostly brands, and individuals were just in viewing only, you know, they would open up my Instagram, they would like and comment, they will see like, wow, amazing work, they would support me like that, but they weren't really collectors or buyers, you know, they were like supporters. And people following my art journey. And now it opened up a whole new you know, marketplace, so to say from actual collectors, which I haven't actually thought before. 

Holly Shannon 8:46 

So as an artist, the feeling that you get from a supporter must be different from the feeling you get from a collector. 

Tammy Lovin 9:00 

Yes, it is very different. In, in by no means I want to like underestimate the support I get from my you know, the the people that follow me on Instagram or other social platforms, but it is a very special connection that I create with a collector, because I feel, you know, maybe it's a bit shallow to say but I do feel maybe a bit more, you know, valued. In terms of an artist I feel like okay, so this person decided to take their hard earned money and actually buy something from me that's going to hopefully stuck with them, you know, because like, you see, there are artists who wish their collectors would resell their art and their, you know, market price would go up. I personally like the way I think my art pieces. I wish people would hold on to them, you know, because they're like, I invested a lot of emotions in them and I put a lot of thought in them because they're usually so For personal, and they speak about a certain journey, some, you know, some some human, very human experiences. And if they choose to let it go, I would like for them, you know, to be to be let go, because maybe they pass through that stage and they're moving on to something else in their life and all that, you know, not not for the purpose of, you know, revenue and stuff like that. So it is a very different relationship with the collectors that I have. 

Holly Shannon 10:27 

I love that what you said, and I, I believe it's a really nice feeling as an artist, I think it's there's nothing wrong with making money. I say that to people all the time, like you need to have that validation too, that your your work can garner a paycheck? You know, it's, it's one thing, if you have full time work that pays you a salary every year and your artwork is merely a hobby, but when you are an artist through and through, and you work day in and day out, this is your craft, this is your salary, it is really right to have that validation. And, and I and I would go so far as to say that I agree with you. Like if somebody sells it, that doesn't necessarily mean that they don't like it anymore. I kind of see it like some somebody buys something from a one of one artist, and they've reached that point where they want to move on and maybe collect other works of theirs as they've grown, or share the good word about them and sell the piece like, sometimes I think those people that sell it also become our brand ambassadors in a way to No, no sure, for sure. 

Tammy Lovin 11:51 

The word of mouth that they spread, you know, their personal experience with my art or with me as an artist, it is some it is in a big way, my business card out there, you know, it's, it definitely defines how other people will see me for sure. 

Holly Shannon 12:09 

Miss your question to me, because I think a lot of people struggle with utility as artists. And you've been more on the technical side of creating your art, whereas I think a lot of NFT artists started from, you know, maybe being a photographer and being behind a camera or, you know, some other type of art where they it was less about the tech, no, maybe they painted and took a picture of something. So you've been really immersed in in the tech side of it. So my question is utility? Did, did you build utility into your work? And if yes, why if no? Why?

 Tammy Lovin 12:50 

That's a great question, actually. And I do have to say that I do have an advantage, you know, because I'm not just digitalizing my artworks they are, they start from scratch with a very well defined story, storyline, actually, and how it's going to unfold now, what's the journey from, you know, from scratch to when it's collected? And what's the purpose of it, once it's reached its final destination in the final collectors wallet, you know, so for instance, the my Jeunesses collection, which was the crypto rocks, their utility was, I mean, first of all, I wanted a link to my collectors, you know, like a direct connection with them, from me to them. Said, second of all, I wanted for them to have fun and try AR and you know that that thing that I mentioned with the AR filter, and be able to have a gift set that only they would use. So there was that feeling of having an extra something along the original artwork that they could only then could use. So it was a bit about you know, so if they would, for instance, if they would see on another story on Instagram, that somebody else is using a gift from that site, for sure that would mean that that other person was also collected from the same collection, you know, so they could bond over that. So I did mean to have utility within the idea of very small community of collectors. I did mean to have utility with the connection that I have, from me, the artist to them the collectors, and of course I wanted to include, you know, like a son kind of thing. I'm not sure it is utility in the, let's say more traditional sense. But I did I did have the idea of utility put in it you know, it was It wasn't just like, you know, here's your JPEG house, I'm staring at it, you know, and also like races I'm now working on already very cool project that it is about a wearable, which I'm actually wearing right now it is an aura ring, which is a smart ring that basically tracks all your bio data, you know, like changes in temperature beats per minute, like from your heart, you know, all that kind of stuff like wearable usually three straps, you know, like a Fitbit or Apple smartwatch or stuff like that. And I'm actually linking that to an artwork. So basically, the collectors are gonna have a very, very special link to meet the artists because they're going to know infos, like how much I slept last night, you know, by how many hours I slept, because of the way the artworks that's going to change, you know, it's going to be through the async art platform where you can basically input that our real time and the artwork changes. So that's kind of like my way of doing utility, you know, it's more like an art performance rather than offering extra perks. It's more like an insight into my life. It's, it's generally about having a small community of collectors and a very special relationship with that. 

Holly Shannon:

Tammy, I have a question. Maybe I'm, I didn't understand something. So is this like a brand collaboration with the aura ring that you're implementing this with? Or are you creating a wearable that does a similar thing to them. 

Tammy Lovin:

So it's not a brand collaboration with aura per se, but it is my data in basically, I can use it in any way I can, you know, so I can leave the aura app, through code to an artwork that's basically managed by the AC part developers, and they're helping me during the back end, you know, like connecting the data that comes out from the app to the actual artwork, you know, so just so basically, the orange is just a means of getting there, it could have been any any other type of wearable. 

Holly Shannon 17:09 

I like the connection, though, because the smart technology that is in wearables from Fitbit, or rings, and everything is really compelling. It's a whole market within itself. So the fact that you're sharing your, your data, like, you know, I didn't sleep well last night, and how that affects like a piece of art or you know, your recovery. Because you had a few drinks and you know, or you didn't like you got some exercise and ate really well. And you're, you know, your numbers are really high. It's interesting how you're incorporating that we're gonna have to circle back around when you have that, like, in play when that all comes together, because it's a very interesting thing to me. I have, I have often thought that I missed an opportunity I was a jewelry designer for for a better part of a decade or more and why? Yeah, and I had always wanted to do some sort of smart jewelry. So I could have combined those things. So you piqued my interest. I want to see what you end up doing. Now, it's not so bad. I just wanted to you know, it's just so interesting that we have these similar threads. Yeah, creativity. Tammy Lovin 18:28 I actually have a jewelry line in real life, you know, so that kind of like, yeah, I have like a minimalistic jewelry line that's like very, like simple shapes and stuff like that. It's all super, super flew. Um, but I was actually planning to get some MVC chips in them. But then I got my aura ring, I think about a year ago and then I was like, kind of like dwelling you know, should I do this unreal or use like something that's already existing? And I decided to go with something that's already exist. You know, did you create your jewelry doing 3d printing? No, actually, I did not. So, like in terms of my education, I'm actually a product designer at heart. So I have a Bachelor and Master's degree in product and industrial design. And I did work for like, I think almost like six years or seven in this industry. So I used to basically create from scratch concepts of you know, other it was like furniture or light fixtures or stuff like that. I actually did work for a huge studio in New York City for character sheet. I collaborated with them for a while and after I decided to go on my own, you know, not being employed by a studio or a big company. beforehand. I worked in a NetApp company that did actually wearables, you know, in devices like that, I went ahead and just like, you know, starting my own journey, and the first business that I did, and the first project that I did was this jewelry line. And I did start with it from scratch, like drawings on paper and stuff like that. And I met with a workshop that's like, okay, we can do this. This is like, too hard. It's like that, you know. And that's how I it was like a collaboration between me and my ideas and the knowledge from the workshop, you know, what we do well in time, you know, not having breakages and stuff like that. So it wasn't actually made by somebody else, like fabricated by someone else. Yeah, they're actually handmade, each piece is made by a jewelry specialist. I didn't use 3d printing technology. I did thought about it a lot. But I didn't use it, but totally in the future. It's something that I will use, because it's like, very interesting, how you can push the limits of physics with that?

Holly Shannon 21:02  

Yeah, well, you know, the, the file is ones that you work with in 3d. So it's the dot STL file. So these, like, these earrings, are part of my honeycomb collection. So they start off as a drawing. And then I took a picture of it use the JPEG, it went through several layers of software, and ended up being 3d printed in plastic, and then cast in brass and silver, and made into jewelry. So technically, I also did all of the fabrication, because as you know, I kept changing that STL file, so that it could be light enough to be an earring sizable enough to be a pendant and wide enough to be a cuff bracelet. So I absolutely see you going through that exercise, to be honest.  

Tammy Lovin 21:52 

Yes, yes, yes. And it's something that I used to do for my work. You know, when I used to work in tech devices and stuff like that, that's that's kind of like very similar to the process that I would do there as a product designer, you know, when you will have the prototype, we would firstly print the prototype in 3d. And by the way, I did not like when we first connected, I didn't know these were your earrings. And like, I wish I would have said something because like I actually noticed them. Oh, those are interesting. I immediately when they're there. So thank you.

Holly Shannon 22:23  

Thank you. So the funny thing is, because I was reading about your biography and how you are doing fashion clothing, and it sounds to me like you're going to be doing wearables as well. And that's what I was thinking about with with my jewelry. If I converted the STL files into wearables for the metaverse, you and I might be like outfitting people in the metaverse with clothing and jewelry and the whole thing and you know, maybe we'll be their personal stylists together. 

Tammy Lovin 23:03 

Yeah, I was so ready for that. 

Holly Shannon 23:06 

That'd be really cool, right? 

Tammy Lovin 23:07 

You know, funny thing is that I actually started because I have a phygital clothing line. And it's kind of like a funny story, how it how I ended up having the phygital clothing line, because it first started as a regular clothing line, you know, I wanted to have my, my designs, my 3d, my 3d artworks printed on actual garments, you know, and the process behind that was that I had to find a software that would take my, you know, my files, my PNGs or whatever they were, and put them perfectly on a garment, you know, so they would like straight go into printing into the printing machine. So the process is it goes like this. So I create the 3d file. I take the PNG out of it. And then it goes into closed 3d, which is like this software that can handle both digital wearables and physical wearables. There I fit the PNG to the actual layout, you know, where it says like, it has like sizes and everything gets like cut out, I'm using my hands to suggest this because it's like we're looking parts of you know, t shirt and it's like this part. It's like, you know, your your pattern cutting in 3d, basically. Exactly. Yeah. So at first it was like a physical thing. But funnily enough, I had to like digitize it beforehand, you know, because the way it would print I'd have like the blank canvas it just like a huge roll of textile that comes out and it is printed, and then it goes into suing and you know, all the other stuff. Um, and the first challenge that I faced was how do I make it more efficient in terms of budget while taking photos of My garments to put are live. And I was like, Well, how about, we don't actually make them covered, we just render that, you know. So that's how I ended up doing fashion wearables that are digital is because like I accidentally did this four years ago, when I wanted to, you know, adjust my budget to be as small as possible, because it would be so much more expensive to actually print the clothes, you know, hire a model, hire a photographer, all that just for one photo of one outfit, when I could just like virtually close a virtual model, and I could make like, hundreds in a day, you know, and then I had those made as AR filters for Snapchat, and there you go, because I already had them, you know, done for the physical line. So I kind of like went, you know, really backwards somehow, you know, and the same thing happened with my jewelry, because I wanted to also, you know, I didn't have, I didn't want to make so many models in real life. So I would take a picture and post it on my shop, you know, so I went and did them digitally and rendered that. So after having the renders, I also he'll say, like, come out and make them AR filters. So there you go, I have my jewelry done as AR filters. But it's also everything was like it came from a need, you know, the need to cut the budget as much as possible. 

Holly Shannon 26:29 

Now, it's really cool. I guess I'm kind of doing something like that, but I'm not myself doing it. So like, I've been taking my NFTs. And using a company called Printful. And I'm sizing my, you know, the material like I'm sorry, I'm sizing the NFT into different garments, if you will. So like I've been playing with some high top sneakers and yoga pants, and putting it on there. And I realized with the patterning, it doesn't always work. Like what you were saying like, it's almost like a virtual cutting system, if you will. So now I need to get the original layer of one of my NFT's, which is just a background layer, you know, for the full on pant, for example, for the yoga pant, and then take the rest of the NFT in more of its full iteration for like the band or to put in like one spa or whatever. But I'm sort of doing it with other technology that's more accessible to like the whole world versus you can do it yourself because like you're already like schooled in that I'm not so but it's kind of cool idea. 

Tammy Lovin 27:44 

Yeah, but like, you don't have to worry about that at all. Because the way I see things evolving, right now, there are so many, let's say third party software that are onboarding as many people that are not actually, you know, the way you said, it's called in, you know, 3d modeling and stuff like that. And personally, to be honest, for the past two years, I stopped learning new software, because I didn't found like secondary apps, just like a phone app, or and I bet up that do a lot of the work that I used to do, you know, by modeling and trying to fit stuff 3d wise. And now it's like, really, you don't have to have any type of 3d knowledge, let's say for instance, VR, right? You can model in VR, just by taking your joysticks or you know, depending on what what type of VR you have, and you can just like go in gravity skate, just like wave your hands around there. And at the end of it, you can just like export an STL or GBL or something, but not gob. Sorry. And you can just like, put it on open sea and the platforms are automatically automatically let you you know, go through in theory, you can just like turn it around and like play with it. So it can be a 3d type of NFT even though you don't actually know how to model so. And I think the more time goes on in the more all of this starters, progress towards people knowing less and less technical aspects of it. So they open up to as many non designed school schools people, you know, I think it's really going that way. And things are easier by the like, for instance, when I first started doing er, Spark AR was really, you couldn't find tutorials, you couldn't find a community that would talk now there are so many tutorials online, you don't have to know stuff beforehand. You just go there you just like follow all the clicks. It's super simple. And you can even you know, you can even import something from VR that you did Tilt Brush or paint or you know, stuff like that. It's super easy. So don't you worry about that. Nobody worry about that in two years. send everybody I think it's gonna be able, you know, just do like 3d stuff really, really easy. They're like a bunch of apps for that. 

Holly Shannon 30:09

Yeah, I agree I, 

Tammy Lovin 30:10 

my job is being obsolete very soon. 

Holly Shannon 30:13 

No, no, actually, I think the contrary. So I love that a lot of these apps are creating, like an open source technology, that anybody could go in and do maybe the same level of what you're doing. But it's, but you had to build it first. But I think actually, it's going to make people like you even more important, because the, there's always going to be another step, another iteration, another use case for things, there's always going to be that and we're going to need people that are refined and educated in it to spot it, right to see missing, right, like, but you can see it like, if you see how people are using a certain app, and what they're able to do, you're able to see what they can do as well as what they can't do. Like I don't like, and I might not know how to articulate that. I might be saying, you know, hey, Tammy, I'm using this new app, it's really awesome. Look what I'm creating, and I might say something random to you, that you're gonna be like, oh, like, I might say, you know, the only problem is, is I can't, I can't bend anything, but you know, it's okay. Because I, I was still able to create this. And you might be like, Oh, that's what's missing, I could actually create something to do that. Like, I don't know, that's just my thought. Like, I think that people who are technical, you know, as deeply as you are, will always be important. You know, I really feel that way. 

Tammy Lovin 31:58 

I mean, thank you for saying that. And for sure, I do get what you mean, because there's always going to be, you know, a need for developers and all that. Um, I mean, it was sort of a joke, and it wasn't sort of a joke that I'm going obsolete. I mean, look at what open AI is doing right now we've Dally, for example, you know, they're right now at the stage where you can give it an input in text and it gives you a JPEG right? But soon enough, they're going to be able to give you a 3d file, you know, from what you say, you're going to be, you're going to be able to say like, I don't know, I want a hand with a phone, with a background of a forest, whatever, you know, and it's going to give you you know, the whole 3d file for that. And I think my job is like, slowly going to transition from modeler and vendor to more like a curator of AI results, you know, and just like tweaking AI results, which are new gatekeeper, by the way I don't get keep 3d is like, as more people as they can come to the, the more and better the community is going to be, you know, and we can all help each other, develop better, prettier stuff, you know, whatever. But I think my job is actually becoming easier and easier with the help of AI, because I'm going to just do final tweaks, instead of just like starting everything from scratch, which is honestly amazing. Because as long as imagination, you know, it's still human. I, I don't I mean, it is a job that I'm becoming obsolete, in a way, the technical aspect, just like you mentioned, but the output is still going to be, you know, collab between human and machine, which is great. And I'm looking forward that it's gonna be like, like, super interesting times ahead. Right? 

Holly Shannon 33:46

 I love how you said that. And I think what it is, is that we evolve in our strategy, as we get more skills under our belt. And so like you said, you're going to be curating and fine tuning AI, there may actually be a career in that at some point, if you think about it, to maintain that human element in it. You know, for me, I'm, I'm sort of going back and forth. And what I do, you know, like I, I designed and fabricated all my jewelry. And then I introduced a collection using the 3d technology. But I went back and forth, right, so I started off learning 3d technology. And then I created a physical item, a whole physical collection from that. Now I'm going back and implementing that and finding another way to share that product that I made. Yeah, but again, it's like, it's all part of it. Like I don't think I could have gotten Hear, if I didn't realize when I first 3d printed it back in, you know, 2000, whatever it was, like, I never could have thought like, it could be used this way, you know that I would be putting it as a wearable. It's because I've been exposed to NF T's and Metaverse conversation. So I think our work informs our work. And I think having that human element in it to build strategy, in our mind, is the only reason why it comes to fruition. 

Tammy Lovin 35:33 

Yeah, I absolutely love that point of view. And I'm like, plus one about Euro, just like, I think it's really interesting because like, for for both of us see, like, the process went like, it went, like it went one way, and then it kind of came back and took that work and re transformed it into something else. And it's really nice to be able to use all of what you're what you've created, you know, because like, I had that digital part that remained for that time. And only, you know, the back end of it, like nobody knew, you know, how I actually created those photos, you know, nobody knew that it was actually virtual clothing. Because my purpose at that point was like, nobody should catch up on the fact that it is virtual clothing. Whereas now, people are like, interested in showing that they're virtually clothes, you know, it is purposeful, not I ideally, aesthetically, looking, you know, like, you can see that it's virtual clothing in photos or stories. And that is like, it is purposely done that way. Because otherwise it would just, you know, look like it is a physical clothing. And that's not fun anymore. You know, that's not interesting anymore. So it's like, really interesting how we're also trying to put a cap on that on how, how well it looks how well done it looks, you know, doesn't look realistic, it looks virtually because that's an aesthetic right now. You know, it's like an era everything's looking digital.

Holly Shannon 37:07 no, I think it's funny that you say that, because it's kind of like, so there were trends even swipe the podcast, right. So there was trends and podcasts are where people would have their, you know, face in the art. But then they went through this phase of making it like an animated sort of a cartoonish look. And when I think about, like virtual clothing, they don't really want to look realistic. They wanted to have like a virtual look to it. And yet, when I also think about like painters, there's some that go for that photo realism look. So I think a lot of it is also trends that come and go. And I have a feeling that because people are always trying to make things look perfect. I predict that virtual clothing or items are going to work towards looking as realistic as possible so that people feel like their virtual self is so like mind bendingly perfect, you know, like, I predict that that's probably going to happen, because I just think it's a trend, right? All that's a trend, 

Tammy Lovin 38:18 

for sure, for sure, for sure. But right now, I feel like a lot of people are experimenting with the fact that individual clothing, you don't have to take into account, you know, weight of the materials, or even the materials themselves, you can make, like a dress out of flowing water, like it's been done. And I feel like that's really interesting. Like, I want to wear a dress that's out of flowing water, or shoes that are made of fire, same hairs. 

Holly Shannon 38:48 

Right, can you do that right now. 

Tammy Lovin 38:52 

And I feel like we're gonna have a next step into that when we're going to have mass adoption of glasses that are AR that are going to overlap AR filters. Because I feel like the way we set our avatars now, profile picture, we're going to be able to have like a setting that for anybody that's wearing AR glasses, for anybody that can look at you, you're gonna appear like no matter what you're wearing that day, you're still gonna appear wearing, you know, a dress made of fire, like you're gonna you know, and I feel like that's like a very interesting topic. And I'm looking forward app, you know, at the point where I'm going to be able to you know, just like, say that my avatar in real life is always going to wear a dress made of fire. So anybody that's gonna be you know, it's like walking down the street, you're gonna be able to see people through your AR goggles or glasses or whatever, having you know, I don't know floating orbs above their head or a tiny virtual dog in their, you know, on their shoulder or dresses made of fire and stuff like that, that's gonna be like their default image. 

Holly Shannon 40:04 

I love that. So like, we'll be wearing glasses, I'll feel like I'm in an episode of like, The Hunger Games or something did she like a dress that we had like the fire or something? Like, I think that's gonna be really cool. 

Tammy Lovin 40:15 

I like that I'm really looking forward that you know, having the, you know, like the equivalent of avatars and profile pictures, but in real life, you know, so at that point, I think we're going to be able to just wear like, a body like tight body guard and when that feels comfortable when your body and skin because you're going to be appear to wear a med gala type of loop anyway, you know, so you don't have to bother to actually dress like that. And that's like very eco friendly, by the way. 

Holly Shannon 40:49 

Yeah, that's really cool. I think probably, do you think people will probably like replicate Lady Gaga back would choose to do like the meet, dress or arrive in like a big egg or something? 

Tammy Lovin 41:05 

Like for sure. Like, why not? This is? Let's do that. Let's have all the sudden as we can. Exactly, exactly. No, I think it's really cool. 

Holly Shannon:

Tammy, you're amazing. I you know, it's so funny. You you said at the beginning with your art in Times Square that it was like a meat cue. And I kind of feel like you and I are having to meet cute because we're like on the same page was so much. 

Tammy Lovin:

This is amazing. It was same. Thank you so much for that I feel the same totally. 

Holly Shannon 41:32 

I think we are going to have to collaborate on something at some point. I feel like you and I work on like a different ends of the spectrum and creative in it, like creatively, like how we came to it. But I feel like there's so much synergy. So at some point, I think we're just gonna have to like, chat and create something. 

Tammy Lovin 41:52 

Absolutely love that. Absolutely. 

Holly Shannon 41:56

 I definitely want people to be aware of your art on where can they meant. What's your what do they go? 

Tammy Lovin 42:08

 Well, I think that's a great question, which I get a lot and the way I went about it to say I am having my artwork spread across multiple platforms, you know, so the best way to get to me and to, you know, explore what I do would be through my Instagram profile, and then going to my Link.in bio, and then opening the menu there and just like going towards whatever feels you know, more close to your home or your heart or whatever, you can explore my full portfolio, or just like, go ahead and see my minted collections or like, you know, whatever feels right. So my Instagram profile and my Link.in bio would be the, like, short way to go. Perfect. Well, what I'm gonna do is I'll put that in the show notes for everybody, I think. Really excited. Thank you, 

Holly Shannon 43:06

Tammy. Thank you so much as well. This has been lovely. 

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Season Four of Culture Factor is produced by Paleblue Studios.