- “There is a lot of talent in our countries, and we have to find a scalable way to add these people, because what we have left over is talent.”
- “In this world [NFT] they don’t ask you for studies or cartoons but you need to build a community for your work to be seen.”
- When exposing on Latin America, Alexander Granados expressed: “At the level of talent, impressive. We have nothing to envy to other continents.”
On this occasion, BeInCrypto conducted an interview with Alexander Granados, a Mexican publicist and illustrator of Colombian origin, who shared his experience on crypto art and non-fungible tokens ( NFT ).
Alexander Granados studied advertising at the Jorge Tadeo Lozano University (in Bogotá, Colombia ) and Advertising Art Direction at the Miami Ad School in Miami. He has worked in agencies in NY, Amsterdam, Mexico and Colombia, among other countries.
BeInCrypto: How did you find out about NFTs and what led you to work in that field?
Alexander Granados: I found out in January through some friends. I shared many rooms in the Clubhouse. Suddenly this FOMO of crypto art and NFT collectibles started, but they were all rooms in English.
Instinctively we began to get in and absorb information in an addictive way and make rooms in Spanish and WhatsApp groups to share all the information that was appearing.
BeInCrypto: Why did you decide to work hard on NFTs?
Alexander Granados: I share this world with other work activities. Even today my previous life is mixed with my new WEB 3.0 metaverse life . For example, I have worked for years as a publicist and with agencies in the creative and creative direction area in different countries and, currently many agencies / brands call me as a consultant and creative partner for the NFT projects that these agencies and brands want to launch. .
The possibilities here to create ventures beyond art are endless. We literally have the ability to be leaders and pioneers of an emerging world that advocates decentralization and creates opportunities for everyone, no matter where you come from.
My mission now is how we bring it to the physical world. Every day people from all over the world write to me to help them with that and it is something that is intimidating at first, the deeper the more information there is.
But there is a lot of talent in our countries , and we have to find a scalable way to add these people, because what we have left over is talent, we just need to believe in that.
BeInCrypto: Is the payment that artists receive equitable eliminating intermediaries (art gallery)?
Alexander Granados: I am new to the subject of auteur art. But my mother had been in the art world for years and exhibiting in that environment.
From what I see, it depends a lot on who you know and the “levers” (contacts) that that entails. Contacts limit as far as you can expose.
In this world [NFT] they don’t ask you for studies or cartoons but you need to build a community for your work to be seen. Social networks make this much easier and especially the tools that Twitter, Clubhouse and Discord are implementing . In this crypto world, everyone has a different way of selling according to their creative style and the community that follows.
BeInCrypto: What do you draw inspiration from when recreating your illustrations?
Alexander Granados: I am inspired to create a world inspired by our native cultures of Latin America.
In a world of memes and North American narratives, I like to be inspired by that past that we lost due to the colonization and segregation of our cultures. I am discovering my roots with this exploration and creating a narrative for the future.
My art is activist because I want to inspire all Latinos to explore this lost past through our past and I advocate creating communities of artists who are creating pre-Columbian art and thus reaching other latitudes, outside of our continent with more force.
BeInCrypto: Which NFT artists do you have as a reference?
Alexander Granados: Good question. Because it has been in stages. The illustrations by Olimpia Zagnoli in vector management colors, such as the illustrations by Malika Favre , have impressed me a lot , but also on the pre-Columbian side the sculptures by Nadin Ospina .
And from then on there are several that it is impossible for me to mention. But today what inspires me the most are the pre-Columbian art sculptures from Mesoamerica as well as the pre-Columbian art works from the original cultures of Colombia.
BeInCrypto: How do you see the movement of artists in CryptoArt in Latin America?
Alexander Granados: It is an impressive community, but sometimes a little apart. We need to unite more to make more noise together. Perhaps the lack of English for some is a limitation that prevents your work from being seen as much in other places.
At the talent level, impressive. We have nothing to envy to other continents. Many of the ideas on which this ecosystem is being built today are made by Latinos, such as Decentraland . And there are many others that are on the way.
BeInCrypto: What project are you working on right now?
Alexander Granados: There are several things that I cannot talk about due to confidential matters. Many surprises are coming and I hope you are attentive to my social networks @alexgranados , but what I can tell you is that my genesis as an Artificial Intelligence artist was selected for a Day of the Dead exhibition .
The collective drop will be made with the NFTianguis collective on Friday afternoon by Clubhouse and Decentraland. It will be an exhibition in the metaverse.