Michael Joseph Winkelmann (born June 20, 1981), known professionally as Beeple, is an American digital artist, graphic designer, and animator known for selling NFTs.[1] In his art, he uses various media to create comical, phantasmagoric works that make political and social commentary while using pop culture figures as references. British auction house Christie's has called him "A visionary digital artist at the forefront of NFTs".[2] Beeple was introduced to NFTs in October 2020 and credits Pak for providing his first "primer" on selling NFTs.[3][4] The NFT associated with Everydays: the First 5000 Days, a collage of images from his "Everydays" series, was sold on March 12, 2021, for $69 million in cryptocurrency to an investor in NFTs.[5][6] It is the first purely non-fungible token to be sold by Christie's. The auction house had previously sold Block 21, an NFT with accompanying physical painting for approximately $130,000 in October 2020.[7]
Winkelmann started "Everydays", which involved creating a piece of art every day, on May 1, 2007. This project is ongoing and has spanned more than 5,000 consecutive days of digital art creation. Winkelmann has discussed completing a piece of art even on days when it was inconvenient, like on his wedding day and the day of his children's births.[10] The project was inspired by Tom Judd, who drew every day for a year. Winkelmann thought it was a beneficial way to sharpen his drawing skills.[11] In the following years, he focused on one skill or medium per year, including Adobe Illustrator in 2012 and Cinema 4D in 2015.[12] Winkelmann's works often depict dystopian futures.[13] Frequently, he uses recognizable figures from popular culture or politics to satirize current events.[13][14] Some of Winkelmann's works were incorporated into Louis Vuitton's Spring/Summer 2019 ready-to-wear collection.[9]
Louis Vuitton
In 2019, Beeple’s Everydays was featured in Louis Vuitton’s Spring/Summer 2019 Ready-To-Wear collection. Nine Everyday’s were featured in the collection which was revealed during Paris Fashion Week at the Louvre. When asked by School of Motion how he thought the everyday was going to be displayed, Beeple had this to say. “I actually thought they might not end up using them at all. So when my wife and I went to the show at the Louvre, which was just an insane experience, we half expected to not see my work at all. But then a model came out wearing one of my Everyday on her shirt and we were like, ‘Oh My God!’ It was crazy surreal. One model after the next came out wearing something I’d made.”[15]
VJ Loops
Between 2009 and 2019, Beeple created VJ Loops. These short abstract digital art pieces were released under Creative Commons and are free for any use. These have been downloaded millions of times for use at thousands of live events all over the world. The clips are intended as source material for creatives all over the world and number in the hundreds. [16][17]
In February 2021, Winkelmann started selling non-fungible tokens, digital tokens associated with works of art whose ownership is verified by a blockchain.[18][19] The first two Beeple NFTs were sold at an auction at ETHDenver,[19][20][21] and more were sold on Nifty Gateway in November 2020.[22] One of these NFTs, Crossroad, would change into one of two animations depending on the victor of the 2020 United States presidential election; it was sold for $66,666.66 and resold for $6.7 million in February 2021.[23][24] The NFT associated with Everydays: the First 5000 Days, a collage of images from the "Everydays" series, was put up for auction at Christie's on February 25 and sold for $69,400,000 on March 11, 2021. This was the first NFT to be sold by a legacy auction house, and is the first sale at Christie's that could be paid in Ether.[14][25] In March 2021 Beeple called NFTs an "irrational exuberance bubble".[26]
On January 30, 2024 his artwork, made in 2021 in collaboration with TIME, "TIME: The future of Business", previously owned by 3AC, was auctioned at Sotheby's and sold for $177,800.[27]
Beeple, "Human One"
Human One
On 9 November 2021, one of Beeple's artworks (HUMAN ONE) was sold at Christie's for $28,958,000 to collector Ryan Zurrer. The artwork is a 7-foot-high sculpture; a generative work of art, a dynamically changing hybrid sculpture, both physically and digitally. Beeple described this artwork as "the first portrait of a human born in the metaverse."[28] This is the first major work made by the artist that has both a sculptural and NFT component. After the sale, HUMAN ONE was exhibited at the Castello di Rivoli Museum of Contemporary Art in April 2022. This was the artist's debut museum exhibition.[29] Subsequently, the work was shown at the M+ Museum, marking the work's Asian premiere and the artist's first solo show in Asia.[30]
Grand Opening Event at Beeple Studios
Beeple Studios
In 2021, Beeple began building a team and working in various locations around Charleston, SC, before finding a home at what is now Beeple Studios in the Fall of 2021. Beeple Studios is a 50,000 sq ft space in Charleston, SC that houses offices, lab spaces, a white wall gallery, and an immersive experiential space for showcasing digital art, and has been described as “A Weird Mix of Warhol’s Studio and Bell Labs.” The Studio had its grand opening on March 11, 2023 with a large event that had the biggest names in the crypto, NFT, and traditional art worlds in attendance. Since then, Beeple has hosted additional events and is still actively planning and producing live events.[31]
