digital v. physical

welcome to issue #10 of moments, our bi-weekly newsletter. if you’re new here, this is the space where we share product updates, news from our community, and a curation of the best things we’re seeing online and offline. and if you’ve been around for a while, thanks for being a member of our community. you’re among a select group of cherished friends, family, and early supporters.

we’ve been working on a few really exciting updates recently– a completely revamped chat experience, creator communities, and more.

we’re wrapping april with a ton of exciting updates including a completely rebuilt chat experience, creator communities, and ai-based recommendations 👀

what to look out for:

• upgraded chat 💬 – you asked we listened. the chat experience has been re-built from the bottom up with blazing speed, mentions, reactions, and beautiful new gradients. try it out :)

• creator communities 🗣️ – we’re launching 3 new communities for photography, fine arts, and graphic design. collecting the moments unlocks dedicated conversation spaces & opportunities to meet other creators :)

• ai recommendations 💥 – our discover page is now tailored just for you. over time we’ll show you more content we think you’ll like based on what you’ve been browsing - try it out!

our featured creator this week is collage artist taylor luna, also known as @crsxx_bonex. a houston-based creative, taylor infuses his work with symbolism and meaning, referencing nostalgia, pop culture, and his personal experiences. his collages are vivid, multicolored pieces with their own unique visual language. we sat down with taylor to hear more about his practice, the future of digital art, and bringing experiences into creativity.

tell us about yourself

i'm from houston, texas. i've been making art since i was seven. i'm currently working with a company that moves and installs art to and from museums here in houston. it's cool learning how to take care of art in that way and to be near a lot of amazing pieces.

did you grow up in a creative household, or was being an artist something you decided for yourself?

it's kind of funny, the reason why i even started drawing was because i wanted my mom and my grandma to draw dinosaurs for me to color as a kid. they got tired of doing it for me so they taught me how to trace over their previous drawings to do it for myself. so that's where it started, with me trying to learn the shapes of each figure i'm drawing and what images i wanted to trace. when i collage, i pick out the coolest images and forms i can find because the shapes of the forms help me lead into where the viewers eyes go.

where do you source inspiration from?

i try to look at the pivotal points in my life, when my character developed most, and why i am who i am today. i look to my moments of growth and i try to apply what i’ve gained from that to the collage i'm making.

the last piece i just did had a 70s vintage car theme — i picked the 70s because it was nostalgic for my mom and working on magazines was nostalgic for me. i wanted to bring that nostalgia out while also talking about how life moves pretty fast. the title of the piece is “life goes by fast”. it’s also a play on words in what you see. i used cars because they represent speed visually. i use reflective paint on top of the letters because it gives the same gloss effect that we get looking at pictures. i wanted to recreate that feeling of reminiscing on a memory that images give, so that's kind of how it all kind of all comes together.

is collaging your primary medium?

i was painting a lot before and it was cool, but i wasn't really getting what i wanted out of it, so i moved to collaging. i feel the only constant that i've noticed in my mediums is my use of light and thinking about how lights affect my art pieces.

did you have any experience with nfts / making digital collectibles prior to finding us?

yes. i tried, it just did not work out. so that's why i was excited to see primitives because i thought this might be a new way of getting into it.

how do you envision the future of art in terms of it migrating even more into the digital space?

i'm excited to see what people create! it's all cool, but at the same time, i'm always cautious of how physical work will differentiate. for example, you could scan or print images out, but you're not gonna get the same texture or layers from acrylic paint.

it's a weird balance. digital art is cool because of how much you can manipulate with the same image. it makes it easier for artists to be creative with it and come up with new ideas and inspiration.

i like how you [primitives] put art on the homescreen with how many views it gets. it helps you to know, people are actually seeing my stuff.

what does being a creator mean to you?

i feel my purpose is to cultivate moments with people. i paint and collage to share experiences and start conversations. furthermore, creating means being able to express how i feel and sharing those moments of depth and discovery with those around me.

what rewards me isn't selling my art, it’s making memories with everybody i’ve met along my journey as an artist and sharing the byproduct of that.

want to own one of taylor’s moments? head over to his portfolio on primitives and collect a few to add to your collection.

this thursday, may 4th, we’re presenting seen, our first exhibit showcasing the works from five nyc-based artists within the primitives community. seen celebrates creativity, community, and emerging technology among our diverse creators

featured artists will include: billie fabrikant, Lv<^, yekaterina gyadu, alex mamorsky, and zachary s. laine. each creator’s unique style is connected by their interest in blurring the boundaries between physical and digital art creation and curation. this event will also mark the launch of an accompanying online digital exhibit on primitives. we’ll have original pieces and moments available for purchase as well.

what else has been on our minds? how to turn down a billion dollars, this track from father, collecting songs, and a new way to look at the creative spectrum.