SOLANA
OpenSea
Edris Armaghani is an Iranian film maker, animator, and an author of textbooks and academic books. Having established in Istanbul, Edris has started making 2D and 3D animations since 2000. He also does character modeling, rigging and character animation in the process of production and composition of video posts. In 2010, Armaghani worked as the production manager, character TD and animator in “Moammaye Gandom” feature animation. The surprising fact about the work is that only one single person, Yashin Nahaani, helped him to produce the animation. Here is how he responded to k1arts’ questions.
Q1: As a noticeable artist -active in digital arts- how do you find Iranian artists’ capacities in creating digital artworks?
- It’s not like twenty years ago when some of the arts’ techniques and know-how were dominated by certain countries. Nowadays, people can sit behind their desks at home and create works for which a team in a studio was required until a few years ago. On the other hand, I have been noticing young artists’ works from different countries for years. What I can say impartially is that the Iranian artists are fabulous. I can’t say for sure, but one of the reasons could be that the Iranian artist has grown under harsher circumstances and that is why s(he) is more grateful.
Q2: Please explain a bit about the popularity of NFTs in Iran and how their pervasiveness could help discover talents. Apart from the tempting income, how can NFTs help introduce the young artists to the global scene?
- Since the NFTs began to be traded, I witnessed the best collectors were Iranians and they were just like boosters. That is how, I believe, the Iranian artist was encouraged to create NFTs. The NFTs which lacked a systematic form at first, soon began to generate a form and a style. I mean the artists, either consciously or unconsciously determined a specific format for the tokens. Now, when we see an artwork, we can guess whether it is a Non Fungible Token or not. That is because of such form and appearance it has acquired. The artists have developed their own community in this market including buyers and fellow artists. They are growing and can be seen in this community. They live in this very virtual community.
Q3: Apart from animation and other digital works, you are very much into writing and have already published as many as 16 books. What is your vision for the next 5 years? Which areas are you more interested to put your focus on?
- I authored animation textbooks in Iran and I did my best to present a final outcome which would be up-to-date. If I could edit them now, I would definitely add stuff on NFTs and metaverse. Every individual engaged in arts would love to have her or his own artwork … something not made to order. I have been developing plans for a number of short animations for years. I would like to implement these projects whenever I find an appropriate time. But this appropriate time has been rare so far!
Q4: Edris! Please share with us some of the obstacles a lesser-known artist could face when trying to work on NFTs as a serious player.
- First and foremost, the younger artists and the new-comer should gain their own style. They may create a scenario or an interesting story for their collections. Then they are advised to reach out the artistic community for the sake of being recognized as an artist. Twitter might be the best place for this to happen. They can participate in Twitter Spaces to listen to others’ viewpoints and ultimately they can introduce their works to other community members as a speaker in Spaces. Although promoting works on Twitter platform and other social media can be extremely helpful, such opportunity does not work inside Iran due to sanctions.
Q5: How artistically-rich are the NFTs currently being created and presented by the Iranian artists?
- I would say prices are much more logical now. Of course, I have seen many artists selling their works less expensive than what they look like. Generally speaking, high volume of productions and supply has decreased prices.
