Mike Winkelmann (Beeple) — HUMAN ONE

2021

Artists: Mike Winkelmann (Beeple) · Year: 2021 · Medium: Kinetic video sculpture with accompanying NFT — physical object paired with on-chain token · Substrate: Seven-foot-tall rotating aluminum and mahogany structure with four LED screens; dynamic content updated by Winkelmann; accompanying NFT on Ethereum · Place: New York, USA (auction); Charleston, South Carolina, USA (fabrication) · Institution: Christie's (auction); Beeple Studios HUMAN ONE, auctioned by Christie's in November 2021 for $28.9 million, is a kinetic sculpture: a seven-foot rotating structure with four LED screens displaying continuous video of an astronaut walking through a series of shifting environments. The work is paired with an NFT that certifies ownership; the NFT grants the holder the right to receive updates to the video content, which Winkelmann commits to producing indefinitely. The piece is neither strictly physical nor strictly digital; the value proposition depends on both components. HUMAN ONE is Winkelmann's institutional response to the question raised by his March 2021 Christie's sale: what does the Beeple practice look like if it is to continue as serious artistic work rather than remain a one-time speculative event? The answer, on the evidence of HUMAN ONE, is physical-digital hybrid objects with long-duration commitments from the artist. The work is still being updated; Winkelmann has posted videos of new content entering the HUMAN ONE walk several times since 2021. The $28.9 million sale price was, at the time, the second-highest price for a Winkelmann work, behind Everydays: The First 5000 Days. Unlike the Everydays piece, HUMAN ONE is physically installable and potentially permanently exhibitable — the work lives in the home of collector Ryan Zurrer in a custom installation. HUMAN ONE is the clearest example to date of an NFT-era artwork designed specifically for institutional longevity rather than market speculation. Lore Mike Winkelmann's Human One was produced in collaboration with Lee Schweber, a custom-fabrication specialist Beeple had hired in 2021 specifically to handle the physical-object engineering. The sculpture was constructed in a Charleston, South Carolina warehouse Beeple had purchased shortly after the Christie's auction; he had hired Schweber and several other engineers as full-time studio staff. The Christie's evening auction in November 2021 was attended by Beeple; the $28.9 million sale established Beeple's commercial position alongside the most-collected living American artists. The buyer, Ryan Zurrer of the Geneva-based Dialectic AG, has continued to update the screen content per Beeple's ongoing curation; the relationship is unusual in that the work continues to develop after sale. Beeple now operates a substantial studio team in Charleston. Sources • Christie's — HUMAN ONE auction catalog (November 2021) • Beeple Studios documentation • The New York Times, Artforum coverage