CASE STUDY: CULTURAL INSTITUTION

INSTITUTION: Musée d’Orsay

TECHNOLOGY PROVIDERS: Feral File & Tezos

Background

In recent years, the Musee d’Orsay has grappled with a fundamental challenge created by the remit of the museum: as audiences prefer to visit museums displaying contemporary art over other genres, how can an institution dedicated to art created between 1848 to 1915 (impressionism and post-impressionism) compete for both audience consideration and attendance?

Over the last five years, one answer has been to host temporary exhibitions that feature contemporary works in dialogue with the museum’s permanent collection, exhibiting work by artists Kehinde Wiley, Peter Doig, and Lucas Arruda. Another has been to critically examine and explore the opportunity provided by blockchain technology. Following the Musée d’Orsay’s multi-year educational journey with WAC Labs, the Musée d’Orsay engaged in a one year partnership with The Tezos Foundation to bring digital art into the walls of this legendary institution.

The Concept

The Musée d’Orsay elected to partner with artist Sebastien Devaud, aka Agoria, to showcase original blockchain-based artwork for the first time ever inside the walls of the historic Musée d’Orsay. Known for working with scientists and technologists to create works that merge art, biology, and the blockchain, Agoria’s exhibition titled Le Code d’Orsay (13 February to 10 March, 2024) included three parts: a sculpture titled Ʃ LUMINA (2023), digital artworks, and a DJ set during the 2024 NFT Paris Conference.

The Ʃ LUMINA (2023) sculpture would cast a shadow in the form of a QR code when perfectly aligned with the light source above. When scanned, this code prompted visitors to blow into their phones to reveal an artwork from the Musée d’Orsay’s collection. Thirteen paintings were selected for this activation, including works by artists such as Claude Monet, Auguste Renoir, Edgar Degas, and Gustave Caillebotte. The act of sharing one’s breath is a vital gesture and specific to each individual, thereby transforming one of the thirteen paintings in a unique way. Each visitor could then mint their generative artwork for free on the Tezos blockchain.

For this interactive, blockchain-powered installation, the Musee d’Orsay and Agoria worked with technology partners fx(hash) and Feral File to develop the live minting technology that enabled visitors to generate their own digital artwork. This collectible NFT also created a direct line of engagement between the Musée d’Orsay and the thousands of visitors who collected Σ Lumina while it was on view.

The Result

“Le Code d’Orsay” was a wildly successful exhibition and lauded in the digital art and web3 space as one of the best institutional engagements with blockchain technology and NFT culture to date. 2,770 artworks were minted on fx(hash) using the Feral File app, which exceeded expectations.

Whitney’s Participation

As a member of the Tezos team, I supported the project with strategic ideation and funding approval for the “Le Code d’Orsay” exhibition.

As a member of the Feral File team, I supported the project launch, roll out, and ongoing management for the Ʃ LUMINA (2023) minting experience.

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Installation View of Σ Lumina, courtesy Agoria.