NorCal and Shill
A podcast where NFT artists tell stories, hosted by NorCal Guy. https://twitter.com/GuyNorcal
https://twitter.com/norcalandshill
NorCal and Shill
Robert LeBlanc - Artist - Throwback Episode
Fine art and documentary photographer Robert LeBlanc takes us on an enthralling journey through his creative world. As a Los Angeles-based artist, Robert shares the stories behind his fascinating projects, including the thought-provoking book "Glory Land," which is uniquely designed to resemble a Bible. We also explore the innovative "Tin Lizard" project and his contributions to Comfort Magazine, revealing how collectors play a vital role in his artistic process. From his passion for train travel to his skateboarding adventures, Robert's experiences weave an intricate tapestry of art and culture that shape his creative process.
Listeners will gain invaluable insights into the transformative role of digital technology in photography. We explore how understanding intellectual property has reshaped the way images are safeguarded online, enabling the creation of interactive projects with collectors. The conversation takes an exciting turn with the "10 Lizards Project," where ten collectors actively engage in project decision-making, from choosing travel destinations to finalizing project themes. This episode highlights how platforms like Snapshot are changing the art world by fostering community involvement and collective artistic creation, resulting in a dynamic and immersive experience for all involved.
In our exploration of the digital art landscape, we uncover the latest trends and strategies for thriving in a challenging market. The conversation sheds light on platforms like DECA and innovative promotional techniques, such as digital invitations and AI voices, that are capturing the imagination of collectors worldwide. We tackle the debate of scarcity versus abundance in art, sharing personal experiences of managing large portfolios and balancing exposure with exclusivity. The final nod goes to the importance of community and collaboration, celebrating the support from collectors and teams that bring creative visions to life.
https://x.com/robleblancphoto
https://www.faheykleingallery.com/artists/robert-leblanc
https://youarestandinginanopenfield.com/shop/elk
https://www.setantabooks.com/en-us/products/gloryland?variant=41564527755473
Who is this guy?
NorCal Guy:Who is this guy? Who is this guy? Who is this guy?
Robert LaBlanc:NorCal guy, norcal and chill podcast.
NorCal Guy:So it's chill time. Norcal and chill podcast. What the sh? Norcal and chill podcast Podcast. What the sh-. What the sh-? Norcal and Shill Podcast. So it's Shill time. Norcal and Shill Podcast. What the sh-, what the sh-?
NorCal Guy:Hey, everyone, welcome to this next episode of NorCal and Shill. Today we have Robert LeBlanc. Robert is a Los Angeles-based fine art and documentary photographer. In this episode, we discuss the mindset of people in digital art. Leblanc shares his journey in photography, including his book project with hand-painted cases and unique prints. Leblanc introduces his exciting project called Tin Lizard and mentions his upcoming issue of Comfort Magazine featuring up-and-coming artists. He shares his idea of involving collectors in the project, letting them experience the process and make decisions. This episode touches on the importance of protecting intellectual property and digitally archiving historical photos. Leblanc shares his fascination with train travel and his idea for an interactive project where collectors decide on destinations. He credits skateboarding for opening up a world of art and culture to him. The episode concludes with LeBlanc discussing his process for reviewing and choosing projects, as well as his belief in never taking no for an answer.
NorCal Guy:Overall, this episode explores LeBlanc's creative journey and mindset while diving into various projects and ideas in the digital art space. Everybody, please, welcome Robert LeBlanc. Hey Robert, welcome to the podcast. How are you doing today? I'm good Guy. Thank you for having me here, dude. I'm excited, me too. Me too, you know. I have seen your work and followed along. I've seen your work and followed along and the more, the deeper I go into exploring what you've all what you've done and the different projects that you've done over. It feels all because I'm we've only been in this space for a couple of years. It feels like there. You did all these projects over this last two years, but it's definitely been longer than that. Pre the digital blockchain art space. At all these projects over this last two years, but it's definitely been longer than that pre uh, the digital blockchain art space. But man it, I am continuing, continuously impressed by what you produce well, thank you, I appreciate it.
Robert LaBlanc:Yeah, I think it's. Uh, I love finding really unique stories and I'm always got a lot of irons in the fire, so it's I'm glad you're getting to kind of dive into it right now. See it while they're there. Some of them are finished.
NorCal Guy:Right, right, right. Yeah, cause you, you'd sent me a book from glory land.
Robert LaBlanc:Is that?
NorCal Guy:what was the name of it?
Robert LaBlanc:Yeah, yeah, glory land, yeah, all right.
NorCal Guy:Cause I messed it up earlier from From Glory Land. It's a mind-blowing book because you think you're opening a Bible. It's this photo book that is made by a Bible manufacturer or bounder, a Bible print house, print house. There we go and it's just, you know, it's got the gold, uh, edging on the pages. It's just, it's. It's an impressive book and like what's funny is like I like because of how it feels, like I'm like I got to keep it in the box Got to keep it nice.
NorCal Guy:And because you know I mean partly you know, because I was raised, you know, to be very respectful of like the Bibles and everything, and it feels like a Bible. It's just funny how you just just having something that's tangible like that that reminds you, you feel like it has to have some respect to it.
Robert LaBlanc:You know it's, it's a tough that was kind of a tough design situation too, right Cause you don't want to, you know you want to be respectful of what it is and what it represents to people. So trying to like do a design that replicates a Bible, but it really, I mean it is hitting on you know this church and this, you know this congregation and the religion, but it's done in a very kind of you know it's an art book way. So it was definitely like an idea I was bouncing back and forth with. For a while. I was like, oh, do I do this? Like how would the church feel if I brought them like a fake Bible? You know what I mean With their photos, you know. But uh, yeah, I think at the end result I'm really happy how it turned out and I think finding a print house that specifically printed bibles was kind of the way to really connect those dots right, because you're able to use the bible paper and like all the trims and all the materials that I source from it is actually all the materials that they use for the bibles that they produce too.
Robert LaBlanc:So I really wanted to kind of you know, with book design and stuff like that I think it's really important to give the viewers this kind of experience. That's not only looking at the photos, but the way you interact with the body of work and the way that it's all laid out Like that's. To me that's really important, because books are kind of like my specialty, is what I love to do. So you know, hearing like your reaction and other people's reaction to how they feel like holding this like Bible it's, it's been really nice. I'm glad I think I can. It's the design has been able to kind of connect the dots a little bit, you know.
NorCal Guy:Yeah, for sure, for sure. I know it makes me want to like go pick up your other books now too. Like the moon dust, I want to go find that one now.
Robert LaBlanc:Yeah.
NorCal Guy:Yeah, yeah. What do you have any other? I didn't notice any other books, but do you have any other books?
Robert LaBlanc:So I had. Moon dust was my second one, and that one's really kind of cool because that, because I was sent out through a government contract to photograph the fires, I was able to just donate all the proceeds to the book sales to go to charity because, like I essentially got paid for that job, right, right.
Robert LaBlanc:So I ended up teaming up with this kind of really high end backpack company or they just do a bunch of kind of luggage and bags and stuff called Mystery Ranch and they do, like you know, stuff for firefighters, hunters, military or whatever. But they're very deeply rooted in hotshot firefighters, so I was able to work with them and then they have three foundations that they work with and then, um, so we kind of designed the book together and then we put it out together and then all the money all gets donated to those foundations, which is nice because you know it helps support, you know, people who have lost loved ones, and fires, who have been injured and stuff like that. So so we did that moon dust, which was cool, and I wanted to use, um, like the design of it. I kind of have this like bright orange, um, almost kind of rubber material that goes on the outside, which you know, and then inside it's all these gray pages. So it was kind of this kind of story of fire and ash, and moon dust is actually a term the hotshot firefighters use when they walk around. When all the ash dust kind of floats up, they call it moon dust, yeah. So that was the second one and then I released my first book.
Robert LaBlanc:I released was called Unlawful Conduct and that was kind of me finding myself as a photographer. It was a lot of like point and shoot and I was still skating a ton myself as a photographer. It was a lot of like point and shoot and I was still skating a ton, so a lot of it which is kind of me out skating and with around, like you know, all my friends who painted graffiti and stuff like that. So that book was kind of you know, it was somewhat of a street photography book, you know, but it was also kind of this, this catalog of me finding myself as a photographer. You know, kind of going through these changes in life, of like I used to skate a lot, then I had my knee blown out, so I had to. It's when I really started to lean into photography, because I was the only other thing I loved. So I was in this stage in life where it's like all right, done with one chapter and on to the next, and that book kind of mashed them together. So we did that.
Robert LaBlanc:I did that one in 2015 and that was cool. I like manufactured this like this big die that cut out a case that the book was wrapped in, but all the material that we used for the case. We put it all up on a wall and we painted like a big graffiti piece over it and then we actually stamped the case out of each big sheet of material. So every book is like wrapped in a hand-painted case that, like everyone is unique to itself, like there's no replicas of each other. So and that was cool I came with a little four by six print and I only did like a hundred of them and yeah, it was. It was pretty fun project. So it was cool because when you opened it up you'd get like chrome paint flakes on you and you can smell the paint a little bit. So it kind of gives you a little bit of a sensory, an extra sensory hit before you dive into the book and start flipping through it and stuff like that. Yeah, yeah.
Robert LaBlanc:It was fun Sweet.
NorCal Guy:Well, kind of jumping into some questions.
Robert LaBlanc:Yeah.
NorCal Guy:Do you have a hardware wallet and do you use it Absolutely?
Robert LaBlanc:Dude, of course, bro. Um, gotta have your cold wallet. Dude, yeah, I gotta have your little vault. You know what I mean. So, um, yeah, definitely got one of those.
NorCal Guy:All right good, good passed. What were your first thoughts when you heard about crypto art, this, this art on chain?
Robert LaBlanc:I thought it was cool, I definitely I, I knew like right away it was. It was an obvious generation. You know, because, like we're already experiencing especially photography, you know. You know, for me, books and exhibitions are always to me kind of the like the top tier of how you could present work, right, it's there's, there's something about like seeing a print if it's like a silver gelatin or what kind of paper is printed on or how it's. There's there's something about like seeing a print if it's like a silver gelatin or what kind of paper is printed on or how it's framed, or you know even the way that you set up an exhibition. It's like you step into a world, right.
Robert LaBlanc:But you know, those are kind of a traditional space where obviously the rest of the world is very much digital. So, and you know, 95 of all the time we consume art, and especially photography, it's usually on our phones. So to me, when I, when I saw that happening, it made sense but I wasn't really quite sure like where I'd fit in, right, because it's I kind of balanced between the bulk worlds of the exhibition and the fine art and the physical prints, and then, you know, whatever I had just digitally, like websites or Instagram or whatnot. But I remember someone calling me and explained it to me about IP and that's kind of like when the light bulb clicked. A little bit for me was I've had my images stolen, I've had other people reuse them and not get credit, or, you know, you don't really know where they're going once they're like off on the Internet, right, it's kind of into the abyss. So I remember someone explained it to me like you can track your image, you can see where it's used. You were able to you know hold the fact that, like you own this and have like kind of a digital you know coi for for the image.
Robert LaBlanc:That's kind of the moment where I was like, all right, cool, this really makes sense, like I'm for me, because a lot of the photos I take too, is there is some like historical value to it, right, like there's the firefighting you know that's california's biggest forest fire in history, right, and then you have the snake church, which is a culture that's about to go out of you know existence.
Robert LaBlanc:So the idea of digitally archiving this kind of history to me was like, really, what you know drawn me into it, and then, obviously, the more you dive into it, the more of the possibilities you start to realize and understanding, like how projects work and how you can involve collectors and how you can make this an experience beyond just buying a book or going to an exhibition. And that was kind of the end result of the journey. Originally it was just protecting my images, but at the end it's like wow, I can give a whole other layer of experience to an audience through these platforms and this technology for them to understand the body of work maybe just a little bit deeper and work together.
NorCal Guy:Right them to understand the body of work, maybe just a little bit deeper. And you know work together. So, yeah, right. Well, like your, your 10 lizards project, right, um, is kind of. I completely missed it, but it is involved with 10 collectors or 11 collectors, I don't remember exactly 10 altogether. Yeah, can you go like? How did that start, like how did you decide to go down that path with these 10 collectors and what, what exactly are they doing with you on that?
Robert LaBlanc:I've been wanting to do a project that explored train travel for a while. Like there's always been a romance for me for traveling on the train. I used to travel a lot like in my like late teens, early 20s a bunch, and it was kind of my preferred way to to get around um, and there's always been a romance to trains and train travel. You know what I mean. Even you think of like old noir films and stuff, like you have the, the train station that's full of steam and like you know, like there's there's, there's a, there's a vibe, the train that I I've always been really pulled to um and you know it's off the freeways that you're, you kind of cut through the country and you find these small little towns, these little train station towns that you know you would never go to unless you know you were really on those back roads or on the train right, because they're so separated from the freeway. So I've been kind of thinking about how do I do this project, what would be a really cool way to kind of make this a little bit different than me just traveling around? And I kind of came up with the idea. I was like how cool would it be to have a group of collectors be kind of the start of the project and they would actually be able to hold a vote on deciding on where do I go, what towns do I stop in, what restaurants do I eat in, what hotel do I stay in. You know like kind of make this an experience, almost like a uh, you know, choose your own adventure. You know, like those novels. So that was kind of the premise of the idea and I was like, oh, this is really cool because I'm able to show, you know, here's, here's a group of people who are really interested in and devoted into collecting photography and collecting, you know, supporting these projects and believing in these projects. So what if I let them experience the project with me? Like let them experience, you know, the complications, the delays, that things that happen, or you know like just kind of these like little choices I have to choose while I'm working on these projects. That could take a year, two year, three year, whatnot, and it went well.
Robert LaBlanc:So we ended up making this digital uh ticket that you could buy, and then there was only 10 tickets available and then, from there on out, what we would do is we would kind of snapchat. I think it's not, not snapchat, it's um, what's it called? Um snapshot, and then we would have them all vote on the snapshot platform and they would choose, like, hey, where do I go, what town am I going to? Like all these choices, I kind of give them right and then at the end of all the trip, at the end of the trip, I I have these little galleries of each trip, of the photographs. So at the end we're all going to sit down together and everybody's going to vote on the edit and as a collective we're going to put out the body of work as like one kind of group of people. Yeah, nice.
Robert LaBlanc:Yeah, that's pretty fun, pretty fun Sounds good and I can do fun stuff too. Like you know, like some towns have their little downtown like live webcams and stuff. So, like you know, like because most of everything on that project is done through a community, a twitter community, that I just kind of update all the time and like sometimes I'll do random like votes that other people can vote in on too, that aren't collectors like do I take a left at this road, do I take a right at this road? Like kind of fun stuff like that. But that'd be funny things. I'm like, hey, check, check, uh, you know, check the community in like five minutes and I'll be in that town like waving at the little downtown webcam and stuff like that. So this is fun, you know, I think it's just giving these people an extra experience and understand, like, what it takes to put together a body of work like this.
NorCal Guy:You know, yeah, nice, yeah so what brought you to photography? How did?
Robert LaBlanc:you get into photography well, I got through it through skateboarding. Skateboard, I always say skateboarding saved my life. I grew up in Montana with a little of nothing. You know what I mean? There's not much culture, not much art, not museums to go to. It's a very rural part of the country.
Robert LaBlanc:So I started skateboarding when I was nine years old and that was really my window to the world, watching all these old skate videos and looking at the magazines, and it was kind of a way for me, being in the middle of nowhere, to really connect with that world of skateboarding. So I'd always just kind of mull over these magazines and just stare at the photos and just think about traveling. And then you get a little older, you go out and go skating with all your friends and I stare at the photos and just think about traveling. And then you know, you get a little older, you go out and go skating with all your friends and I'd always take photos about skating, you know, and so that was like always part of me growing up is I'd always have like a disposable camera on me when I was out skateboarding around and uh, you know all that, those worlds of art and music, it would just influence me so much.
Robert LaBlanc:And then when I finally, um, finally moved and I lived in seattle for a while with skating a bunch, I ended up blowing out both my knees. So it was kind of one of those moments in life. You're like, all right, you know, skating isn't really like I can still do it, but it's not going to be like my my forefront of my attention. You know what I mean, right, right. And uh, I was like what's the only other thing that I love? It's taking photos. So then it kind of turned into me just like skating around the city, using that as like a means of transportation to go do like street photography, and ran, you know, just kind of snowballed from there. You know, I put out that first book and it sold out and I remember just being like, oh wow, I can actually like do this, this is, this is pretty cool. And then, ever since then I've just never looked back.
NorCal Guy:Yeah, awesome so what I always like to ask what jobs have you done away, like in high school, like bus boy or newspaper route, what? What kind of fun job or not fun jobs? But the little jobs have you done along the way, oh dude I my very first job I ever had.
Robert LaBlanc:I was oh man, I don't know how it had to be like 13 years old, 14 years old, and I convinced the post office to pay me once, uh, once, uh. It was like once every other week, or maybe a couple times a month, month to uh to mow their yard.
Robert LaBlanc:So I would like go, I roll up there with with my, with my, with the push mower. You know, my mom would drive me there, my dad would drive me in his truck and I'd have gas in the weed eater and I'd go and I'd take care of the little local post office, and then that's also where we skated all the time too, so it's kind of like my little skate park, you know. So I was like I gotta take you at the skate park and then, uh, so that that was that's kind of where it all started. Uh. And then, yeah, dude, I've had some fun ones, like, uh, I worked on golf courses for a while.
Robert LaBlanc:Um, I actually fell kind of into the fashion industry for almost like 10 years. When I got, when I was like 18, I was a buyer and I kind of ran a chain of uh like really high-end men's like clothing boutiques. So I was like doing that for a while, um, buying for all these stores, going to like meeting with these brands and kind of looking at all these collections and and kind of curating all these stores, uh, their buys, and everything like that. So that was like a nice little long run for a while, yeah.
NorCal Guy:Nice. So if you were an animal, what would you be and why?
Robert LaBlanc:That's a good question. I'd be a dog, because dogs are so happy and carefree.
NorCal Guy:Yeah, that's true, that's true.
Robert LaBlanc:Life's too stressful, bro. I just want to be like that, like I want to. I just look at my, my puppy, and he's just like always stoked all the time. I was like if I could be that happy all the time, like I'll take it, man, I'll take it right, right, that's true, that's true man there, you know that was funny.
NorCal Guy:There was a I think it was bonaf or uh, bonafide or no. Yeah, uh, buna buna, that's who it was. He was like a golden retriever in a well, in a uh, well-to-do home. Basically, it's like living the dream seriously dude.
Robert LaBlanc:So if I could have been our golden retriever, our golden lab, when I was like 13, in a big ass yard in montana running around just like chasing squirrels and deer like dude, it's a wrap, it's done, I'll go out like that. Has anybody asked you yet what do?
NorCal Guy:you want? Oh yeah, yeah, for sure, octopus, octopus is my go-to yeah, that's a good one.
Robert LaBlanc:That's a good one, that's a smart answer that's smart I like because they like, can like blend in.
NorCal Guy:They just don't. They don't have to be a part of anything. But then they're kind of social like with at least humans. They can be like social and whatnot, and I always wanted one as a pet.
Robert LaBlanc:If I believe that we're living in existence with aliens. Octopuses are for sure aliens.
NorCal Guy:They're definitely different. For sure, freaks, do you have a favorite food?
Robert LaBlanc:Favorite food Steak. I can't beat a steak, bro. You give me a good, medium, good, medium rare, bloody steak covered in like salt and pepper. That's. That's all I need, man for sure, I'm a. I'm a simple human, just like simple things sure you can't beat like a.
NorCal Guy:Well, like just perfectly cooked, nice, tender, just salt and pepper is all you need. It's solid.
Robert LaBlanc:Yeah, it's a classic for a reason, for sure, true.
NorCal Guy:Do you have a piece of advice or a mantra that you repeat in your head or live by?
Robert LaBlanc:Stop being a weenie. That's probably mine. All right, I love it, I like it. I like it, you know, I mean, I think it's. I think a practice that I preach is just never take no for an answer, right.
Robert LaBlanc:I mean, you know I think when you're in that situation, if you're, if you're a creative person and you have to run your own business and you're self-sustaining, you know like you're going to hear no. You know a million times before you hear yes, right. So it's like you know, for me it was always just like never take no for an answer, like if this didn't approach, didn't work, there's another approach to it, there's another person who might see, you know, an idea for a project or a pitch or something you know you just cause I mean, I, you know Gloryland for a good example, right, it's getting a lot of love right now, but at the time when I was developing it, like no one would want to touch it, right.
Robert LaBlanc:It was either it's kind of extreme Christianity or you know it's this religion that kind of scared a lot of people off. And you know I would hear a lot of people be like, oh, this is cool, but we can't do this, or we can't be attached to this, or you know whatever reason it was. And now, like in hindsight, you know it's done. Well, it's, the book was just added to the getty museum. Um, they're like research institute library.
Robert LaBlanc:You know I've, you know it's had like full exhibitions, it's, it's, it's, it's done its thing, which is it's really exciting. But you know it's, for me it was never to say no, but if it has to be a mantra while I'm taking photos, it's like stop being scared, just get in there, because you only got one shot, man, and that's right, you know, and the suffering of being scared and not doing it is it causes more turmoil than just going in there and and you know, just risking it for sure, for sure might not be great advice, but that's, that's kind of I'm a run into the fire kind of person.
NorCal Guy:You know what I mean do you have advice for artists joining this digital art space?
Robert LaBlanc:I think, specifically for the digital art space, I think it's really about crafting a project. I think you know I you know it's the same way that I would treat a book project or any sort of other photo project, but I think you have this ability to add so much more I don't know the great word for it, but it's you just add so many more layers to it. So like, for example, for like tin lizards, right, like I could have treated it like a very simple, you know, photography book exhibition process. I go out, I do the work, everybody sees it at the end result, right, but being able to try to look at it as a more of an experience and something that's more creative, I think that's really where the digital space thrives for photographers or anybody in the creative process right, like you're able to be able to do more and express more and show more of what all the work goes into that. Because I think that's the one thing that a lot of people who aren't creatives don't understand is the amount of work, right, the amount of, like, failures or retamps and trial errors. And you have these expectations on a trip or you have these expectations on a shoot, but they never meet and you have to kind of, you know, be creative and work quick on your feet, and I think that's a really cool thing for people to experience, you know, I think it's a really cool thing to make you appreciate the value of the images a little bit more.
Robert LaBlanc:You know, I think there's I always kind of I wish I could have done this. I did. I worked on this assignment in 2020, where I went in when Los Angeles was the worst in the world for COVID deaths and just kind of like spikes. I actually went into a mortuary here in LA and spent two weeks in a mortuary, which was like a really, you know, intense experience in the sense of you just seeing so much death and you've seen so much kind of like fear combed in with it. Right, and I wish I would have been able to illustrate that experience more because, like, the photos have their own weight to them and and um, an experience, but that, that feeling of being in that environment, I thought was like almost more powerful than the images themselves. So, you know, that kind of failure I wanted to turn into that I'm like, okay, now I can with these digital projects, projects I can bring that experience in. I can bring the collectors in to understand. You know, not just the, the end result, but also the, the build-up that went to get to that end result too yeah, for sure yeah
Robert LaBlanc:yeah, and one of those photos I think it's I put in the new America um series. I'm not sure exactly what number it is, but there's like one of the photos in the series where it's kind of the shot and this like kind of empty this section of mortuary where usually they meet with people and they kind of discuss the funerals and stuff, but it's it's, the place is so overwhelmed with bodies that the bodies are kind of like flooding into this back room. Um, yeah, it's number 75, you know, and it's it's. It's kind of just one of those moments where you know it's such a surreal moment to experience it so it's like I want to. That's that's, that's that's. At least. My advice for digital space is like think about how much more you can bring in the people who are interested and want to support your work and understanding why and how you created it. Nice.
NorCal Guy:I like that If you could live or move anywhere.
Robert LaBlanc:Where would you live? And why I love LA man, it's a hard. It's a hard one to pull me out. I spent, you know, for the new America thing. I spent 10 years going around the country working on that project and, uh, I was always in the back of my mind. I was like, where do I move? And man, los angeles got it all. It's pretty nice.
Robert LaBlanc:But if I had to pick a second place, probably tokyo I love japan okay, yeah, japan was probably one of my uh, it's definitely the my favorite place I've been outside of los angeles. It's really dope.
NorCal Guy:Nice yeah, do you have any questions for me?
Robert LaBlanc:Questions for you, huh? Hmm, well, yeah, I do for sure, definitely. Let's grill you a little bit, let's do it. So it must be an interesting situation being, you know, like you're a pretty prominent collector inside the space and how do you like, as and I'm guilty of this, and I'm sure a lot of other people are too of kind of just showing you projects and kind of flooding you with stuff that you're probably just like it's hard to keep track of, track up, what are things that you see in series or collections or projects that, like you, find intriguing to you as as as a through a perspective of a collector oh, I mean, that's hard, that's a hard one.
NorCal Guy:Um, you know, I guess it's got to like visually stand out to me somehow, like I, I like your glory land project, but it's not like the photos aren't like something that I would probably collect, right, you know. But some of your other work, um, going through some of those projects, I was like, oh yeah, I like this here, you know, and I and I don't know if that's just aesthetics or is it. You know my background and different things, who knows? Um, but it's hard. It's hard to say, I mean, honestly, like a lot of it is, you know, going through the notifications and if something like pops off the page, then you you're like, okay, there's probably something here, even though it's like the small little image it popped somehow. I mean, and I guess that's the best way to describe it is, if, like, I am like scrolling through notifications or whatever, and if something happens to grab me, then there's probably something there. So that's what draws me in.
NorCal Guy:Probably not the best way to look at things, but you know, but I mean that's. I mean the sad thing is that's like kind of the reality of the, of the space is it's all based on twitter. It's not like some visual platform, like hopefully that whatever you person posted is something that happens to pop off the page, like it's hard to say. Deca definitely is helping with that, you know, but still it's not like the easiest. You got to like go to that artist page or whatever. But I think DECA has got a lot of promise though A lot of things going for it.
Robert LaBlanc:I mean, I like the fact that it's really it's just the art for you. You know, in the sense of like, how you're experiencing it, Right Like it's. I know you say it's like not, the might not be the best way, but I think it would be, Cause it's like you see something and like that's usually how visual art should appeal to people. Right Like it's. You have a connection somehow. So, um, just like the fact that it in itself is what grabs you and I think that's kind of cool. You know what I mean. I feel like that's a little bit more of a an honest approach to it, Cause there's, yeah, Um, what's the most impressive shill you've ever experienced? Yeah, yeah, Like who? Who came out of the dms with like you're like all right, that was, that was pretty clever. Do you have you have any that stand out?
NorCal Guy:you know, there was, um, there was one oh man, I'm blanking on her name and she like sent like an invitation type thing to like some event online event type thing. I thought that was interesting. She sent like a, a digital like invitation to your wallet. So I thought that was interesting. There's another one that was kind of similar and but she used it was another I and I don't remember who it was she like invited you to something, but she used another voice Like she used like an AI voice and I was like it probably would have been better if you just like did your own voice record, like hey, I'd like to like have you come to this thing or check out this thing, or whatever. You know, I guess when they have like kind of like a personal touch kind of helps a lot. I guess when they have a personal touch, it kind of helps a lot. But man, that's a good question. Those are the two that just initially stand out that I remember. Yeah, I can't think of anything else right now.
Robert LaBlanc:That's a good one.
Robert LaBlanc:I like the invitation. That's clever for sure. Yeah, it was clever. Um, I think we've seen a lot of change over the year, right, like in the space and, uh, you know, for someone who's so involved in it, and you have your own projects and your own brands and your companies that are kind of, you know, incubating artists as well. It's not only collecting. I mean, what, what are you? Is there? Some is there like a movement, or you've seen an energy or like is there a trend that's going that gets you really excited, or do you wish that you could start seeing? Now that you know, maybeunquote, the hype rush has calmed down a little bit, it's interesting.
NorCal Guy:It's a pretty tough market. It's hard to say because I say more people getting. We definitely had like this whole scarcity thing, which I thought was BS, um, people worrying about minting too much stuff, and I'm like we're, do you guys like you know you gotta have like several hundred pieces out there to even like maybe have a secondary start? Right, if you're talking about because you know you got to have like several hundred pieces out there to even like maybe have a secondary start right if you're talking about because you know part of that like all, royalties, royalties, royalties.
NorCal Guy:You're not going to get royalties unless you have secondaries and you're not going to have secondaries unless you have a few hundred pieces out there right so the whole scarcity thing always was kind of funny to me and I always was like trying to push back on that because it never made sense to me to and I think people are getting over that and also the being afraid of having additions. Um, I feel some people worry too much about that when I think additions are probably the best way to even have start a secondary. You know there's a more liquid market for additions, so I feel like we are kind of going towards that way. I mean, the market is terrible though, so you know there's additions just sitting out there that are unsold.
NorCal Guy:So it's hard to say like, yeah, you should go do additions and then you just go sit there and have stuff unsold, right. So it's hard to say like, yeah, you should go do additions and then you just go sit there and have stuff unsold. But you know everyone's having a rough go at selling stuff unless you know there's some big name behind it, like DK and Cause had the Federal Reserve thing which you know was a cool addition. It was kind of everyone like, oh, let's go support this type of thing, right. I mean, beyond that, it's hard. I mean we have our additions project, which I think is doing all right, but it's hard to sell out a decent amount of additions. It's hard.
Robert LaBlanc:Right, right it's. It's funny that you say that, cause I would get a lot of flack for that, for my stuff, cause I have a lot of work. You know what I mean. But like for me it was. You know, I remember people being like, if you go to the super rare page, if you look at like how many I forget how, how it's laid out, but like glory, I mean, I knew america was 89 pieces in itself. You know what I mean. And and um, I'd always get a lot of people ask me like, wow, you sure have a lot out. I think all together I have.
Robert LaBlanc:I don't know how it really shows, but like you know, you know there's probably about 130 images, right, right, and I remember a lot of people giving me a hard time for it too, like, oh, you know, that's, that's a lot of stuff, you're sure putting out a lot of work and it's I always kind of had the same attitude about it as you did.
Robert LaBlanc:You know, it's not I don't know much about like additions, but the fact that like I don't feel like scarcity, like I understand the idea of like supply and demand right, and like there is just like the raw reality of like less is more. But I think, if you really wanted to, it's hard to show what you're capable of as a creative if you only have like five or four things up. You know what I mean. Or like how do you tell a story, or how what, if someone wants to, you know, have a collection of three or four images from a single story, like it seemed like it was a big disadvantage to to kind of hold all that in and, just like you know, kind of just like you know, hoard it in a sense. You know what I mean and I think there's, like you know you don't want to just dump shit out all the time either, but I, I think that I'm I like to see that that kind of scarcity mindset it seems to be kind of going away a little bit more.
NorCal Guy:Yeah too, yeah I, I think so and you know it's like I get it. But also, you know like a classic case is like these og um artists, the blockchain artists they had a lot of them have a sec, had the secondary market in like 21 because they had a couple hundred pieces out there. If they didn't have that many pieces out there, they would never have sold for what they, what they did right, right, totally.
Robert LaBlanc:What do you think about? Um, it's interesting seeing like cause, like huge players, like that. You know, we saw like damien hearst did his thing, and now there's a cause and you're starting to see these really big name artists coming into the space. Um, you know, remember, at the beginning of all this, everybody was really talking about it not being like gatekeepy, right, all right, right, which is like how do you, how do you avoid that with people?
Robert LaBlanc:I don't know how that's possible. You know what I mean? People are just like people and and I think that kind of comes with like human nature is a little bit of like trying to keep things in their own lane, in a sense. Um, so I kind of feel like we're going from that initial conversation of it being like, you know, not gatekeepy. So now I feel like we're kind of back into the normal swing of things like how the traditional market works. Now, um, I mean, have you had any feelings about that? Seeing like people like that, like cause doing hers adidas, getting in on stuff like that has that ever like crossed your mind as someone who's been watching this for so long?
NorCal Guy:I mean, yeah, it's me, it's. I mean it's interesting for sure, because it's it money grabs. You know, for the most part Right, and so it's as far as I'm like, yeah, anyone can go in the market, I'm fine with that, and just people need to realize that money grabs happen and you know people be and out, um once they got that bag so you just gotta you just gotta pay attention, um and and get a feel for if they are here beyond.
NorCal Guy:You know that that drop the initial drop right, you know, because we've seen it with different celebrities and whatnot. Come in and drop something and people like, oh, this is awesome and then they're gone, like they only tweeted about like here's the drop link.
Robert LaBlanc:Hey, there's a new project and they never tweeted after it sells out, right, right I've always kind of never, really, I can't tell if it's a bad thing or a good thing.
Robert LaBlanc:You know what I mean Cause I think, like I know, you know it's you don't expect somebody who's, let's say, of that, let's say cause, for example, right, like he's a busy guy, I'm sure a super busy guy right, he's always got tons of projects, tons of exhibitions, tons of exhibitions, tons of shows all the time, right.
Robert LaBlanc:So, like someone with that kind of caliber and like that busy of a of a schedule trying to balance everything, it's like you could never really expect them to spend a whole lot of time engaging with the community, right, because that was always a tough thing that I even dealt with as an artist was, you know, commercial work would kind of take a little bit of a hit because I was spending so much time focusing energy in this space, right. So I wonder if that's going to that mindset of saying, like you know, they're in and out, or this, you know, this idea of being engaged with this kind of digital currency and how we, how we, give art out, you know, I I feel like that this idea of having to stick around it's like it's not realistic in a way.
Robert LaBlanc:I don't know if that makes sense to you know what I mean, but like I feel, like having that weight of someone of that caliber brings in a new audience still and brings in like a whole kind of I mean like magnum, for example, right, like I don't see magnum really, really involved. You know what I mean like they you know, last I've I don't know if they've done many Twitter spaces anymore or like you know, but like I feel like just having them involved in you know releasing photos as NFTs through, like Magnum, with such prestigious you know photographers, like I feel like that alone just adds a lot of value to it. You know what I mean.
Robert LaBlanc:If that makes sense yeah.
NorCal Guy:Yeah, it's, you know. I guess it's just yeah, there's definitely you know the yeah I don't know the best way to answer that or the thought on it. I mean it definitely goes both ways. I think you know. I guess you just see, you know, long term, who benefits the space versus extracts from it or brings people in and what not. They don't have to be daily participants, it's just whether they're extracting value or adding value.
Robert LaBlanc:I guess, long term, I mean, I kind of always like that about Adidas is like when they did their thing, they made sure they pulled people from the community. It wasn't just like hey, we're adidas, we're doing this by the by the stuff, but it was like we're gonna put these people who are prominent figures in the community as like the focal point of this project and like kind of give credit where credits? Do you know what I mean, which I think is really nice. Um, should I just had a good question for you and I forgot what it was. That was a good one. Oh yeah, what do you think of? Let me get your opinion on AI. It's just a tool, yeah.
NorCal Guy:You know. Okay, so I get you know, it's just a tool and I don't know for me at this point I just want to know your process. You know, I don't like it kind of being hidden, because there are 3D artists out there that do some good work and they are, you know, making it all in this program and then there's other artists that have this 3d art that looks like it's 3d art but it's all prompted. So I just like to know, like the process I guess um not saying that in the heart, the other hard part is is like you know the value of it, like how much do you value someone's prompting skills versus right designing skills?
NorCal Guy:you know, and I I don't know how to answer that one at all right, because there's definitely it's a skill level to being a prompt engineer. I don't know how to value that right.
Robert LaBlanc:For sure. A little too new still right yeah, yeah, I mean.
NorCal Guy:And then there's like the different levels, like if you have like your, uh, jenny passanen or claire silver or oh man, I'm blanking on the other one's name anyways they developed the guy that did the, the guy that did the america west, or what was that?
Robert LaBlanc:was that who you're thinking of? I always forget his name.
NorCal Guy:No, no, no, but uh, like so claire silver jenny passing in. Oh, she dropped with us at click create anyways. Um, they developed their own gans. They're, they're training their own ais with their own artwork to produce more artwork like their own artwork, which I think is, you know, adds a layer of complexity and value. Um, versus like straight mid journey and then maybe a little bit of photoshop or something right for sure.
Robert LaBlanc:No, that's, that's really cool way to to. I like the idea of creating art through referencing, like their existing art. That's pretty neat. It's kind of like this is kind of evolution of the same or not the same, but like that, the creation, you know, giving birth to a new creation, which is pretty cool. Uh, I got one more for you, let's see, what do you? This is, this is kind of I'm gonna riff this off you too, because I, I did this and I want to get a collector's response for this. But like, how do you feel about projects, that kind of transition into the physical space? Like, have you, does it get you excited to see? Um, let's say, like for the tin lizards, right, I did like a short film on it, right, or uh?
Robert LaBlanc:gloryland like that was all collected. Like you know, gloryland started as an nft drop. It ended up being a full exhibition like do you see, do you get excited when you see, let's say, like you discover a body of work and you've seen that it's actually had a physical presence to in the history of it? Is that, as a collector, does it get exciting?
NorCal Guy:yeah, yeah, I actually think that's awesome. I mean because you know you, however you go about doing it, it's definitely, you know, getting more eyes on it. It's getting out there and seen um beyond the screen, um no I think that's great. I mean, if people have that ability or can work towards doing something like that, I think that's amazing and something that should be done if possible right.
Robert LaBlanc:Yeah, I've never understood a cfm. To my mind was like does it add more value to the pieces that exist digitally? If you see, you see the fact that it's having some sort of like significance in the physical space, outside of the digital space? You know what I mean. Like as a collector, would you, let's say like, even if, say, like a body of work didn't really resonate with you, like really deeply, but you like it. But then you see's, say like, even if, say, like a body of work didn't really resonate with you, like really deeply, but you like it. But then you see it's like, oh cool, this is going to be shown at mocha or moma or you know, this has another life that it's, it's taking on outside of the space. Like, as a collector, do you see value in that like? Would you say like, oh, this would give me more courage to to hold this or add this to an archive.
NorCal Guy:Yeah, yeah, for sure, it definitely does. I think, definitely having that physical presence somewhere and also like being able to if you're able to actually go see it as well physically, if they're printed or even on screens at a larger scale, I mean it definitely changes how the pieces look. I mean, I've noticed that myself. I'm like, oh yeah, I love this piece on my phone. And then you see it bigger and you're like, wow, it looks so good up on this screen or whatever. Like um in our basil last year the, the monolith that they had at at uh anyways, there was like five of us that sponsored it and we had art on there from different artists and it was just like really cool to see this like 20 foot tower with art scrolling around it. It's pretty sweet.
Robert LaBlanc:Yeah, yeah, it makes a size, makes a different experience, doesn't it?
NorCal Guy:Yeah, it's pretty wild yeah.
Robert LaBlanc:And then last one if you couldn't drink beer anymore and you couldn't make biscuits, what would you drink and what would you have to cook? Oh man, so no Sierra Nevada and no biscuits. I guess that's the question.
NorCal Guy:What would I do If I could only do one?
Robert LaBlanc:Well, you know, swap one for another one. Yeah, Right, I know.
NorCal Guy:I'm trying to think what I would like. The first thing that comes to mind, I don't know, I feel like I'd go with like a bourbon or a port, yeah. And then, as far as like a food, if I can't do biscuits, that's a hard one, because biscuits are so versatile Like for me at least, like I could eat them like breakfast, lunch, dinner like for me, at least. Like I could eat them like breakfast, lunch, dinner.
NorCal Guy:I feel like maybe I would just get good at making like a corned beef just corned beef and then you could do like corned beef hash or corned beef sandwiches, or I love, I love some good corned beef or pastrami, I guess corned beef pastrami. They're like the same thing one, one's smoked, one's boiled, but both delicious.
Robert LaBlanc:For sure. Good answers, man, good answers. All right, that's all I got for the hot seat for you.
NorCal Guy:That's it All right, that was good, that was solid. Do you have any upcoming projects you'd like to talk about?
Robert LaBlanc:Nothing too major. I think we're going to get get this tin lizard project wrapped up. So you know that the plan on that is, you know, we'll finish the trips, um, we'll select the body at work. We'll, you know, all the collectors will get the images. So, like, essentially, this collection is sold out, right, because every collector gets an x amount of images for reserving a ticket, right, um, so we'll release those to all the collectors and then I think the plan as of now is this will probably be my fourth book, so we'll end up, I'll, I'll go into that process of doing, finishing the book for that, and then, uh, we'll probably do an exhibition as well.
Robert LaBlanc:So nice, you know, I'm kind of I have this, a new, a new America body of work which is just like my baby, right, so it's been 10 years working on this thing. So you know, that was kind of the idea was maybe to, you know, finally release that. But I'm really loving where this Tim Lizard stuff goes. So I think it's kind of now it's who, which, which one gets the little extra love and care and who's going to be like you know, it's almost like a kid sending them off into the college or something like that. You know what I mean, right? So I let them be an adult in itself. So that's, I think that's. That's. That's the plan, you know.
Robert LaBlanc:And then you know comfort magazine's always cranking. I know I didn't really talk much about it, but you know the magazine is is a really a important project that we've just been working on for three years and being able to give these you know, up-and-coming artists and people who we think are the next generation and like feature them in these magazines and do these projects with them and stuff, it's been really fulfilling as well. So you know we have the new issue coming out in the next, you know few weeks and then on to the next one. So those things are beasts to put together and make. So that's been really fun.
NorCal Guy:Yeah, nice Sounds awesome.
Robert LaBlanc:Do you?
NorCal Guy:have any shout-outs you want to throw out there?
Robert LaBlanc:Shout-out to Barry man. Barry from 96 Studios. Like you know, he's been a big mover and shaker, I feel like, in the space and it's been really helpful to a lot of artists and and kind of putting projects together. And he was a huge, a huge part of getting this tin lizard project kind of like off the ground and and giving it a home. You know, yeah, you know, as a kind of collaboration project for us. So, you know, shout out to barry. He's he's an amazing dude and and uh, always is doing some cool stuff. And then, uh, you know, fellowship.
Robert LaBlanc:I always want to give love to the guys alejandro and cooper and chowek and all those guys at fellowship for doing the stuff.
Robert LaBlanc:You know, like, glory land was a recipient of one of the fellowship grants, so it's like you know, a lot of that body of work. You know finishing the book and the other trips are going out there with the church and getting this stuff finalized. Like you know, their support was a huge, a huge um, you know, a really important process for getting this, this body of work, finalized. And then, obviously, all the collectors you know freddie and pete and alpha and jacklyn and you know all everybody who's just been like just mad supportive of doing this stuff because, honestly, like a lot of these projects that I would have that I've put out, you know it was their support and them believing into this body of work that really kind of helped, you know, keep the momentum going and keeping the work coming out. So you know I mean always much love to the collectors because you know it's it's to find people who really believe in your work and want to support your work. It's it's, it's a blessing for sure.
NorCal Guy:Yeah, definitely cool man. Robert, thank you so much for your time today. I really enjoyed our chat and I can't wait to chat some more man, thank you Awesome. Yeah, thank you again.
Robert LaBlanc:NorCal guy, norcal guy, norcal guy, norcal guy, norcal guy, norcal guy, norcal and chill.
NorCal Guy:Podcast Show. It's chill time, norcal and chill Podcast. What the what the Chill? Norcal and chill Podcast Show. It's chill time, norcal and chill Podcast.