He spoke in length about his latest NFT venture, which is slated to launch on 5th January 2022.
Hiro Ando is a known name amidst art circles having done extensive work since the time he forayed into the industry in 1995. He has been largely inspired by the streets of Tokyo and the world of Manga, which shows in his every piece of work. After he started out as an illustrator, he began creating different media including painting, digital media, sculpture, and videos. In 2005, he joined hands with artist Saori Nakamishi and founded the neo-pop artist studio "Crazynoodles," which has now grown to 10 artists who have showcased their immense talent through their work, the latest being the NFT project Samurai Cats which is slated for public launch on the 5th of January 2022. We spoke to the artist himself who gave us a detailed explanation of what made him step into this NFT zone which was a never heard of before affair a few years back. Here are the excerpts from our conversation:
What was the idea behind stepping into the digital world, any specific reasons?
It was observed that since the onset of the global pandemic, many businesses transitioned online as it gave the flexibility to operate with ease and reach a wide audience base instead of physically being present around them. The art world also took a deep plunge into the digital world. Furthermore, the "non-fungible tokens" have been steadily revolutionizing
the contemporary art market grew at a fast rate reaching $2.7 billion in the 2020-2021 fiscal year, which was a result of the online migration of contemporary art auctions since the beginning of the 2020, when the global health crisis began. I thought this was the right time to step into this zone and establish a NFT project which would have all my authentic artworks for buyers to mint through the NFTs. The team at Crazynoodles started working on it and were soon ready to bring it on in front of the world by the name of Samurai Cats.
Is it true that popular American music producer and DJ Steve Aoki has also joined the Samurai Cats team as a partner?
Yes, that's true, as Steve has always been following my work and even holds one of my Samurai Cat sculptures. When he came to know about this project he was excited enough to be a part of it as he has always been an art lover since the beginning. Things were in place after a couple of meetings, and he was on the board as a partner. The team is privileged to have such a popular name on their roles and am sure he will add value to the Samurai Cats brand thoroughly.
Tell us more about Samurai Cats, what's in store for the members?
Samurai Cats is brought to you by the creative team of Crazynoodles and consists of a collection of 47,47 Samurai Cats NFTs, unique digital collectibles on the Ethereum blockchain. Our Samurai Cats are randomly assembled from over 300 layers hand-drawn by me and each Samurai cat comes exclusively created with its own set of outfits, faces and colors. Some NFT hold premium privileges and open doors to special benefits which include memberships and attractive offers. The official date of launch is scheduled on 5th January 2022 when the minting for public will open up.
To know more about Samurai Cats, visit its official website www.samuraicats.io or connect to their Instagram on: www.instagram.com/samuraicats_by_hiroando.