MakersPlace, the premier marketplace for rare and authentic digital artworks, today announced the estate of 20th century jazz legend
Thelonious Monk and world-renowned motion and GIF artist, Javier Arrés, have teamed up to release artworks inspired by
Thelonious Monk's infamous "Underground" album cover as an NFT. It will be released exclusively on MakersPlace on
May 19, 2022 at
3:30 PM PT.
Arrés centered this collection with creative expression as a form of rebellion. He provides his own interpretation of Monk's legacy and what the album cover means to him as an artist through his signature Visual Toys™, and invites the viewer into a fantastical world inspiring them to simply play with their imaginations. It also incorporates a
never before heard Thelonious Monk audio, including a special narration from his son, T.S. Monk.
The collection consists of the following:
- An auction of one 1/1 audiovisual artwork: "Theloniopolis"
- One open edition audiovisual artwork, "Metro Monk"
"Javier Arrés does an incredible job paying homage to Tholonious Monk's legacy through alluring pieces of modern art,"
said Craig Palmer, CEO of MakersPlace. "The beauty of the NFT space is the creative expression used by artists like Javier to join forces with a legend in Jazz music to achieve a common goal: liberation. We're honored to host this iconic collaboration on our platform."
Known as one of the greatest jazz musicians of all time and the father of modern jazz and bebop,
Thelonious Monk has won multiple Grammy Awards, including a lifetime accomplishment grant and is one of five jazz artists to have been highlighted on the front of Time magazine and the second-most-recorded jazz arranger after
Duke Ellington.
Inspired by the sweeping views from his childhood home overlooking his hometown of Motril,
Spain, Javier Arrés is known for his manically detailed illustrations of fantastical scenery from cities, architecture and machines. He is also a 2019 London Art Biennale winner.
On the art:
"A city is something that you build. Javier has built a city around Thelonious that directly addresses Monk's quest to develop a performative experience of
Duke Ellington's 'Sophisticated Lady.' Both creative endeavors blend together seamlessly to create a cohesive body of work, which can only be described as sophisticated,"
says T.S. Monk, son of late Jazz musician, Thelonious Monk. "Hats off to a wonderful collaborative effort by two explorers of the unknown. Javier, an incredibly fresh, 21st century artist, whom we officially love, and
Thelonious Monk, a musical giant for the ages."
"These two Visual Toys are a tribute and collaboration with the work and spirit of
Thelonious Monk, his rebellion, creativity and breaking of norms and barriers,"
says Javier Arrés. "In both, I aimed to capture and mix the soul of Monk's music with the city of
New York, its monuments and architecture. A city that is key in his life and development as a jazz genius. There is also a reinvention of the cover of his famous Underground album, maintaining that rebellious visual power."
On working with family in the metaverse, "Anytime one has an opportunity for intergenerational cooperation and creation, and the ability to interlope technology and art, whatever comes from such effort, be it physical or ideological, creates space for growth and a benefit and win for the (Monk) family,"
says T. S. Monk.
