Science Vibe in ArtVndngMchn Builds Family Bonds

An essay of art, science and building

Science is about truth that can be measured. Working with my son, Luke, has taught me countless truths that can be measured. Recently I learned to measure those truths more effectively.

It all started with an art experiment called ArtVndngMchn. I wanted to measure the value of my artistic output. Yes I am productive, yes I make decent money selling rare digital art, but beyond sales figures and volume, are there any other ways to measure this? Like, where's the human depth?

That measure was always right in front of my face, yet it took me time to see it. To understand this, I believed that I needed to take a close look at the work of others, and help emerging artists as a way to give back to the community. I also wanted the project to serve the poor, so we donate a portion of the profit to MERCYworldwide. So I started a project that pulled diverse artists together from all around the globe. And I continue to learn so much from these artists. Yet the most profound lesson came from my own city of Riverside, California... from my own son.

For ArtVndngMchn Series 3 launching Feb 26, 2022 on WAX, there is a very strong science vibe coming from the fine art of @lukechiappetta. It has been a true blessing being able to work so closely with my son, Luke, through ArtVndngMchn. Luke's work continues to surprise and inspire me. All 4 of his final pieces from Series 3 are nicely animated, yet they also stand out great as still images here.

If you come to our portion of a Minecraft metaverse known as ArtVndngMchn Amusement Park in the Uplift World, you can even see Luke's artworks (and many more artists' work) in 3D as you ride through a virtual rollercoaster and avoid monsters! Luke is one of the chief builders of this virtual amusement park that defies imagination. Indeed, you do have to experience this to believe it.

In addition to being featured as a regular artist in the ArtVndngMchn collection, Luke also has built his own NFT collection called NFTnT Gallery.

In this full-of-surprises art gallery, Luke does not miss a beat in releasing explosive, stunning fine art.

I suppose his work is extra surprising for me as a father, because growing up, Luke identified as a builder more than an artist. In fact, I don't think he would even call himself an artists today, despite the fact that he has created and brought to market more pieces of cutting-edge fine art NFTs than most practicing artists. Yet now I deeply understand that, at heart, he is a builder. And artists are builders... and builders are artists. I feel so dull; shouldn't I have know this all along?

When Luke was a little kid, he would often come up to me while playing with his toys and say, in the most encouraging voice, "Let's build something together!" Usually we would do exactly that: blocks, Legos, Lincoln Logs, Hot Wheel tracks, Thomas the Tank Engine train track layouts, you name it. Yet as time marched onward, I wrongly assumed that us building together would slowly fade away as he got older.

Yet now as a young man, Luke and I are still willingly building together, collaborating on new adventures in real life and in the metaverse... and what more could a father ask for?

Embarking to measure something artsy and often elusive, I'm grateful to simply appreciate my son, the measure of a man.