Speaker 1: Hi. This is Malayan Vervier and this is Kim Azzarelli.
Speaker 1: We are co authors of the book Fast Forward, How
Speaker 1: Women Can Achieve Power and Purpose, And you're listening to
Speaker 1: Seneca's conversations on power and Purpose. Hey. Everyone, this is
Speaker 1: Kim Azzarelli and I am so excited to be hosting
Speaker 1: this special edition Women Rule Web three. Now. The world
Speaker 1: of Web three is moving so fast, from the metaverse
Speaker 1: to defy to NFTs. On this show, we'll break it
Speaker 1: down for you through interviews with incredible leaders, experts, and artists.
Speaker 1: Today we're speaking with Monica Rizzoli. In twenty and twenty one,
Speaker 1: she released two series of NFTs Tropical Garden and The
Speaker 1: Generative Fragments of an Infinite Field through art blocks. She's
Speaker 1: exhibited in the US, Brazil, Germany, China and Spain. Monica
Speaker 1: one of the six amazing artists that we're featuring in
Speaker 1: the Seneca Women A Quality Collection, a special NFT collection
Speaker 1: with nifty Gateway. I spoke to Monica about her work.
Speaker 1: Here's what she had to say. Monica, it's so great
Speaker 1: to have you on the show. Thanks so much for
Speaker 1: joining us. Hi, thank you, Keene. I'm so glad to
Speaker 1: be here, but we are so excited to be partnering
Speaker 1: with you on the Seneca Women. A quality collection, and
Speaker 1: I just want to say right out of the gate,
Speaker 1: we absolutely love your work, so thank you for what
Speaker 1: you've already put into the world. Tell us a little
Speaker 1: bit about your personal and professional background. So I came
Speaker 1: from a family of type pographers. So I started to draw,
Speaker 1: holl and play with types of very early in my life,
Speaker 1: and I decided to go to the University of Visual
Speaker 1: Arts in zam Paolo, and after that it started to
Speaker 1: study at KASSU consostually with Professor I'm as a spare
Speaker 1: and I believed that was the time when I started
Speaker 1: to work professionally with visual awards. So that's extremely interesting
Speaker 1: that you come from a background of topographers. When did
Speaker 1: you get into painting. I think I was farteen or
Speaker 1: fifteen years old. It was really early because the graph
Speaker 1: shop shop of my grand parents, everybody worked there and
Speaker 1: there was a few of my uncles that made the
Speaker 1: drawings in the paintings to the newspaper or books that
Speaker 1: they were publishing or things like that. So to painting
Speaker 1: was something really natural to me because of this environment
Speaker 1: in my shidhood. But actually it was a little bit
Speaker 1: funny because all my because I was a female, I
Speaker 1: wasn't all no one's thought that I could have this
Speaker 1: profession in my family when I was young, but I
Speaker 1: was wise there. Oh you really surprised them. Yes, well,
Speaker 1: that's I think somewhat common unfortunately in a lot of
Speaker 1: our lives that people underestimate what girls can do. So
Speaker 1: when did you start realizing yourself that you had this
Speaker 1: calling with painting, and then when did you decide to
Speaker 1: move into the digital world. Oh well, when I was
Speaker 1: in Germany, I was so excited about this different environment
Speaker 1: because at first I thought, oh, I'm going to move
Speaker 1: and nothing is going to be really different. But everything
Speaker 1: was different the house, they opened the doors, the windows,
Speaker 1: and I was like, my god, I never thought that, So,
Speaker 1: you know, those little things could be so different to me.
Speaker 1: And I wanted to draw something that could make this
Speaker 1: relationship between between me and the environment and how we
Speaker 1: reacted when we have a different perception of the environment
Speaker 1: and about things that we thought we knew it. Then
Speaker 1: I started to research animation and it's covered processing. And
Speaker 1: when I saw processing, I thought, oh, that's perfect because
Speaker 1: I can have an environment that acts or something that
Speaker 1: represents a person that reacts in different environments. And this
Speaker 1: idea to have interaction and hundomness and you know, complex
Speaker 1: behavior inside the drawing just blew my mind. So that
Speaker 1: was the start. Guess that it's amazing, And I tell you,
Speaker 1: it just reminded me when I the first time I
Speaker 1: went to Europe. I also had that feeling that everything
Speaker 1: is different, even though you wouldn't necessarily think it was,
Speaker 1: but it was in the details. And I remember, this
Speaker 1: is maybe a little funny, but I remember being in
Speaker 1: this bathroom in Paris and I was young. I was,
Speaker 1: you know, maybe in my late teens or you know,
Speaker 1: around that or early twenties. I went into this bathroom
Speaker 1: in Paris and I literally could not figure out how
Speaker 1: to flush the toilet because where they put the where
Speaker 1: they put the toy, it was like on the wall.
Speaker 1: It was like a piece of art. And I was
Speaker 1: like so camouflaged into the whole environment of the bathroom,
Speaker 1: and I was like, this is unbelievable. So I totally
Speaker 1: understand the point of the details and how it can
Speaker 1: totally transform or like you said, even the water or
Speaker 1: how things taste, or the way things feel. I just
Speaker 1: when you're in a different culture, it just feels different.
Speaker 1: We'll be back after this break. So that's really interesting
Speaker 1: about getting into digital and randomized and as you said,
Speaker 1: kind of the detail of what's possible and your work
Speaker 1: really reflects that. Your work has such just so much
Speaker 1: complexity in it, and it's really it draws you in
Speaker 1: and it keeps you there. How has this whole NFT
Speaker 1: movement changed the way you think about your work and
Speaker 1: how has it impacted your life? Well, well, where to start?
Speaker 1: It's not to be to answer those questions because it's well,
Speaker 1: I think the first thing is when you are working
Speaker 1: with genetitive art, there was no there was no a
Speaker 1: good way to show it or to you know, make
Speaker 1: it available. And I think the NFT in the obviously
Speaker 1: art blogs platform and they solved a problem that was
Speaker 1: how to show this type of work, and in does matter.
Speaker 1: I think any f T changed everything because when you
Speaker 1: have the right way to show this, you can make
Speaker 1: people see how important this can be, you know. So
Speaker 1: I think that was the first thing. But of course
Speaker 1: after this, even that, I made a few projects abroad
Speaker 1: in Los Angeles in Germany staining, but I wasn't a
Speaker 1: knowing arts and the ant in the ny f T space.
Speaker 1: That doesn't matter. If people like your work, if they
Speaker 1: think that what you're doing is great, it's great. And uh,
Speaker 1: it's amazing to think that nobody knows how I am
Speaker 1: who I am? How do I look like? They don't
Speaker 1: care if I am you know, a mayor or not.
Speaker 1: Of course, of course I think that we should have
Speaker 1: much more girls in this space. But in the final
Speaker 1: of the day, you know, the NFT changed all the game.
Speaker 1: Yet you know, we still see that there are not
Speaker 1: as many women, or at least as many women being
Speaker 1: recognized in the NFT space. How did you transition? Because
Speaker 1: I know a lot of women want to go into
Speaker 1: web three or even want to go into NFTs, but
Speaker 1: they feel there's a barrier because there is this narrative
Speaker 1: out there that you know, at tech is a guy's thing,
Speaker 1: and I think a lot of women feel it's hard
Speaker 1: to jump in. How did you transition? And what can
Speaker 1: we say to these women? Well, at first, I'm not afraid, uh,
Speaker 1: and I don't care. When I started to programming, I
Speaker 1: was alone. I learned by myself, and I studied for
Speaker 1: like four years by myself. Then I went back to
Speaker 1: Brazil and I made a few friends and we started
Speaker 1: to meet each other in some Paulo and will you
Speaker 1: build a community in Brazil around the creative programming? It's well,
Speaker 1: there is a few women, it's just like me and
Speaker 1: two or three more, and you know, sometimes can be intimidating,
Speaker 1: but we need to do what we need to do.
Speaker 1: And sometimes it's hard, yes it is. Sometimes there are
Speaker 1: there are less opportunities, of course, but you need to
Speaker 1: stink by yourself. You need to go and do what
Speaker 1: you know you you can do, and that's all we have,
Speaker 1: you know, So that's what I do. I think, I
Speaker 1: think having that community around you to give you some
Speaker 1: energy when you have a little bit of low energy,
Speaker 1: at least for myself. But to your point, we have
Speaker 1: to kind of stay committed to our goals. But I
Speaker 1: think having a community of women and men who are
Speaker 1: supportive is really important and who are discovering together, because
Speaker 1: I think this world as that we live in is
Speaker 1: so full of change and everything is new all the time,
Speaker 1: and so to your point, to be afraid of new
Speaker 1: probably isn't an option right now. Yeah, And I think
Speaker 1: just thinking now, we need to communicate. We want to communicate.
Speaker 1: We want to find people that share similarities, and sometimes
Speaker 1: that doesn't share some a looted with us. But the
Speaker 1: communication is very important. If you have no one to
Speaker 1: talk about it or should developed together or to share things,
Speaker 1: well where is the point of doing something? So it's
Speaker 1: really really important. Should beauty community, and I think the
Speaker 1: community is the best thing we can have in our lives. Well,
Speaker 1: that's why we are. We're super excited that you're part
Speaker 1: of our community and that we're doing this collection together.
Speaker 1: I mean, the point of the collection was to show
Speaker 1: these incredible women artists, to get women supporting the work,
Speaker 1: to get women involved in kind of web three and
Speaker 1: getting comfortable, and also you know, hopefully to envision equality
Speaker 1: through the work. So how did you think about this piece?
Speaker 1: The goal of the goal of the project was, well,
Speaker 1: the brief was to ask, you know, how do you
Speaker 1: envision equality? How did you think about the piece um
Speaker 1: that you've done for the collection? So at first I
Speaker 1: thought that I should portrayed a female or something related
Speaker 1: to that. So in the end I decided that I
Speaker 1: wasn't going to do that because the equality stands in
Speaker 1: my work itself. I am being unarts of female arts
Speaker 1: from Brazil. That's a read enough to talk about equality.
Speaker 1: I mean, I don't need to painting a woman talk
Speaker 1: about it. So I decided to focus into the best
Speaker 1: I could inside my line of work. And I hope
Speaker 1: that people that people can see that women and men,
Speaker 1: we are both capable of doing amazing things when we want.
Speaker 1: So I'm really glad to be in this project and
Speaker 1: to be with those amazing girls, amazing arts, and to
Speaker 1: share its possibility to talk about in fit and women
Speaker 1: we should talk about it. I always see those lists
Speaker 1: like the top ten these are that, and it's always
Speaker 1: men men, men and women and two humans, and I think, well,
Speaker 1: it's not because the work is better or not what's
Speaker 1: going on here? So that's why I'm super hectic here.
Speaker 1: I think you're so right. I mean, it's it's interesting
Speaker 1: because there's always this feeling that there are no women
Speaker 1: in NFTs, and we know that that's not true, and
Speaker 1: yet we do know that there's a barrier. There is
Speaker 1: a barrier to women being in this space. But I
Speaker 1: think it seems like the way perhaps art is promoted,
Speaker 1: or the way collectors perhaps spend their money. I think
Speaker 1: to your point, there's something going on here and we
Speaker 1: need to get to the root of it, and I
Speaker 1: think I hope that this collection will be the first
Speaker 1: where we can bring the Seneca women community to bear
Speaker 1: on the art and to show the world and bring
Speaker 1: new people to collecting, but then also kind of have this,
Speaker 1: you know, this this curated collection to show six really
Speaker 1: amazing women from around the world, which is also really exciting.
Speaker 1: I think you mentioned earlier that you know, if you
Speaker 1: were in Spain or Brazil or Germany, things were very local,
Speaker 1: and I think in the past, in most professions you
Speaker 1: kind of had to know somebody or you know, somehow
Speaker 1: get to the right network. But with the blockchain, you know,
Speaker 1: it's there is this possibility of the barriers coming down
Speaker 1: and things becoming global instantly. So if we can kind
Speaker 1: of come together with our communities and promote women's art,
Speaker 1: I think I think it'll be a big important contribution
Speaker 1: because to your point, being a woman artist and how
Speaker 1: you see the world and letting the world see how
Speaker 1: you see the world, that is a quality and that's
Speaker 1: what we're hoping for. I only can thank you a
Speaker 1: lot for disopportunity. Well, I thank you, I really I'm
Speaker 1: super inspired by your work. We love what you do.
Speaker 1: Of course, you are one of the top NFT artists
Speaker 1: in the world, and it's obvious why anybody who sees
Speaker 1: your work will understand that. So thank you for what
Speaker 1: you're doing. And I hope that together we're going to
Speaker 1: bring a whole new bunch of women into the NFT space,
Speaker 1: and I hope we can work together for years to come.
Speaker 1: I hope so too. It was so wonderful to talk
Speaker 1: to Monica, and her work is truly inspiring. Go to
Speaker 1: Seneca Women dot com to see her work and the
Speaker 1: other artists in the Seneca Women a Quality collection, and
Speaker 1: join us tomorrow for another Women Rule Web three conversation.
Speaker 1: Have a great day. You're listening to Seneca Women Conversations
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