Jennifer Tiscia – Memphis Flyer

We can all recognize Memphis as an arts hub, but is it a hub for NFTs? Maybe not yet, but the group NFT Memphis, founded in September by artists and collectors, is working to solidify the city as such.

“There’s a bunch of stuff in Memphis that’s really popular and really influential,” says artist Anthony Sims. “However, it seems to be that the artists here basically in perpetuity have been fucked over by like the rest of the world. … There are so many people that aren’t even from Memphis that have leaned on this area [for artistic inspiration]. And it’s like, why don’t the people of the area actually claim ownership of what we’re doing for everyone else?”

Some, like Sims, hope NFTs will bridge this gap by providing artists with consistent income, since they will receive residuals from every sale their NFTs make on the blockchain. “For artists to be working artists is for us to kill the notion of a starving artist,” adds digital artist Kenneth Wayne Alexander. “That’s the main plan [with NFTs and NFT Memphis] because we need more optional jobs out here. Being an artist can be a lucrative job, but we have to build it.”

Anthony Sims’ NFTs (Photo: Courtesy Anthony Sims)

So far, the Southern arts community does not have as big of an NFT infrastructure as other regions in the U.S. “It’s our chance to be able to kind of say, ‘Oh, okay, Memphis, let’s put the peg there,’” says Meaty Graffiti gallery owner Jennifer Tiscia.

For those who are still confused or just plain curious about the digital medium, NFT Memphis plans to offer classes and showcases, with its second-ever showcase planned for this Thursday. The show will include screens with digital art along with more “traditional” forms of art like paintings and prints — made by locals Sims, Alexander, and Cheeto Ryan, as well as PREACHER, an artist from New Orleans.

“This is going to be more than just an art show,” says Tiscia. “This is gonna be about us having a true community of NFT collectors. This is art for the people. This is making sure that artists are gonna be compensated. This is about supporting our artists, supporting our community.”

As such, the artists will participate in a Q&A not only to share their knowledge, but also to find out what Memphis needs when it comes to becoming an NFT hub and what the group can do to help other artists explore the medium. People can also submit questions through Meaty Graffiti’s website.

Plus, NFT Memphis will distribute POAPs at the showcase. A POAP, which stands for Proof of Attendance Protocol, is essentially a “ticket stub” but in NFT form, explains Justin Hodges, who helped organize the event. “It’s basically proof you were there.” The new food truck, Tender Love, will also be making its debut that evening.

To keep up with NFT Memphis, follow the group on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram (@nft_memphis).

NFT Art Showcase and Q&A, Meaty Graffiti, Thursday, November 10, 4:30-7 p.m.

If you’re looking for love in all the wrong places, head over to 495 North Hollywood. You’ll find it about 1,200 times.

Renda Writer painted the word “love” in off-red, black, and burgundy hundreds of times on the front and sides of Meaty Graffiti, a new art gallery at that address.

A New York native, Writer, 43, a traveling mural artist who lives out of his van, was the featured artist at a pop-up show February 11th at the gallery. To date, he’s painted more than 500 murals in eight countries.

His public murals in Memphis include a red-and-white “Love” mural at 711 Martin Luther King Boulevard. “That was done during Paint Memphis one year,” Writer says. “I’ve done that (Paint Memphis) three or four times. A few I have in town were done for that.”

His other Memphis murals include a “Love” mural in white, pink, and periwinkle blue by the old Lamar movie theater. He also painted “Memphis” inside a heart at a local brewery.

About 90 percent of his murals involve words, says Writer, who calls himself a “Handwritten Artist.”

“The whole reason I do words and my art is on words is the emphasis of writing things into existence. It’s very important in my work. The work is meant to emphasize that idea and also the power behind words. The idea that words, especially, carry energy and are a tool or vessel for conveying energy or moving energy forward.”

Writer, who was a poet before he ever did any visual art, also uses an L7 pattern, which he describes as “a series of uppercase Ls and abstract 7s.”

He puts all the Ls and 7s together “in various configurations so all the negative space is filled” in his art works.

Writer painted on a bus, a baby crib, a beer tap for a brewery, and a wooden sushi boat for a Miami chef. He also painted on people — body art. “My art is all about handwriting, but I’m a mixed media or multi-media artist. I like to do something other than words on a canvas.”

Renda Writer works on his mural at Meaty Graffiti (Credit: Michael Donahue)

Writer also has painted 82 murals, which he calls “World Peace” murals. He currently is working on one in Hialeah, Florida.

And, he says, “I’m also doing digital art now, which is the future of the art world. It’s a whole other tool in my tool box now.”

Jennifer Tiscia, who owns Meaty Graffiti, “fell in love with his art” after she learned about Writer on Instagram.

“The whole reason I opened this gallery is I’m just a fan girl of street art and pop art,” she says. “I’ve been an accountant for all these years sitting at a desk working on spread sheets. The last few years I’ve taken all my vacations to go to mural festivals.”

Writer is “a big reason why I did this at all. One day when I was sitting in an office looking at a spread sheet, which I still do by the way, I just had this feeling, ‘If I have to look at another spread sheet today, I may jump out of the window.’”

Those are the times Tiscia will take a break and sketch or look at art works on her phone. “That kind of centers me again so I can get the energy to go back to work.”

This particular time she was looking at her phone. “I was scrolling through Instagram and I saw one of his pieces that said, ‘Your Comfort Zone Will Kill You.’ And when I saw that, it hit me and I thought, ‘That’s exactly what I’m doing. I’m sitting here in my comfort zone and I feel like it’s killing me.’ I needed to stretch a little more and take a chance and do something I love.”

Renda Writer and Jennifer Tiscia at Meaty Graffiti (Credit: Michael Donahue)

She officially opened Meaty Graffiti last November. “We don’t have something like that in Memphis where we really celebrate our street artists and celebrate our pop artists like that. I just wanted to bring that here.”

Writer also featured his art work on canvas in addition to his outdoor mural at the pop up. “My concept for all my artists is, ‘I have a blank canvas that I offer you. You can do whatever you want inside and outside of the building,’” Tiscia says.

Renda Writer with one of his works on canvas at Meaty Graffiti (Credit: MIchael Donahue)

The next artist could come in and also decide to paint the front and sides of her gallery, which would erase Writer’s mural. “This is temporary,” Tiscia says.

So, what if it started raining while Writer was on that ladder painting his mural at Meaty Graffiti? “I would have just kept working,” he says. “And if the rain got really serious, I’d stop and wait for it to stop.

“I’ve done hundreds of murals in all kinds of weather. I don’t really worry about that kind of thing too much. Part of the zen of being a person is knowing what you can control and what you can’t. You certainly can’t control the weather.”