By Park Dae-seok,Columnist/cosmobigstone@gmail.com
The art world is evolving to lead the way in the digital revolution. World-renowned digital media artist Hooranky has emerged as a pioneer in the art world and digital asset market by using NFTs to create works that have caught the attention of collectors around the world. Horanky, born in 1958, is an abstract expressionist artist who uses digital media.
Validation of workability through high-priced domestic and foreign transactions, and marketing models for art and famous department stores.
In August 2019, Hooranky signed a deal for five works for $50 million. The 'Art Museum in Department Store' was so successful that one piece sold for a high price in just 30 minutes at the Lotte Department Store in South Korea. Recognized for its work, Hooranky NFT for its artistry and was sold for $5.55 million at the NFTBLUE auction at the 2021 Miami Bitcoin Conference.
In 2021, his work topped the NFT Ranking News. Horanky's work is also the highest among Korean artists as it was sold for $5.05 million (about 6 billion won) at the Miami auction in July last year and 7.5 billion won at the Global ARTIX in October of the same year.
This effect has led other department stores in Korea to benchmark the handling of art. His remarkable achievements are recognized worldwide in the art world, with his marketing strategy setting the standard for famous Korean department stores and other artists.
Numerous examples of inimitable engagement participation
What makes Hooranky particularly noteworthy is his real-world involvement beyond the art world. As an artist, he is actively involved in charity work for child relief. In 2021, Hooranky was named an Ambassador for World Vision, the world's largest international relief and development NGO.
This appointment is a testament to Hooranky's dedication to philanthropy and commitment to positively affecting the world. Hooranky's efforts to positively impact society have set a high standard for other artists to follow.
In April 2021, Hooranky's active socially engaged philanthropy is evident in the 50th Anniversary of Jeon Tae-il, which he dedicated to a KRW 150 billion Hooranky NFT. The proceeds will be used to develop the art world and support civil society movements.
'A Boy Sees,' release on September 29th, 2022, with YMCA officials; the black suit and white shirt on the left of the work in the center is Hooranky/ courtesy of Hooranky].
Together with the World YMCA, Hooranky has launched a fundraising campaign for an international youth campground to commemorate the relocation of the Asia-Pacific YMCA headquarters to Jeju. To create the campground, Hooranky issued the artwork "A Boy Sees" as an NFT and took part in raising funds with a goal of KRW 21.4 billion.
The work expresses the importance of the global community and the beautiful Jeju nature that we must protect through the figure of a child who has to live in the midst of a climate crisis and disaster. Hooranky completed the work after visiting the site of a campground in the middle of Hallasan Mountain.
That's not all. Hooranky traveled to Japan in October 2022 to feel the breath of the history of the February 8th Declaration of Independence, which awakened the nation and sparked the March 1st movement. He visited the site of the independence movement, including the Japan YMCA building and museum and the Hibiya Park area in Tokyo.
The 120th Anniversary of Seoul YMCA and 2.8 Declaration of Independence Special Exhibition," which will be held twice this year, is a special exhibition to pass on the love of the country from the older generation to the next. It will be held in Tokyo and Seoul for one week each in April and October. More than 50 artists from Korea and Japan will collaborate to express the spirit of independence in various forms. Proceeds from the exhibition will be used to support the YMCA of Japan.
Nowadays, Young people tend to take freedom for granted like air, and it was never earned," said Hooranky. "We need to remember that our ancestors shed their blood to achieve freedom, and we desperately need to pass on our sense of history."
Leading the construction of a hydrophilic city with environmental NFTs. 'Water Flower World'
Hooranky's most recent NGO business focuses on the environment, including the climate crisis. Accordingly, Hooranky's environmental NFT mockup, "Water Flower City," was released on the 11th. The work shows a waterway reminiscent of 'Water Flower World' in various dark colors unique to Hooranky. The NFT will be issued as 1.08 million NFTs, divided into 104 horizontal and vertical pieces.
Hooranky will invest more than 50% of the proceeds from the sale of NFTs into the Water Flower Kingdom SPC (Special Purpose Corporation), which will actually promote the Water Flower Kingdom project, an environmental urban development. The SPC will later allocate a portion of the proceeds to Hooranky upon completion of the project, which Hooranky can then pay out in the form of bonuses to Mulberry NFT holders.
'Water Flower World' is a project to create a 22km to 32km long eco-friendly waterfront city with good accessibility and civic use like Venice, Italy by attracting existing oceans, rivers, and other large rivers to urban areas. The cities currently under consideration include Goyang, Paju, Ganghwa, Yangpyeong, Namyangju, Guri, Yeoju, Pohang, and Busan. Currently, Goyang and Paju are considered to be the best candidates.
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Hooranky combines commercial and public projects in the virtual asset market, which is full of insubstantial fiction and money game forms, with NFT finance. It's a way to make the crypto market healthier. Water Flower Kingdom is also the first project to create a metaverse first, and then actually create a water-friendly city in a physical space. It is also a major contribution to the development of the Korean metaverse industry.
Water Flower World NFT is an ultra-convergent finance that encompasses art, metaverse, civil engineering, architecture, and environment, and is a true ESG (environmental, social, and governance) finance. As an artist, Hooranky will continue to make a name for himself internationally as a transdisciplinary artist who contributes to charity, NGOs, and the environment, as well as building the virtual asset market and laying the foundation for NFT finance.
Chartres Angajumang and Hooranky's Angaje
"Artists should give voice to environmental issues, as well as the patriotic spirit of our ancestors and the independence movement," and "Anyone who puts social responsibility on the back burner is not a true artist. I will do my part as best I can." says Hooranky.
Engagement (noun), which means "action" and "practice" based on "existential freedom," is about changing the world little by little by directly participating in social issues, or "s'engager" (verb). It's also about empowerment. Artists, who are highly influential in the public sphere, are more effective than politicians in solving immediate problems such as the environment.
'Liberate yourself by changing the situation' was the ultimate purpose and motto of Sartre's existentialist ethics represented by 'angst'. In the same way, Hooranky is trying to contribute to humanity and the planet through angst and expanding the scope of art. I look forward to more talented artists participating in solving real-world problems.
All photos or images featured in this article were courtesy of Hooranky.
