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Katie McIntyre
Which was your first NFT ever?
My first NFT ever was my piece that was released as a part of the Time Magazine Genesis collection called “Control Room”. It highlights a naturalistic feminine future that I include in a lot of my pieces. It was created in collaboration with Viktoria Modesta and Nina Hawkins.
Which is the last one?
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My last piece was called “Rebirth” and It was featured in the Decentral Art Pavilion in La Biennale di Venezia. It was sculpted in Z-brush and VR, down to every individual hair strand. It highlights the process of creation and empowerment as two women from each other and also break into a new version of themselves. It focuses on the power of creation and rebirth.
How did you start your career in crypto art?
I started my career in crypto art fairly organically through the music industry. I have been working on album covers since I was 19 years old for Nicki Minaj, Cardi B, Normani, The Weeknd, Aaliyah, Latto etc. I think it was a natural transition as more women musicians explored web 3 that our collaborations would extend into the crypto world.
How can we increase the involvement of women in crypto?
I think to some extent this is the wrong question. There are a lot of women involved in crypto. I think the issue we have is a reluctance to acknowledge, value and support the crypto work of women. We need to value art created by women. I see the most basic work by men can generate massive amounts of wealth, and I think that speaks more to where we are as a culture, and the long term value we attribute to the works based on the gender of the artists. I think we can offer women better support by making sure they are given a spotlight for their work, putting them in the best exhibitions and making sure their work is shared with top collectors and individuals who can value the work.
Last project?
My last project was a feature of my feminist futurist car DAKINI in a campaign for Mugler/Goat. I have spent years developing this concept car alongside French car design specialist Edouard Suzeau. It really is a step forward in creating feminine, futuristic, fashion- oriented vehicles. This was an important project, featured both in Goat’s Greatest publication and online, which allowed me to create the world around the car and creative direct Eartheater the musician in an expressive, sensual pose. The message of the car is really women driving their own bodies and futures, and my plans for the car are much bigger than a campaign but it’s an introduction to this new wave of feminist technology products I am creating.
What are the main guiding principles behind your work? Can you step outside yourself for a moment and let us know what you see?
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I gave a lecture recently at Carnegie Mellon University on my design philosophy. I think that it gives a good insight into my guiding principles. I have a design philosophy I have called “feminine future” which integrates visual languages derived from feminist paintings reintroduced through modern toolsets while also building off the work of women innovators and technologists like Zaha Hadid, Neri Oxman and Iris Van Herpen. I am motivated by a desire to create a
universal feminine design language that allows for a deeper connection to the earth, the proverbial divine feminine and allow for women to see themselves as central leaders of the future. I would also say a key element of my philosophy is rebellion against political and patriarchal ownership of the female body. That is very clear from the album covers I create as well, particularly the Latto “Pussy” album cover with a woman’s body sprawled in front of the supreme court with her legs open. A feminine future also is an empowered future where women reclaim their sexuality as divine rather than dark and shameful. I think that our awakening to a new perspective on women’s sexuality, expression and power in the world is a catalyst to a lot of healing and growth as a culture.
When I step outside of myself I see a new vision for humanity that really challenges the way we think about the feminine and, in turn, changes how we create and nurture the environment. I don’t think that the patriarchy has been successful in managing issues which effect us all. For example, we’re heading towards a global climate crisis due to the current set up and I think the way we treat feminine leadership and the earth is inherently interconnected.
Do you get any particular source of inspiration for the visual styles of your works e.g. do they arrive in relation to the place (physical, psychological, or situational) you were located at the time?
I get inspired by the future a lot and shaping it, the future, aesthetic- wise, with a uniquely feminine flair. Traditionally, futurist art has been steeped in a masculine, hard edged, brutalist world and I really believe it’s important to foster a vision of the feminine future that’s grounded in connection to womanhood and naturalism. I also get really motivated to tell certain stories based on my own experiences. If something has affected me, either positively or negatively, I end up referencing it in my work. I had an experience recently where a man promised to promote my work then revealed he didn’t think it was valuable enough to promote, so I put the
same sculpture on an album cover that went viral. Of course only I knew this backstory, but I think that It really uplifts me to also provide justice for myself through my art. I think those moments are important in my healing journey while facing devaluation for my feminist art practice constantly. On a more technical level, I derive a lot of my shapes from abstractions of female fertility and expressions of sexuality from a woman’s point of view. I like to make commentaries on society through the abstractions of these shapes. For instance I often create a serpentine representation of fertility commenting on the position of woman being seen as deceitful seductresses. The relationship between women’s internal organs and their cultural perception has always been interconnected, that’s where the word “hysteria” actually comes
from. I think we forgot how engrained this thinking is so I like to comment on it from my own perspective, poke holes in the cognitive training on bias.
Can you dive a bit into the technical aspects of the works? Software or hardware used (in the wide sense; it could be thoughts and bodies), as well as the editing process? What are some of the particular challenges you and
your team have faced in realizing the works?
I have a built PC with an RTX 3080 and a MacBook. I use my PC for a lot of the work. My main softwares are Z-brush, Cinema 4D, Clo-3D, Daz, and adobe suite. My editing process is pretty intense with procreate and is almost another layer to the 3D making process. I think some challenges we have faced is mostly just a strong sense of perfectionism and details being crisp under a time constraint. My work is incredibly detailed and rich, so maintaining high quality work while balancing time constraints is essential and difficult.
Can you tell us about the relationship you want or aim to have with the viewer? What is the underlying approach to this relationship?
Tell us a secret about your work. Even a small one.
I want to invite the viewer to really see outside the matrix of patriarchy and imagine a new world. I think there is a certain level of tongue in cheek to my work as well. I love trolling the patriarchy, showing the worst fears of the old guard realized through unfettered feminine expression, free of current limitations. I find it really amusing to do this and those who follow my work closely understand both the power in my messaging and the humour in it. How I am sort of saying “this is your worst nightmare, right?” And it’s just the vulva, the thing that has been considered our supposed weakness. I also hope my viewers walk away feeling something;
hitting people in their heart space , inspiring them to reassess their world-view. I would say a small secret to my work is that I include secret messages sometimes in my album covers related to bigger projects I have coming. A pedestal in one album cover might relate to a future fashion piece etc. Ultimately, I aim to create genuine work which resonates with the viewing public and elevates women in all cultural contexts.