An award-winning digital art studio founded by Eric P. Rhodes.
From 2019-2024, Eric P. Rhodes’ innovative art studio, Second Realm, pioneered some of the most influential crypto-native art movements in the Web3 space.
In 2021, operating under the pseudonym Second Realm, he launched the iconic Unofficial Punks collection. This collection stands as a pioneering force, acting as the “progenitor of a sprawling decentralized art movement” – the Altpunks.
The Unofficial Punks revolutionized the concept of using CryptoPunks as a template for personal expression and aesthetic exploration. Since then, Altpunks have become the go-to proof of concept for hundreds of artists, projects, and blockchains to showcase their digital collectible capabilities.
Prior to the Unofficial Punks, Second Realm was a key figure in the Trash Art movement. Renowned for pushing the boundaries of intellectual property (IP) and digital ownership, he challenged traditional curatorial practices and fought against art censorship. The movement made significant progress; as a result, remixing and derivatives are now ubiquitous in Web3, often serving as a major indicator of cultural awareness.
In 2020, he invented a social liquidity mining protocol that bridged DeFi and NFTs using the $TATR social token and the people’s potato. It was eventually shortlisted for the most innovative NFT in 2020 and received The People’s Choice Award.
Highlights
🎨 Genesis Mint – Jun 4, 2019 (🔥Burned in 2020)
💎 SuperRare since 2019
🗑️ Pioneered the Trash Art movement
🚫 Historic ban from SuperRare
🥔 Minted 1B potatoes, The People’s Potato
🪙 Launched the $TATR Memecoin
👨🏻🔬 Invented Social Liquidity Mining
🥇 NFT Awards’ People’s Choice Award winner
😈 Created iconic Unofficial Punks Feb 2021
🏁 Started the Alt-Punks movement
🔞 Male thirst trap NFT provocateur
🎙️ Host of The Outer Realm NFT Podcast
🗣️ Interviewed Gary Vee + 30 more
✍🏼 CryptoPunks and Copyrights article cited in academic papers.
🏛️ Museum of Crypto Art’s Genesis Collection
🙌🏼 Historic reinstatement to SuperRare in 2022
🐸 Series 0 of the Fake Memes collection
🍽️ Included in Matt Kane’s Forever Supper Expansion Pack
📝 Included in Matt Kane’s Contractual Obligations performance art
🗽 Crypto Noir portrait displayed in Times Square
📸 Web3 People Portrait created by Aleksandra Artamonovskaja
🖼️ Exhibited in New York, London, Los Angeles, Paris, and Morocco
🎨 Terminus Mint – May 11, 2024
Origin Story
In the following interview, Eric explains the origin story of Second Realm: