edward snowden nft selfportrait sells million

 

Edward Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor whose leaks revealed a vast global surveillance program, has sold more than one million dollars in limited-edition prints of his self-portrait.

The work, "nft," or "not for trade," was created late last year and deals with Snowden's thoughts on technology and the omnipresence of surveillance. The print was handed out at George Soros' annual Open Society fund-raiser in New York City with each purchase including a letter from Mr. Soros to Mr. Snowden stating "We must use new technologies to defend our privacy and civil liberties". "nft" sold for $1,000 dollars each and the series was limited to 100 prints. The work is currently available from www.nftprints.com

 

 Image source: https://www.highsnobiety.com/p/hapebeast-nft-hapes-interview-digimental/

Snowden is being criticized by some for selling the images without permission from the NSA, which has refused to comment on the artwork. "Why didn't he just make prints outside of government permission?" one commenter asked on the website of The Guardian newspaper. "All I ask is that you respect my family's privacy and not contact my mother," Mr. Snowdon wrote in an email to The Guardian when asked how long copyright was to last after his death.

 Image source: https://womanofsolana.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/158-1-1.png

Snowden's mother, Elizabeth Snowden, appeared on CBS' "60 Minutes" to defend her son. "He's going to use his name for the greater good of society and this country," she said. "I hope people look at this and they say, wow, that is really cool," she said. "If a government can do this to an individual, a single individual that doesn't have any power in the world except the truth...what's going to happen to the rest of us?"

Snowden is still living in exile in Russia and has been charged with espionage by U.S. authorities.

Snowden's lawyer explained that Snowden would like the focus to be on his actions rather than his personality or personal life. "He told me he wanted his face out of it because he didn't want anything from this sale," said Jesselyn Radack, Snowden's attorney since last year. It was a simple painting, depicting someone sitting in front of a table, with the name Edward Snowden written above him. But it's not what he depicted that has made this art piece so lucrative— it's what he did.

Snowden left the United States and sought asylum in Russia after leaking classified documents to journalists revealing the United States government’s digital spying programs, which included the mass surveillance of Americans. They got over 10 million views on Facebook in just six hours.

 

 Image source: https://www.newworldmonkes.com/

The painting was made by Norwegian artist, Bjarne Melgaard. It sold for $1.3 million, according to The Washington Post . Melgaard say the piece has been sold to an anonymous collector who “wants the work to remain alongside the other greats of contemporary art in a museum or public collection.”

He described his fascination and feelings toward Snowden during a video interview with VICE news. He said he wants to meet Snowden and ask him why he did what he did.

"I'm interested in this man who really put everything on the line," Melgaard said.

 

Image source: https://www.benzinga.com/money/celebrities-that-own-bored-ape-yacht-club-nfts/

Melgaard added: "He is a symbol of our times, and I would like to express that through an artwork. I think he's an interesting character, and I'm very interested in what he did and what he stands for. I want to ask him, 'What made you do it?"

Melgaard also added that Snowden had no "grand master plan," regarding his actions.

"I think this was a man who felt passionate about something, which many of us do," he said. "So we need to look at that and reflect on society as a whole."

The painting is part of Melgaard's exhibition of new works in Los Angeles called “Exhibition A-Z.” He said this particular piece has been the most popular out of all the pieces in the exhibition. Despite the popularity of this piece, Melgaard is still receiving criticism for it.

 

 Image source: https://www.shutterstock.com/search/nft+art

The Norwegian artist is known for his provocative and disturbing works. He received a lot of heat when he posted a video entitled “Kill your neighbor” on YouTube, which depicted him cutting off the head of his neighbor's cat and using it as a canvas for some of his art pieces.

Melgaard told VICE that he created the art piece because he sees himself in Snowden. He said Snowden also considers himself a “protagonist” that needs to do something against a system that individuals can’t really fight against by themselves.

"I'm an iconoclast," Melgaard said.