Feminists For Sale: Meta Betties Gamify Sexuality At The Oculus NYC With Whips And Blockchains
Meta Betties' Karley Wasaff.
The Santiago Calatrava designed structure reminiscent of a ribbed, fossilized crustacean brings you into The Oculus, and the Westfield World Trade Center mall: a complex of elegantly curated storefronts that brings the guest into a sleek, futuristic shopping experience. Heading down to the main level, then taking the South Concourse to the end of the hallway, art continues to be a meeting ground for past and present at the Canvas 3.0 Gallery, and their current artists in residence- Meta Betties.
A crowd is perplexed by the hypersexualized nun strip poker performance.
Meta Betties' Celia Torrey doing a split mid perfomance.
Behind The Curtain RSVP's gaze at the artwork behind the curtain.
Since beginning their residency, Meta Betties co-founders Blakelee & Jason Pieroni have been the wedding officiants for immersive digital art, traditional art and live performances. On August 16th, ARCHIV3 was an official supporter of their latest exhibition and collaboration with HUG.XYZ - 'The Art of Space Exploration: Interstellar Overdrive’. Something that deserves to be recognized is that Blakelee curated a full scale group show with Web3 token gating in less than ten days. “I told everyone we’d be doing a group show every month! So when I realized that the end of the month was booked out, I said ‘I’m not gonna NOT do a group show, when I told people I was gonna do a group show.. so.. we’re doing a group show.'‘ However Blakelee didn’t stop there. She curated a token gated experience that dove deep into sexuality, activism and performance art. Using Solana as the vessel to create memorable productions for her audiences, the collective took experiential events to the next level with jaw dropping late-night performances.
Meta Betties' Karely Wasaff & Celia Torrey facing off in Strip Poker.
Attendees observe art while holding introspective discussions around the complex themes.
ARCHIV3 Magazine issues 1-2 for sale on-site.
Featuring fifty artists through different mediums, the digital screens in the gallery space came to life evoking fantastical scenes of constellations, sci-fi battles, aliens, distant planets and more. “Space exploration, it’s one of the more fun personas of Meta Betties,” and the curation showcased this effortlessly, as the pieces presented a strong balance of wonder and whimsy.
“ I partnered with HUG. We chose fifty artists, and they’re not just AI, they’re not just digital. We have physical pieces in here, we have collage work, we have paintings. All on the topic of space exploration. And just like every other group show, one artist gets to win a solo takeover for a night.”
DJ KILLGXXD on spins.
Eze and company bartending the event.
Alcohol sponsor, Bored Vodka by Spirit Punks.
Beverage sponsor, TBD Cannabis infused drinks.
When asked about her inspirations in science fiction and space, Blakelee quickly cited the film Another Earth, exploring concepts like self vs. other, parallel universes, and exploration vs. comfort. Meta Betties Co-Founder Jason Pieroni, also shares a passion for space. “One of his big passions is going. So tonight, a lot of the proceeds are going to the Space Exploration Fund, which is getting people on Mars!” says Blakelee.
Blakelee, Co-Founder of Meta Betties.
Jason, Co-Founder of Meta Betties.
Meta Betties' Celia Torrey & Kandis McCall
Alina, artist.
In addition to showcasing art, Meta Betties chose to implement technologies that feel futuristic to elevate the experience. Meta Betties has an NFT collection component, built on Solana, that taps its collectors into digital activism centers that update in real time. By registering their Phantom wallets with them, guests were granted access to a cordoned-off, black curtain section of the gallery, and treated to a performance of two dancers, featuring a strip poker duel to the sonic curation of ARCHIV3’s very own KILLGXXD.
“Definitely the first time it’s being done with Meta Betties. The point for it is that the performance art is getting more and more extreme, and we’re going to be talking about more critical issues, and making more political statements. And I want the people in the room to care about the people in the art, and I want the people in the room to care about the performance. So token gating it, or list gating is just a little way to show me that you respect the Betties. That’s what it’s about. It’s a women owned collective. All the performers are super talented, and we just wanted more of an elevated experience.”
Meta Betties' Celia Torrey & Karely Wasaff.
Meta Betties is leveraging blockchain technologies several steps further. The private crypto peep-show perfomance will be released as a short film through Only1, the “OnlyFans of Solana.” This film will a be a gated feature in their new NFT collection based on Solana, launching Fall of 2024. “Holders of Meta Betties will be getting weekly short films on Only1 with exclusive content, where we take everythng you know about the OnlyFans experience and flip it on its head, and we’re guaranteeing a year of that.”
Meta Betties' Kandis McCall.
Erica Bigelow's live axe demolition perfomance.
Meta Betties' Kandis McCall.
Despite all these accomplishments, and innovative implementations, Blakelee and Jason Pieroni seem more excited about the journey than the destination as it comes to artistic exploration. This hunger continues to push their curation in different ways that are making their residency one of the hottest spots for new discovery and immersive experiences. Much like space, as with art, there truly is no final frontier.
Meta Betties' Celia Torrey in a full nun outfit.
Meta Betties' Erica Bigelow serving blood shots for confessions.
Afterparty crowd at the peep show.
Credentials:
Interview & Writing: Nik VRSI
Photography: Josh Sauceda & Bleu Pablo
Editing: Josh Sauceda
