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Medusa Collection
NFTs for Good
The Medusa Collection is a set of 2,500 unique NFTs by artist Mieke Marple on the Ethereum blockchain. The collection is a large scale artwork + restorative history + fundraiser that dedicates 25% of all sales to Steven Van Zandt’s national education non-profit TeachRock.org.
View on OpenSea
About the Art
The Medusa Collection is based on Marple’s paintings of canonical Italian sculptures of Medusa, spanning 1545 to 1805. Marple started this series in 2019 when she discovered that — according to Ovid’s Metamorphoses from 8 AD — Medusa had been raped by the god Poseidon and then turned into a monster by his wife, the god Athena.
The Collection is made using a combination of analog and digital techniques. A randomizing algorithm
Restorative History
Medusa was punished for being a rape survivor. Yet this is rarely part of the story we learn. Medusa’s story felt indicative of the way countless groups are marginalized in the tales we take for granted as “history.” Through the Medusa Collection, Marple reframes Medusa 10,000 times, turning her from an antagonist to be feared into a protagonist to be cheered and sympathized with.
The carbon footprint of the Medusa Collection will be offset through creol.io.
While each Medusa is unique:
- Some are rare
- Some are extremely rare
- And some categorically exceptional
2,500 Medusas
Rarity
| 8 Head Types |
| 10 Backgrounds |
| 19 Skin Colors |
| 4 Shadow Colors |
| 10 Paint Gestures |
| 5 Tattoos |
| 4 Face Features |
| 11 Vanitas Objects |
| 4 Head Features |
| 200 Inverted Medusas |
| 10 Noir Medusas |
| 4 Hosmer Medusas |
Who is TeachRock.org
Launched by Steven Van Zandt and Founders Board of Bono, Jackson Browne, Martin Scorsese, and Bruce Springsteen, Teachrock.org provides free, standards-aligned educational resources to nearly 1 million students annually.
There are places in the United States where more than 40% of students don’t finish high school. In some communities, 60% of that 40% of students will later serve time in prison. Research shows that if a student likes one class or establishes a meaningful bond with a single teacher, that student is likely to keep coming to school.
TeachRock empowers teachers to harness the excitement and energy of art and music to engage their students and keep them coming back.
Press
“Exclusive Interview: The Leaders of NFTs Past, Present, and Future Part I”
Benzinga
“Five Women Giving Back”
Shondaland
“Medusa Collection NFTs set its Gaze on Raising Money for TeachRock”
Hackernoon
“Mieke Marple & Medusa Collection”
Near Future Laboratory Podcast
“The Medusa Collection NFTs have focused their efforts on raising funds for TeachRock”
TechX Pakistan
“NFTs for Non-Profits? An interview with Mieke Marple”
Wishes Granted Podcast
“StandardVision Artist Showcase: Reframing the Medusa Myth with Mieke Marple”
Standard Vision
“How Making Generative Art Changed My Understanding of Self”
Artsy
Roadmap
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25% — Complete Medusa Reconsidered educational resources at TeachRock.org |
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— 50% Sponsors a full year of engagement for 4 TeachRock partner school districts Five Medusa prints by Marple will be given away to 5 random Medusa NFT holders |
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75% — Sponsors a full-year of engagement for 6 TeachRock partner school districts One 40x30 in. Medusa painting by Marple will be given away to a random Medusa NFT holder Launch World Mythology curriculum on TeachRock.org, which will include various African and Indigenous mythologies, in addition to Greco-Roman lore |
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— 100% Sponsors a full-year of engagement for 8 TeachRock partner school districts. Completes World Mythology video resources to be freely available on TeachRock.org One 70x54 in. Medusa painting by Marple and an autographed Stevie Van Zandt guitar will be given away to 2 random Medusa NFT holders Launch Medusa Fund in support of work that is innovative, heartfelt, and challenging Marple begins her next generative NFT project, which all Medusa NFT holders will get for free. |
The Team
Mieke Marple (she/her)
Creator & Artist
@miekemarple
Mieke Marple is an artist and writer living in Los Angeles. She is interested in the intersection of mythology, power, and commerce through a feminist, social-emotional lens.
Marple has been written about by The New York Times, W Magazine, The Guardian, The Art Newspaper, Autre, among other publications. She has had recent solo exhibitions at Ever Gold [Projects] in SF and 1301PE in LA. Through various charity art auctions, she has helped raise over a million dollars for Planned Parenthood LA and a quarter million for prison abolitionist organization Critical Resistance. Marple was also co-owner of Night Gallery, Los Angeles, 2011-2016.
Bill Carbone
Executive Director TeachRock
@billcarbone
Educator, Musician and Arts Integration Warrior
Imani Wilson (she/her)
Director of Media & Culture Strategy
Writer & Choir Member
Carly Gorra
Media & Culture Coordinator
Video Editor, Filmmaker, and Freelance Photographer
Cody Edison
Lead Community Manager
@CodyEdison1
Artist and NFT collector in Los Angeles, CA
What
NFT Advisor
@whatthewhat4
Violeta Valcheva
Community Manager
@violette_marin
Freelance filmmaker, creative producer, and choreographer. Community Leader at DoinGudHQ and founder of VVs Productions.
Adrian Marple
Art Generator Dev
@marplebot
Indie game developer with CS and UX programming background. Creator of Obversion, Cooperative Chess, and Metasweeper (upcoming).
Tony Hauber
Smart Contract Dev
@thauber
Software developer, producer of old-school arcade cabinets for his DeathBall video game, and creator of upcoming NFT-based webgame Nifty Villages.
Jason Martin
Website Dev
Digital Media Guru, Entrepreneur, Dad.
Medusa Collection is pleased to partner with Endaoment, a tax-exempt Community Foundation built for the crypto industry and focused on social impact, and the first US 501(c)3 non-profit organization established on the blockchain.
Special thanks to
Andrew McClintock, Kyle Gordon, Stephanie Elle Quintana
Email inquiries to:
info@medusacollection.io