Horseback riders converged upon the tavern nestled at the outskirts of town as the sun set on the summer's evening. The candlelight flickered off their gold buttons. Nice coats, but crinkled. Coats earned living like entrepreneurs, building not only businesses but entire towns and governments in this new world. Thomas Jefferson’s back ached from sitting at his desk all day, putting last-minute edits on the document that would soon get ratified as the Declaration of Independence.
They knew they were doing something great, but none could foresee the effects rippling beyond the land we now call the United States, shaping democracies in dozens of countries. The American system became a living testament, that the will of the people was more powerful than the divine right of kings. Made possible, not only because these men shared a common dream, but because they were willing to debate their differences.
John Adams was shorter than you would expect, but his reputation as a gladiator in the courtroom won him respectful nods. Benjamin Franklin looked on through spectacles, then already 70 years old, but still a brilliant inventor. You can imagine the laughter and elation in that room as each of the 56 delegates walked up one by one and signed the product of so many drafts. Euphoria rising.
That wasn’t the mood, though. Historians’ report vibes were actually quite bad, because everyone believed their signature would get them killed. If the revolution failed then the King would know exactly who had betrayed him. Listen, we could all take a lesson in conviction from the individuals who gathered there in 1776.
Ask someone to close their eyes and describe the scene and their mind will likely reference the painting by John Trumball, Declaration of Independence, a row of faces amidst tones warm as wheat and pistol hilts.
Trumball was an excellent historical painter for two reasons. One, he subscribed to the realist tradition, so his scenes and lines sought to adhere closely to how things actually looked. Second, Trumbull wanted his subject matter to reflect the historical record, and he would interview witnesses to ensure he got the facts right. The result? Something true but also kinda boring.
If John Trombull went to Burning Man, maybe Daniel Sheldon is what walks out the other side. Sheldon, a web3 artist based in South Africa, draws distorted caricatures, packing images full of colorful accents and side jokes––basically, it’s a Crypto Twitter feed. He’s produced art for Buidl Guidl, Bankless DAO, and POAPathon.
Sheldon's contribution to the “For The People Project” departs from the conventional. While Trumbull aimed to immortalize the solemnity of political discourse, Sheldon remixes history and crypto subculture into a new scene. It’s a group photo documenting some of the biggest personalities of the 2021/2022 bull run, “capturing the mad energy that made the experience so magnetic, checking crypto Twitter, jumping into building, or trying something totally new for the first time.” Sheldon went into his mad laboratory and cooked up 3 variations.
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Group Photo – For The People, the original vision.
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Degen Group Photo – Degen version with laser eyes and McDonald hats (because we’re all one ape away from working at fast food)
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Nouned Group Photo – Noun’d up, in honor of the premier NFT and public goods community
Here is how to bid on these three pieces:
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Place – Sealed.art and ZORA on Base
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Time – 2 pm UTC
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Group Photo auction will run from March 19th to March 26th 2024
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Nouned Group Photo (free mint) from the 21st of March 2024
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Degen Group Photo (free mint) from July 4th to July 11th 2024
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Process – Bids must be at least 5% higher than the previous bid. Only bids in the same payment token (such as wrapped ETH) will be counted towards the winning bid. If someone places a top bid in the last 10 minutes of an auction, the auction will automatically extend by 10 minutes 🥳
What is the relationship between the For The People 1/1s and the portraits?
The portraits are close-ups of the different personalities featured in the 1/1s. It’s a way of building community around the project and giving more people access to and ownership over the art. If you win the 1/1s, you own the complete picture that people all over the world hold a piece of, similar to a jigsaw puzzle. Proceeds go towards supporting PeopleDAO and building public goods (past project: LanguageDAO).
Artist Daniel Sheldon reimagined the Declaration of Independence into a scene that symbolizes the frontier of technology and celebrates a break from institutional systems. Instead of being specific to the US, it’s global in scope, featuring personalities from across the world. These are the kinds of paintings you put up over your fireplace in a metaverse living room. Owning a For The People 1/1 is owning history. Not the history of our forefathers, but a history made by the new generation.