PITTSBURGH, PA.- Innovative payments company Dynamics gave ArtDaily an exclusive on their new special artistic editions of their electronic ePlate credit card. Art collectors can now earn art from a diverse slate of artists with every purchase they make on these new interactive payment cards.
The collections feature photorealism, mixed media, sports, fantasy, gothic and allegorical acrylic art. Each artist has created new works exclusively for Dynamics ePlate cardholders, and has taken what a credit card looks like to a whole new level – with each artist’s card capturing their artistic signature.
Consumers can choose from two different themed designs per artist, from Doug Bloodworth, Dan Monteavaro, Jasmine Becket-Griffith and Conni Togel, each with exclusive designed magnetic stripes.
When selected, the Doug Bloodworth reward allows consumers to earn an exclusive signed print valued at $950 for every $2,600 the consumer spends anywhere they use their ePlate® Visa card, a 36.5% reward compared to other 1% reward cards. For the Dan Monteavaro reward, for every $5,000 the consumer spends, a 7% reward, they earn a signed and numbered art print, available only to ePlate® cardholders.
The latest artists to join include Doug Bloodworth who is recognized as one of the premiere photorealist painters of this period, and Dan Monteavaro, a mixed media artist with showings internationally at Basel Miami, SFIAF and ArtHamptons.
ArtDaily: Tell us about your inspiration, art, style and process.
Doug Bloodsworth: My idol was Duane Hanson. He was a Florida sculptor who produced sculptures of people so life-like that they fooled the eye. When his security guard sculpture was on display at Russeck Gallery in New York, thousands of people, myself included, went up to him and asked him where the rest rooms were. It was truly uncanny. I love when people see my paintings at Effusion Gallery on South Beach and say to one another, “Nice photo”. Then one of the staff members corrects them and tells them it is an oil painting. Their look of incredulity is such a pleasure to watch. Many people stare at the paintings for a very long time. I also enjoy evoking the feelings of nostalgia amongst the viewers. Recently at Monarch Gallery in La Jolla, I overheard a family looking at my Monopoly painting. One said, “I was always the dog”; another said, “I was the iron.” At Atlas Galleries in Chicago, I heard a patron exclaim, “Wow! Look at the Kid Cowboy. I had exactly that book when I was a little boy. And the edges of the book were frayed just like it is in the painting.”
Dan Monteavaro: I thought that by having my own dialogue with the works, having so many different ways of communicating I would find that one perfect conversation. Maybe even that one moment that makes sense. When I was about halfway through I realized that they all had their own story. They all had their own space in time. When all together they could tell a narrative, but individually they were quite intimate. Growing up in New York during the 80's, the urban landscape influenced my work. The beauty of the rundown buildings stayed with me because, to me, they told a story. In my work, every missing part and crossed out word tells a story. Side by side, the works have a longer narrative or can stand alone.
What engaged you as an artist initially about the ePlate rewards program?
Doug Bloodworth: One of the biggest challenges an artist faces is getting his work in front of the public. These days, artists pay large amounts to get their works on gallery’s walls. The great thing about being part of ePlate is that most everyone uses credit cards. This enables me to get my works out to millions of people who otherwise would never see it or become exposed to it.
Dan Monteavaro: The technology drew me in, and I personally like the ability to have a choice in the rewards you earn. Added to that the ability of everyone having the ability to own a signed print from a very personal series of works made it a very easy decision.
Do you have an ePlate?
Doug Bloodworth: My team and I are all just now in the process of applying for them.
Dan Monteavaro: I'm planning on getting the Dan Monteavaro "Some more" card. I would assume this would make checking my ID against my card pretty interesting…
How do you think new and current art lovers will respond to your new exclusive art rewards and artistic cards?
Doug Bloodworth: Photorealism is a genre or art which can be appreciated and loved by the novice as well as the refined collector. I am hoping that the art form, along with the nostalgia that my paintings evoke, draws interest from a wide group of collectors and potential collectors who are using the ePlate cards.
Dan Monteavaro: I started this series with an idea of communication running its course and going through various stages. Some were internal, some were physical and some were external, but all in some way referenced a conversation of sorts. I hope that the viewer can see the moments in time, (that in some ways as the artist I didn't want to stop having) and can have the personal dialogue with the works that I hope they evoke.
What would be a success for you with these branded cards?
Doug Bloodworth: I would love for more and more people to become devotees of photorealism. As the ePlate cards become mainstream, when people use the cards, others will notice them. They will see my painting on the card and be curious. Hopefully this curiosity will lead them to seek out information about photorealism, and we will have new collectors joining the fold. It’s all very exciting for me.
Dan Monteavaro: A success for me would be for people to get as much out of the works as I do and to hopefully introduce people to collecting artwork without it seeming to be an inapproachable or intimidating passion.
ArtDaily also spoke with Dynamics CEO, Jeff Mullen, who founded the company in 2007. Dynamics designs and manufactures intelligent battery-powered devices, like the ePlate®, and has won top innovation awards including the Consumer Electronics Show, DEMO and Finovate.
ArtDaily: Why feature art on your electronic credit cards?
Jeff Mullen: Dynamics personalizes the payment experience by providing consumers with passionate reward systems – that they can change at any time – and offering a selection of passion-oriented on-card branding. Dynamics embraces the everyday persons desire to put his or her fingerprints on their products through material customization.
How can ePlate® help top artists?
Jeff Mullen: Top artists can increase their patron base by introducing their artwork to the consumer base of ePlate®. Additionally, top artists can create affinity to their brand by letting consumers earn their artwork just by using ePlate to live their life – by paying for groceries, paying at the pump, by buying movie tickets. Consumers that do not have enough money to purchase an original piece of art from an ePlate® artist can have the chance to win one at any time just by making an everyday purchase.
What would you consider to be success with these artist cards?
Jeff Mullen: The average consumer uses their primary credit card for roughly a decade. Dynamics strives to make sure that each consumer can earn what they want to earn throughout that decade. For many, fine art will be a reward that many people earn at some point over that decade of ePlate® usage.
For more information on Dynamics artistic card editions, visit:
Doug Bloodworth
Dan Monteavaro
Jasmine Becket-Griffith
Conni Togel
Michael Heslop
