* My Background

Hi, my name is Danner Milliken, a former professional new media artist with a Bachelor’s in Art History. I invented/discovered many effects and realms in digital art since I started back in 2013. My art has been exhibited in Paris, France, I’ve been featured in Vice’s i-D magazine, collaborated with Cool Hunting on my own digital art USB and more. I currently just got done co-curating for a new digital art platform. I currently am a creative strategist. All in all I have a background in marketing, curating, creative strategy, streetwear, and inventing. You can find out all about this and more at dm-innovation.com

* The Meaning of The Project & The Artists Involved:

NETric System, inspired by the term “Metric System,” in my own way means the combination of the words “internet” and “electricity” to explain how the vending machine and art are powered, all while using a systematic way to distribute the works. This vending machine will administer digital art in real life. This is something that hasn’t been done, which needs to, so that the genre as a whole can move forward, be taken more seriously and collected in a normal way. Digital art is mostly just sold online and collected by people who are already familiar with it. I think the main reason digital art is not where it should be is because it’s sold in too much of a “one-dimensional” way, even though it is our art of “now” and the future. To elaborate more, the art is obviously digital, and when you’re buying it online, looking at your screen, which is also digital, that can make the customer feel like what they’re buying is one-dimensional, like they’re really not getting anything. Even though we are consumed by digital culture in our everyday lives, we are real people at the end of the day and we still like tangible, real things. This is why I developed this machine, it hits both real life and digital, the perfect combination to attract all kinds of new customers and tackle the unsure as well. The vending machine is something that is “real,” as well as the USBs, a cool collectible item to store your art on, and yet at the same time you have all the digital options as the internet, but encompassing it all in the best possible way! I’m thankful that this is the answer that has been missing for so long! The other main purpose behind this machine is to get these particular artists the money the deserve, as well as the galleries and museum stores too, who will be the ones buying these machines from me! This is a real business, you can find the costs of how much the machines will be after this first one near the bottom of this campaign. 

10 artists will be curated by me (Danner Milliken) for this show, their exclusive limited-edition works will be available for the public to buy. The pieces from the artists will highlight their particular talents in the forms of VR, AR, GIFs, JPEGs and more. I have already cleared the 10 digital artists I am going to exhibit. I decided to keep the artists names a secret until the opening day of the show, that way it will build up hype and curiosity.

All in all this vending machine embodies being an art piece, a business, an exhibition, an art installation, a conceptual art piece, a social experiment, and something to buy from!

* What This Machine Will Not Be

This machine will not be a gimmick or a novelty in any way. It will be seen as high-end, hi-tech and contemporary, the artists and their works will mimic this as well. The art will be no different in price as if you were buying straight from a gallery, etc. It just so happens that the make-up of a vending machine is the perfect vehicle for normalizing digital art in this day and age.

* Options

Option 1. Have the art files downloaded to special USB’s that are boxed and are inside of the vending machine, waiting to be dispensed after purchase. These boxed USB’s will be a special limited edition of 150. After you choose which art you want from the screen, you would then buy the boxed USB. So if you choose the USB option from the machine, you will then wait for the USB package to drop into the cubby hole and then you will take that USB out of the box and insert it into the USB port on the outside of the machine. From there all of your files that you have purchased will be downloaded to your USB.

Option 2. If you are not purchasing the USB from inside the machine and you have your own USB that you brought, then you would simply insert your USB into the port on the outside of the machine and download your files after purchasing them.

Option 3. Have the art files emailed to you or sent to your digital art device via the internet within the machine.

Option 4. Museum-grade prints… If you would like a museum-grade print, the machine will take your info after purchase and will have it sent by the internet within the machine to the professional art printer in NY that I use. They will receive your information and then ship your print in a tube to you within 7-10 business days. These prints are made up of the best paper and ink, all archival/museum-grade quality!

Why a USB? USB’s are the most universal tool to view digital art with, you can virtually have any file downloaded to it that an artist makes! They can be used on just about any device too to view! E-mailing the file is just a quick way for you to have it and you can even download it to your own USB. Sending the file(s) to your digital art device is just an awesome convenience!

* Technology:

The machine and software will all be made by Social-Vend!

The specific vending machine model I am using by Social-Vend is their Vendmax™ Plus – Glass front + 24” Touch Screen. This is the best choice because the glass front of the machine displays the boxed USB’s very nicely. The side touch-screen to the right of the glass will be used as the menu for customers to scroll through to choose different artist’s works and more.

Once the pieces are selected for the USB, email, digital art device or print, the customer will have the options to pay by card, Bitcoin, Apple Pay, or cash.

* Blockchain: I will be using a highly reputable blockchain company to implement their technology for the digital art. In short it is a structured way of documenting the art pieces so that they can’t be copied or changed without the system showing it! This makes the customer feel more secure about their purchase!

* When, Where & How Long

The Kickstarter will launch around November of 2020 and finish early January of 2021. Once funding is complete in 2 months with the Kickstarter campaign, it will take Social Vend 2-3 months to complete this machine. This means the machine will be ready around April of 2021 and will debut on May 1, 2021.

I am going to use Wallplay in NYC to host the machine, this is a company that repurposes vacant spaces for creatives. The machine will be on display for one month in the summer of 2021, again, the opening day will be May 1. This space that will be rented is on Canal St in NYC, the border of Chinatown and SoHo. This is the hippest part of Manhattan, known for its mixture of wealth, culture, art and fashion. I will allow the public from 11am – 9pm every day of the week all of May to have a chance to view and buy from the machine. To make sure the machine is looked after and also to answer any questions, I have decided to hire 1 person other than myself when I can’t be there sometimes, to work it. I will also be around as much as I can. The machine will be inside and available for the public to view and buy from.

Once 150 USB’s has been purchased, you will still have the option to use your own USB, send the files to your email or device, and or get a museum-grade print. This is as long as there are enough editions left from the artist’s works.

* Total amount needed for this Project: $64,700 (breakdown of all costs below)

* The machine by itself cost $14,472 and it will cost $30,000 for the software to be developed. The shipping from London to NYC will be $1,800. After this first machine is made, all machines will cost $13,550 before 20 are bought. All machines after 20 are bought, will cost $13,000. 

* It will cost $7,000 to rent the a space on Canal Street via Wallplay. The security deposit is $1,000 and insurance for a month would be $250. 

* To use blockchain technology for all the artists works on this machine for a month, it would be $200.

* It will cost $2,925 for a person other many myself, who will work half the day, to watch the space and answer any questions. That figure is at $15 an hour, 6.5 hours a day, 7 days a week, for a month. 

*It will cost $850 for a graphic wrap for the machine

* The special limited-edition USBs for the machine cost $1,093

* It will cost $510.30 for special limited edition USBs (pre-loaded with 5 pieces of Danner’s art) as rewards for the top contributors for this project.

* Custom individual plaques as rewards for top contributors will cost $339

* Exclusive limited edition artist prints as rewards for top contributors will cost $700

* NETric SYSTEM T-shirts as rewards for contributors will cost $472.50 

* All in all this comes out to a total of 61,611.80, rounded up would be 61,612.

* Kickstarter takes a 5% cut of this overall price, that had to be factored in and that number is $3,042

* With the Kickstarter cut tacked on to the overall price it comes out to 64,692.60, but for a good even and clean number, I rounded it up to $64,700, the final amount needed to have this project come to life!

* Rewards

The rewards you get when you when you contribute to this project are letters, stickers, T-shirts, USBs with art by Danner, artist prints, and your own top contributor plaque!

* Partnership

If you are an appropriate business and you contribute $5,000 or more to the Kickstarter, you are eligible to get your logo on the side of the machine, be updated in the video, announced throughout the campaign/Instagram, plus more. Any interest in this, please email Danner at dannermilliken@gmail.com

* The FUTURE

I’m really excited about this being a business. I really feel that this again will be the answer for a good long time, completely helping these kinds of artists, galleries, museum stores, new collectors and of course the sector of art itself. I have already got a follow-up idea to this project that is very forward thinking, it won’t necessarily be for a business like this one, but will be extremely mesmerizing. STAY TUNED!! . . .

THANK YOU!

Feel free to reach out…

Danner’s E-mail: dannermilliken@gmail.com

NETric SYSTEM Instagram: @netricsystem

Danner’s website: dm-innovation.com and dannermilliken.tumblr.com

Danner’s Instagram: @dannermilliken