A portrait befitting a legend
In 2022, acclaimed artist Michael Kalish created a 25’ x 25’ original portrait of Steve McQueen. Steve McQueen had an intense passion for riding motorcycles, and had an enviable garage including many Triumph motorcycles such a ’63 Bonneville which McQueen converted into a Desert Sled. This iconic bike was the inspiration for the bike used by Kalish, a 2022 Triumph Bonneville T100 in Jet Black.
Chase McQueen, Steve’s grandson, also has racing in his veins and agreed to ride the Bonneville on his most difficult surface yet, a giant canvas covered in wet paint.
Gallons of white, light blue and yellow paint were spread and distributed by Chase riding the T100. After hours of application, the canvas was perfectly coated in the blend of colors complete with tire treads ready for Kalish to peel back layers of previously masked and scored sections of canvas to reveal an instantly recognizable and stunning portrait of Steve McQueen.
The McQueen family, along with Kalish and Triumph Motorcycles then created a similarly artistic tribute in the form of a set of generative Web3 digital collectibles. Verified Labs helped deliver this boundary breaking collection of digital art – 1,000 unique generative, interactive, and fully 3D 360-degree NFT’s, the first of its kind ever released on the ThetaDrop platform, all at an accessible initial price point of $99 USD.
Web3 animation studio, Immersive Enterprise Laboratories (IEL), designed a three-dimensional virtual garage where owners will discover a Triumph Bonneville T100 motorcycle, rider, and digital recreation of the original Kalish portrait of Steve McQueen. IEL used Unreal Engine to build the garage and each of the elements within, making the collection truly 3D from 360 degrees, which can be viewed within virtual reality headsets or proudly showcased in spatial reality displays via a FBX file.
Upon interacting with the T100 sitting on a pool of paint in the center of the garage, the NFT’s owner can trigger an animation which sees the bike’s rider start the engine, put the motorcycle in gear, and do a burnout, spraying paint against the wall of the garage revealing a portrait of Steve McQueen just like the real-life Kalish original.
1,000 Unique Digital Collectibles
To make each of the 1,000 unique, IEL used a generative process to assign color variations on a handful of elements within the garage, making no two NFTs from the collection the same. Elements that change range from the bike paint scheme or a splatter effect on it, to the color of the rider’s Triumph Bradden Air Jacket and color of the McQueen portrait. The combinations of color variants make certain NFTs from the collection more or less rare, depending on how many in the collection share attributes for each of the elements.
To ensure that any interested fan around the world could secure their very own “King of Cool Racing Team” digital collectible, the user friendly ThetaDrop was selected as the marketplace for the initial drop meaning no cryptocurrency is required making it easier for first time NFT buyers to get involved.
To support the long-term value proposition, the collection will be limited to only 1,000 unique versions of the NFT. Also, to incentivize trading of the collectible, which supports an increase in value for owners, there will be a trio of challenges with high-value prizes attached to each challenge.
The Ultimate Collectible
For only the most enthusiastic fan, there will be the most rare version of the “King of Cool Racing Team” collectibles paired with the actual 2022 Triumph Bonneville T100 with original splatter paint design which was ridden by Chase McQueen to create the original large format Michael Kalish portrait of Steve McQueen available for auction.
This ultimate collectible combination will be auctioned for a two-week period on ThetaDrop. The starting bid for this priceless one of one Michael Kalish painted motorcycle ridden by Chase McQueen paired with the most rare “King of Cool Racing Team” will be $15,000 USD. The pair will be awarded to the highest bidder of the virtual open auction at the end of the two-week period.
PARTNER QUOTES
Michael Kalish – Acclaimed Artist
“Over my 30 year career creating art and sculpture, I have always been inspired by and used materials directly related to Americana. Shortly after getting out of Art School, I traveled across the US to get inspiration and pick vintage materials for my work. Having the opportunity to partner with the Steve McQueen family has been a perfect intersection of my passions as an artist and who Steve McQueen was to all of us on the big screen. There is so much overlap of our love of cars, motorcycles, family, American Iconic objects, and moments. What an honor this has been!”
Adam VanderVeen – Marketing Director, Triumph Motorcycles America
“We’re proud that the original King of Cool made Triumph his motorcycle of choice and given our shared history with the iconic racer and actor, we couldn’t be happier with Michael’s vision to include a Triumph in his creative artistic tribute to Steve McQueen. After seeing the final portrait, it was an obvious choice to work with Michael and the McQueen family to make the tribute piece available to Steve’s fans and I’m very happy we came up with a way to sharing it that lived up to our shared values.”
McQueen Family
“Triumph has held a special place in the hearts of our family for generations; we’ve experienced countless memorable rides on their iconic motorcycles. The chance to collaborate with Triumph and the exceptional artist Michael Kalish on this exclusive release brings us immeasurable joy. By becoming part of the respected Theta community, we eagerly look forward to offering our loyal Steve McQueen fans something truly extraordinary and unparalleled.”
Justin Trevor Winters – CEO, Verified Labs
“As an award-winning Web3 agency and studio, we strongly believe that emerging AI technology is revolutionizing every aspect of the way we live, work, and relate to the world around us. Therefore we couldn’t be more honored to collaborate with visionary artist Michael Kalish, Triumph Motorcycles, and Immersive Enterprise Laboratories to bring the original King of Cool back to life in the first ever 3D Digital Art Collection on Theta Network. No one lives forever but we strive to make sure their legacies do.”
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