The worlds of motorcycles and NFTs collide with the new Triumph x Steve McQueen x Michael Kalish digital collectibles. Motorcyclists are all familiar with Triumph. McQueen remains an icon of cool over 40 years after his death. He holds a special place in the hearts of motorcycle riders due to his dedication to the sport, including representing the United States at the 1964 International Six Days Trial in East Germany on a Triumph TR6SC and starring in the universally loved On Any Sunday motorcycle documentary.
Likely less familiar to motorcycle riders is artist Michael Kalish. Kalish is known for repurposing license plates into Americana art, which led to solo exhibitions in galleries and museums in Europe and the United States. He moved into outdoor art installations, including a famed Muhammad Ali sculpture—reALIze. A multi-year creation effort, Kalish produced the piece using 1300 punching bags suspended on 6.5 miles of stainless steel cable, all inside a 22-foot high frame made of over a ton of aluminum pipe.
As esoteric as his large-scale artwork is to the uninitiated, NFTs (non-fungible tokens) are even more difficult for many to comprehend and are certainly a risky investment. Regardless, Kalish is creating 1000 unique NFTs featuring Steve McQueen and Triumph motorcycles. Generative technology makes each NFT unique, and the buyers will not know exactly what they’re getting until the collection is released on Friday, July 14, at noon ET. The variations of the pieces in The King of Cool Racing Drop include portrait color, motorcycle color, and riding apparel. On July 28 at noon ET, Theta Drop will present Premium Prizes to the three individuals who end up with the most of these NFTs.
While we have seen crazy prices, and wild price swings, for NFTs, these Triumph x Steve McQueen x Michael Kalish NFTs are priced at an approachable $99 each. The works are described as “a first-ever of its kind fully immersive, interactive, and generative collectible” by Theta Drop.
There will also be a 1,001st NFT, which is dubbed the “most rare,” auctioned from July 14 to 28—and that includes a one-of-a-kind Triumph Bonneville T100, so you can combine your interest in riding (or collecting) motorcycles with the rarified world of NFTs.
The Kalish Triumph Bonneville T100 was ridden through paint by Chase McQueen, with the resulting tread marks used in a Kalish portrait of Steve McQueen. Further, Kalish has given the T100 a one-off splatter paint job. The estimated value of the T100 is $25,000.
Kalish Triumph Bonneville T100 Photo Gallery
