Inaugural Collection Features Walter Iooss Jr. Olympic Images
Panama, February 15, 2022 — Immutable Image, a photography collective on a mission to build out an ecosystem to empower and support creators, has announced today that it will launch its first NFT storefront on Metaplex, a permissionless on-chain protocol for buying, selling, and auctioning NFTs natively on the Solana blockchain. The inaugural campaign will feature an exhibition from “the Rembrandt of sports photography” Walter Iooss Jr., dubbed ‘Shooting for the Gold.’ This NFT exhibition will drop on February 15th at 6:30 PM ET.
‘Shooting for the Gold’ is derived from a 1982 commission that embedded Iooss for two years with Team U.S.A. Noted as ‘the single greatest assignment’ in his life, Iooss’s NFT offering features iconic shots from this series as well as additional select Olympic-themed photographs. One image captures gymnastic superstar Mary Lou Retton, as she famously wins her first Olympic gold medal. Diving, track, and field events along with boxing also play a prominent role in the collection. Five percent of all gross primary sales for ‘Shooting for the Gold’ will be given to The Boys & Girls Clubs of America through the crypto donation platform, The Giving Block.
“The launch of the marketplace as a whole taps into the overarching cultural moment of NFTs,” said Jeffrey Caldwell, Co-Founder of Immutable Image. “By coming to market with one of the world’s most preeminent photographers, and an NFT marketplace dedicated exclusively to photography, we hope to tap into the culture of bringing distinguished artwork to the masses. Our marketplace will fill a need in the NFT space bringing high-end photography and photographers to fans all in one place.”
Immutable Image’s marketplace is dedicated to bringing a wide range of the best photography and photographers to the metaverse. All NFTs sold are direct and authentic on behalf of the artist. With a mission to create a diverse collector class, they will offer everything from high valued exclusive prints to higher-run lower-cost NFTs. Immutable Image offers photographic works of art for every walk of life and collectors using Metaplex’s auction features such as Open and Limited Editions, Single Items, and Tiered Auctions.
Previously, Immutable Image soft-launched with Iooss’ first photograph of Michael Jordan sold as an Open Edition for just 1 SOL. 100 Editions were minted, and value has increased 500+% in the early aftermarket. They also held a one-of-one auction event with Magic Eden, including five photos featuring Notorious B.I.G., Kate Moss, American platform diver, Greg Louganis, and more to introduce their first notable photographers: Cati Gonzalez, Sante D’Orazio, Wayne Lawrence, and Christopher Anderson. The photographs sold for a sum of 161.5 SOL. Following Iooss’ exhibition, Immutable Image will feature exhibitions from these artists, and they will announce new ones shortly. In addition, partnering with Canon U.S.A., Inc., Immutable Image will bring to market iconic NFTs created by legendary Canon Photographers; this is a first-of-its-kind marketing integration in the NFT space.
“We’re beyond thrilled to be working with Immutable Image as they develop an online gallery for some of the greatest photographers in the world,” said Stephen Hess, CEO of Metaplex Studios. “This collection ushers in a new caliber of NFTs on Solana with high-quality photography that features the most iconic athletes of our time. We believe Immutable Image will lead us into a new era for NFTs and can’t wait for the community to be a part of that.”
Most known for photographing Michael Jordan, Kelly Slater, Tiger Woods, Kobe Bryant, and Muhammad Ali, Iooss is a prominent participant in the sports industry. The blockchain industry has been converging with the sports industry more as of late. Recently, The Brooklyn Nets filed trademarks indicating they may be the first NBA team to fully enter the metaverse while The Staples Center, Home to the Los Angeles Kings, Lakers, Clippers, and Sparks, was renamed Crypto.com Arena in November of 2021. The Metaplex Foundation also received funding support from those involved in the industry, including Michael Jordan, William Wesley, Allen Iverson, Joel Embiid, Kevin Love, Ndamukong Suh and Obi Toppin.
To follow the Walter Iooss Jr. NFT exhibition by Immutable Image, please visit: https://www.immutableimage.com/
About Immutable Image
Immutable Image is dedicated to bringing the world’s best photography past, present, and future to Web3, significantly expanding and diversifying the collector class and economy for this culturally vital visual art form. The company was founded in 2021 by Jeffrey Caldwell and Bjorn Iooss. please visit: https://www.immutableimage.com/
About Metaplex
Metaplex is a permissionless on-chain protocol for buying, selling, and auctioning non-fungible tokens (NFTs) natively on the Solana blockchain. Metaplex dramatically lowers minting and transaction fees and is a platform for independent NFT marketplaces. Along with the on-chain protocol, an open-source application framework can be fully customized, self-hosted, and extended without passing through a centralized authority. To begin creating on Metaplex, please visit: https://www.metaplex.com
About Metaplex Foundation
The Metaplex Foundation is dedicated to ensuring the long-term sustainable development of Metaplex Protocol and application framework.
About Canon U.S.A., Inc.
Canon U.S.A., Inc., is a leading provider of consumer, business-to-business, and industrial digital imaging solutions to the United States and to Latin America and the Caribbean markets. With approximately $30.4 billion in global revenue, its parent company, Canon Inc. (NYSE:CAJ), as of 2021 has ranked in the top-five overall in U.S. patents granted for 36 consecutive years† and was one of Fortune Magazine’s World’s Most Admired Companies in 2020. Canon U.S.A. was featured in Newsweek’s Most Loved Workplaces list for 2021, ranking among the top 100 companies for employee happiness and satisfaction at work. Canon U.S.A. is dedicated to its Kyosei philosophy of social and environmental responsibility. To keep apprised of the latest news from Canon U.S.A., sign up for the Company’s RSS news feed by visiting www.usa.canon.com/rss and follow us on Twitter @CanonUSA.