Ryder Ripps
Born (1986-07-07) July 7, 1986
New York City, U.S.
Alma materThe New School
Style
Parent(s)Rodney Ripps
Helene Verin
Websiteryder-ripps.com

Ryder Ripps (born July 7, 1986) is an American conceptual artist, programmer, and creative director.[1]

Early life and education

Born in New York City to a Jewish family,[2] Ryder Ripps is a son of artist Rodney Ripps and designer Helene Verin.[1] His parents divorced when he was nine years old.[3] After discovering the Internet at the age of 10, he learned HTML and later JavaScript.[1][2] He attended City-As-School High School[4] and subsequently studied at The New School from 2004 to 2008, graduating with a degree in media studies.[1][2] He has a younger brother, Ezra, who is also a programmer.[5]

Career

Commercial work

Ripps is the creative director of OKFocus, a digital marketing and design agency.[6] He has created several websites, including Internet Archeology, Dump.fm, and VFiles,[1][7][8] and has developed content for a number of contemporary musicians, fashion lines, and corporate brands such as Nike and Red Bull.[1][9]

Soylent packaging designed by Ripps

In 2013, through OKFocus, Ripps created the branding for Soylent, an open-source meal replacement drink, and was involved in the design until 2017.[9][10] From 2014 to 2018, he worked with Kanye West and he was part of West's company Donda for four months.[9][11][12] In 2015, he co-produced two songs on Miley Cyrus & Her Dead Petz.[9][13]

Since 2019, Ripps has directed a number of music videos, and contributed photographs and designs to album artwork and advertising campaigns for Grimes (Miss Anthropocene),[14] James Blake,[15][16] and Travis Scott.[17] Ripps acted as a creative director for Swedish pop singer Zara Larsson until he was publicly fired on March 13, 2021, after he body-shamed Larsson in private messages with Azealia Banks, calling her "Zara Armsson".[18]

In 2020, Ripps provided creative direction and design for American rapper Pop Smoke's posthumous record Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon. Controversy surrounding the album's cover artwork arose after designer Virgil Abloh received negative feedback on his design.[14][19]

Art work

Ripps's fine art practice is described as "art that uses online avenues to expose how social media can amplify narcissism and fear."[20] He was listed in the Forbes "30 Under 30" in 2016.[21]

In a 2014 piece titled Art Whore (stylized in all caps), the Ace Hotel in New York asked Ripps to be an artist-in-residence for one night.[22] With a $50 budget, Ripps hired two sensual masseurs from Craigslist to draw in a hotel room, with Ripps comparing this to his own exploitation as an artist.[12] The project sparked outcry, principally online, "for what they saw as blatant exploitation of women in the sex industry" even though one of the erotic masseurs was male.[20][23] Critic Paddy Johnson declared it one of the most offensive exhibitions of the year and Rhizome described it as "unthinking, unethical, and dull", but also that "Ripps acted in a way that was ethically unsound: It reinforced and did not interrogate inequitable power relationships."[22][24][25] In an interview, Ripps admits he regretted the title he chose.[23]

Ripps' first solo exhibition took place in January 2015 at Postmasters Gallery in New York City, titled Ho. It featured large-scale oil painted portraits of digitally manipulated images from the Instagram account of model Adrianne Ho.[20][26] The show "engages with the ways in which we portray women, tapping into the long history of the manipulation of images in the name of sex and advertisement."[26] However, reception was varied, with Sandra Song writing for Jezebel that "his series is a visceral, knee-jerk way of removing and distorting a vision of female empowerment", and also notes the title of the show is a double entendre, as "ho" is slang for prostitute.[27][28]

In 2016, Ripps exhibited Barbara Lee, an ode to the representative in Congress featuring 50,000 images downloaded from the internet covering a maquette of the Twin Towers at Steve Turner Gallery, Los Angeles.[29][30]

In May 2017, Ripps premiered a small installation at the Venice Biennale titled Diventare Schiavo (Become a Slave) and featuring VR works, where the public was invited to virtually pack boxes.[31][32] Freire Barnes of The Culture Trip remarked: "Here, laborious task becomes spectacle, while critiquing the socio-economic hierarchies of such technology."[33]

In 2018, Ripps, in collaboration with photographer Maggie West, exhibited Pornhub Nation, a large interactive installation sponsored by Pornhub. The exhibition depicts a future history of the porn site's own government. It provided parodied solutions to the topics of climate change, military occupation, governmental surveillance, and space exploration.[34][35]

In January 2021, Ripps claimed authorship of the Central Intelligence Agency's redesigned logo. On January 5, a CIA spokesperson denied his involvement in the redesign.[36] In an interview with GQ, who described him as an "art prankster", Ripps explained that "[s]ocial online platforms are games that are played within the attention economy—authorship and sincerity are murky..."[37]

Ripps has used non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in his practice of conceptual art.[5][38] In July 2021, he received a DMCA takedown notice from Larva Labs, the parent company of CryptoPunks, after selling a near-identical version of an official image from the project.[38][39]

Yuga Labs lawsuit

In June 2022, a lawsuit against Ripps and Jeremy Cahen was filed in U.S. federal court by Yuga Labs, the parent company of Bored Ape Yacht Club, over his RR/BAYC project.[40] The suit accuses him of false advertising and trademark infringement, with Yuga Labs seeking financial damages.[38] Yuga Labs believe that Ripps is organizing a "calculated, intentional, and willful" campaign to damage the reputation of Bored Ape Yacht Club.[38]

On April 21, 2023, Judge Walter issued a summary judgment in favor of Yuga Labs in the trademark infringement case, with the amount of monetary damages to be determined in a pending trial. The judge ruled that Ripps and Cahen sold their RR/BAYC NFTs without Yuga Labs' consent and in a manner likely to cause confusion, and had committed "false designation of origin" and "cybersquatting".[41] In October 2023, Ripps and Cahen were ordered to pay more than $1.5 million in disgorgement and damages, as well as attorneys' fees.[42]

Solo exhibitions

  • 2015 - Ho, Postmasters, New York
  • 2015 - Alone Together, Red Bull Studios, New York[43]
  • 2016 - Barbara Lee, Steve Turner, Los Angeles
  • 2017 - Diventare Schiavo (Become a Slave), Zuecca Projects, Venice Italy

Personal life

In February 2021, Ripps and American rapper Azealia Banks announced their engagement.[44][45] They made an audio sex tape and sold it as a non-fungible token (NFT).[46] By March, Banks announced they had split up.[47]

Ripps lives in the Los Angeles area.[5][9]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Chen, Adrian (July 8, 2014). "Ryder Ripps: An Artist of the Internet". The New York Times. p. E6. Archived from the original on July 27, 2014. Retrieved April 30, 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 Hermsmeier, Lukas (September 13, 2015). "Dieser Mann ist das Internet" [This man is the Internet]. Die Welt (in German). Retrieved November 28, 2021.
  3. ↑ Sandstrom, Karen (March 25, 2016). "Artist Ryder Ripps brings web world into the gallery". Cleveland Institute of Art. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
  4. ↑ Chayka, Kyle (March 3, 2015). "URL to IRL: Controversial Artist Ryder Ripps Captures the Struggle of Existing on the Internet". Complex. Retrieved November 28, 2021.
  5. 1 2 3 Wille, Matt (May 21, 2021). "Firebrand artist Ryder Ripps wants to sell you NFT 'land' on Million Token Website". Input. Retrieved November 29, 2021.
  6. ↑ "Meet OkFocus, the PR Stuntmen Behind the Fake Kanye West Site WhoDat.Biz". Observer. March 28, 2012. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
  7. ↑ Watercutter, Angela. "Internet Archaeology: Behold the Most Hilarious Abandoned Websites". Wired.
  8. ↑ "Rhizome - Introducing: dump.fm". Rhizome. March 5, 2010.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 Bernstein, Joseph (March 30, 2023). "What's More Provocative Than Sincerity?". The New York Times. Archived from the original on April 2, 2023. Retrieved April 2, 2023.
  10. ↑ "Soylent". Dieline. Retrieved June 22, 2018.
  11. ↑ Goggin, Ben (November 2, 2022). "Ye paid a settlement to former employee who alleged he praised Hitler and Nazis during meetings, documents show". NBC News. Retrieved November 16, 2022. Ryder Ripps, a conceptual artist who worked with Ye on and off from 2014 to 2018, [...]
  12. 1 2 Specter, Emma (September 18, 2018). "Who Is Ryder Ripps, Conceptual Artist and Kanye's DM Buddy?". Garage Vice. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
  13. ↑ "Miley Cyrus & Her Dead Petz – Album Credits". Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved August 30, 2015.
  14. 1 2 Yoo, Noah (July 6, 2020). "Pop Smoke's Album Cover: The Story Behind the Last-Minute Switch". Pitchfork. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
  15. ↑ Johnson, Patrick (October 14, 2020). "James Blake Releases New Four-Track 'Before' EP". Hypebeast. Retrieved August 21, 2021.
  16. ↑ Skelton, Eric (November 30, 2020). "James Blake Can Do Anything". Complex. Retrieved August 21, 2021.
  17. ↑ Johnson, Patrick (May 14, 2020). "Travis Scott Releases New "THE SCOTTS" Lost Cover Vinyl". Hypebeast. Retrieved August 21, 2021.
  18. ↑ Malivindi, Diandra (March 15, 2021). "Zara Larsson Publicly Fires Creative Director After He Brutally Body-Shamed Her To Azealia Banks". Elle. Australia. Retrieved August 21, 2021.
  19. ↑ Shifferaw, Abel (June 30, 2020). "Virgil Abloh-Designed Cover Art for Pop Smoke's Debut Album to Be Changed Following Backlash (UPDATE)". Complex. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
  20. 1 2 3 Freeman, Nate (January 23, 2015). "The Trial of Ryder Ripps: An Embattled Artist on Haters, Angry Muses, and Threats". Observer. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
  21. ↑ "30 Under 30 2016: Art & Style". Forbes. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
  22. 1 2 Tsjeng, Zing (November 12, 2014). "Ryder Ripps' 'ART WHORE' stirs controversy in art world". Dazed. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
  23. 1 2 Vartanian, Hrag (November 15, 2014). "50 Shades of Art Whoredom". Hyperallergic. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
  24. ↑ Kimball, Whitney (November 11, 2014). "Ryder Ripps's "ART WHORE" In the Running For Most Offensive Project of 2014". Art F City. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
  25. ↑ "Bodies on the Line". Rhizome. November 12, 2014. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
  26. 1 2 Dafoe, Taylor (March 5, 2015). "Ryder Ripps, Ho". The Brooklyn Rail. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
  27. ↑ Song, Sandra (January 21, 2015). "Petty Man Builds Art Career By Shitting on Fitness Star Adrianne Ho". Jezebel. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
  28. ↑ "Ho Definition & Meaning". Merriam-Webster. Retrieved August 6, 2022.
  29. ↑ Gleeson, Bridget (November 3, 2016). "Ryder Ripps Takes on Our Clickbait Culture with 50,000 Tiny Images". Artsy. Retrieved August 21, 2021.
  30. ↑ "Ryder Ripps - Barbara Lee". Steve Turner. October 2016.
  31. ↑ Barnes, Freire (June 9, 2017). "Things Get Interactive at This year's Venice Biennale". The Culture Trip.
  32. ↑ Dakinah, Keven (May 17, 2017). "Ryder Ripps Turns Instagram into Virtual Reality". iD Vice. Archived from the original on September 15, 2017.
  33. ↑ Barnes, Freire (June 9, 2017). "Things Get Interactive at This Year's Venice Biennale". The Culture Trip. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
  34. ↑ "Artists Ryder Ripps and Maggie West Teamed Up With Pornhub to Create an Interactive Sci-Fi Installation Set in 2069". artnet News. June 14, 2018. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  35. ↑ "Pornhub announces Pornhub Nation, a new, uh, 'interactive art' exhibit". Yahoo!. June 7, 2018. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
  36. ↑ "The CIA's Hip New Logo Was Not Actually Designed by Grimes and Kanye West Collaborator Ryder Ripps". Exclaim!. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
  37. ↑ Tashjian, Rachel (January 6, 2021). "No, an Art Prankster Isn't Responsible for the CIA Redesign". GQ. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
  38. 1 2 3 4 Robertson, Adi (June 28, 2022). "Bored Apes creator sues conceptual artist for copying its NFTs". The Verge. Archived from the original on June 28, 2022. Retrieved August 6, 2022.
  39. ↑ Chinlund, Gregory J.; Kelley, Gordon S. (October 29, 2021). "What are the copyright implications of NFTs?". Reuters. Retrieved August 8, 2022.
  40. ↑ Pietsch, Bryan (June 29, 2022). "Maker of Bored Ape NFTs sues artist for profiting off 'copycat' images". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 6, 2022.
  41. ↑ Shanti Escalante-De Mattei (April 24, 2023). "Judge Rules in Favor of Yuga Labs in Ryder Ripps Trademark Infringement Case". ART News. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
  42. ↑ Brittain, Blake (October 26, 2023). "Artist owes $1.5 mln in damages for fake Bored Ape NFTs, judge says". Reuters. Retrieved October 29, 2023.
  43. ↑ "Alone Together". 21st Century Digital Art. May 23, 2018. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
  44. ↑ "Wet Paint: Artist Ryder Ripps and Azealia Banks Go Public as a Couple, Artist Accused of Stealing From His Mentor, & More Art-World Gossip". Artnet News. February 12, 2021. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
  45. ↑ Halabian, Layla (February 23, 2021). "Azealia Banks Is Engaged to Artist Ryder Ripps". Nylon. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
  46. ↑ "Azealia Banks and Ryder Ripps' NFT sex tape is being resold for over $260 million by the anonymous RultonFyder". Yahoo! News. March 13, 2021. Retrieved March 14, 2021.
  47. ↑ "Azealia Banks and artist Ryder Ripps have ended their relationship". Yahoo! Finance. March 15, 2021. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
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