I’m a doctoral candidate at the Bard Graduate Center. I specialize in the philosophy and theory of digital art and (new) media and am currently writing a dissertation on blockchain-based art.
My research lies at the intersection of digital art history and material culture, science and technology studies, and media studies. My current work explores theoretical puzzles and new paradigms that stem from the unique affordances of the blockchain as an artistic medium, and emphasizes connections to a broader trajectory of art history across time within a philosophical framework.
Before entering the metaverse, I specialized in European Medieval and Renaissance art and beyond academia, I’m also the co-founder of Artfora, a Web3 platform that pairs physical objects with non-fungible tokens, and the co-founder of Artistoric, a gallery for historic decorative arts.
Education
| PhD, Decorative Arts, Design History, and Material Culture Bard Graduate Center, New York, NY 2017-present Dissertation title: “Decentralized Objects: Non-Fungible Tokens in the Age of Web3” (expected Spring 2024) |
| Master of Philosophy, Decorative Arts, Design History, and Material Culture Bard Graduate Center, New York, NY 2017-2019 Field Exams: Medieval Art, 800-1400 Italian Material Culture, Society, and Intellectual History, 1300-1600 European Painting and Sculpture, 1400-1750 [2021] Theory and Philosophy of Digital Art, Media, and Technology |
| Visiting Graduate Student Department of Art History, Faculty of Arts and Science, University of Toronto, ON, Canada 2014 |
| Master of Arts, Art History Department of Art History, Faculty of the Arts, Tel-Aviv University, Israel 2013-2016 Thesis: “The ‘Iddea’ of Nature: Benvenuto Cellini’s Seal Designs for the Accademia del Disegno.” |
| Bachelor of Arts, Double Major in Philosophy and Art History Department of Art History, Faculty of the Arts, Tel-Aviv University, Israel Department of Philosophy, Faculty of the Humanities, Tel Aviv University, Israel 2011-2013 |
Teaching
| Adjunct Parsons School of Design, The New School, New York, NY Fall Semester, 2024 [upcoming] Undergraduate Seminar: “NFTs and Blockchain-Based Art: Materiality, Performativity, and Commodification” |
| Teaching Assistant Bard Graduate Center, New York, NY 2019-2020 Graduate course: “Thinking Objects,” a companion seminar to “Objects in Context: A Survey of Decorative Arts, Design History, and Material Culture.” (Fall and Spring Semesters) Responsibilities: -Taught a weekly seminar of 8 students (in-person and online classes). -Planned seminar narratives, themes, discussion topics, and goals. -Constructed course plans for both in-person and online classes. -Assisted in the creation and grading of in-class and take-home exams. |
Other Research Experience
| Visiting Researcher and Lecturer Center for the Study of the Networked Image, School of Arts and Creative Industries, London South Bank University, London, England. 2023 -Conducted dissertation research, attended seminars, conferences, and lectures. -Delivered three lectures [see below] to faculty and students. Research Assistant Bard Graduate Center, New York, NY 2017-2019 Assistant to Prof. Meredith Lynn, Bard Graduate Center, New York, NY. |
| Affiliated Researcher Medici Archive Project, Florence, Italy 2014 -Conducted primary source research at the Archivio di Stato di Firenze, and other archives in Florence, Rome, Montepulciano, and Bologna. -Participated in the Medici Archive Project Paleography and Archival Studies seminar. |
Publications and Lectures
| Assis, Michael. “Telematics in the Artist’s Studio from the Middle Ages to Marcel Schwittlick,” Introductory essay for Marcel Schwittlick: Upward Spirals [upcoming]. Assis, Michael. “Destruction as Performance.” Science Studies Working Group, Columbia University, New York, NY, 2023. Assis, Michael. “Multiplicity, Destruction, and the Aesthetics of Possibilities.” Dissertation work-in-progress. Center for the Study of the Networked Image, School of Art and Creative Industries, London South Bank University, London, England, UK, 2023. Assis, Michael. “Blockchain, Post-Photography, AI, and the Archive.” Department of Photography, School of Arts and Creative Industries, London South Bank University, London, England, UK, 2023. Assis, Michael. “Blockchain-based Art: Introduction and Hands-on Workshop”. An introduction to the blockchain, smart contracts, and NFTs followed by a critical discussion of the role of metadata in image economies, politics, and ontologies of digital art on the blockchain + a hands-on NFT-making workshop. Center for the Study of the Networked Image, School of Art and Creative Industries, London South Bank University, London, England, UK, 2023. Assis, Michael. “Material Culture and the Blockchain” Material Culture and the Blockchain, Bard Graduate Center, New York, NY, 2023. “The Materiality of the Digital,” TokenArt NYC Unconference, NFT NYC, New York, NY, 2023. |
| “The Philosophy of Ownership – Are NFTs a Completely New Form of Ownership?” Panel participant, NFT Israel #2: The Next of Everything? The Israeli Chamber of Information Technology and The European Blockchain Association, hosted by ACT Shenkar, Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Ramat Gan, Israel, 2022. |
| Assis, Michael. “On the Artist and Long-form Generative Art,” Right Click Save, 13 May 2022. https://www.rightclicksave.com/article/on-the-artist-and-long-form-generative-art. |
| Assis, Michael. “To Corrode and Dissolve: Making Aquafortis in Ms. Fr. 640.” In Secrets of Craft and Nature in Renaissance France: A Digital Critical Edition and English Translation of BnF Ms. Fr. 640, ed. The Making and Knowing Project, Pamela H. Smith et al., online. New York: Making and Knowing Project, 2020. https://edition640.makingandknowing.org/#/essays/ann_065_fa_18. DOI: https://www.doi.org/10.7916/z4f5-5m60 |
| Assis, Michael. “Chocolate: The Food of Whose God? Syncretic Religious Trades in the Early Modern New-World Christianity through Material Culture.” Global Reformations: Transforming Early Modern New-World Christianity through Material Culture, The Center for Reformation and Renaissance Studies, University of Toronto, ON, Canada, 2017. |
Honors and Awards
| Bard Graduate Center Doctoral Fellowship Bard Graduate Center, New York, NY 2017-present |
| The Marilyn M. Simpson Endowed Scholarship Bard Graduate Center, New York, NY 2018-2019 |
| Graduate Dean’s List for outstanding academic achievements in Art History Faculty of the Arts, Tel Aviv University, Israel 2015 |
| Dean’s Scholarship for outstanding academic achievements Faculty of the Arts, Tel Aviv University, Israel 2015 |
| Master’s Thesis Research and Study Grant, Florence, Italy Granted by the Italian Institute of Culture (Istituto Italiano di Cultura) 2014 |
| Latin language study scholarship for academic excellence Classics Department, Faculty of Humanities, Tel-Aviv University, Israel 2013 |
Professional Experience
| Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer Artfora 2022-present Artfora is a web3 ecosystem for NFTs coupled with physical objects. Artfora provides a platform for artists and collectors to create, discover, redeem, and manage NFTs coupled with physical objects. www.artfora.com. |
| Co-Founder and Business Development Artistoric 2020-present Artistoric is an online gallery specializing in decorative arts. Artistoric is committed to a research-oriented approach to collecting decorative arts by curating digital exhibitions and publishing object-specific research essays for a general audience. www.artistoric.com. |
| Art Collection Manager Thomas Holdings, British Virgin Islands 2015 |
| Gallery Manager Omer Tiroche Contemporary Art, Tel Aviv, Israel 2015 |
| Old-Master Paintings Researcher Tiroche Auction House, Tel Aviv, Israel 2011-2012 |