Andre Oshea, who designed the NFT art to honor the late Chadwick Boseman in the Oscars, is under fire after several netizens accused him of stealing the idea for artwork.
Moroever, in light of the controversy, the NFT designer stated that he would be redesigning the Chadwick Boseman NFT art. Unfortunately, Twitter continues to buzz regarding the Academy Awards' choice to honor Boseman with an NFT.
Chadwick Boseman NFT Art Sparks Negative Comments Online
During the Oscars, the Distinctive Assets company gave out gift bags that included an NFT 3D art of Boseman, who passed away last year due to colon cancer. The artist responsible for this creation was Andre Oshea.
Oshea posted on his Twitter account that the Chadwick Boseman NFT 3D art was a tribute for the late actor for his acting skills. He also noted that creating the golden Boseman head "was the most rewarding experience of my life as an artist."
The artist then pointed out that half of the NFT proceeds would go to the Colon Cancer Foundation to cure the same disease Boseman fought. The designer then later updated that the "Buy It Now" price for the NFT on Rarible.com--where it was initially auctioned off--was at $1.2 million
The way to immortalize an artist, is to honor them with art.
— andreoshea.eth | Animation Specialist (@andreoshea) April 24, 2021
I was tasked to create a tribute NFT for Chadwick Boseman for the Oscars! Bringing this piece to life has been one of my most challenging & rewarding experiences as an artist.
Bidding on @rariblecom begins tomorrow pic.twitter.com/EYCJYWbtIZ
However, Variety reported that one potential buyer on Rarible pointed out that a royalty-free license model of Chadwick Boseman's head, that features similarities with Oshea's NFT art, was for sale on CGTrader for $50. In the site's terms, any purchaser can use the artwork as an "incorporated product" in any of their artwork of physical models or NFTs if the seller did not state any contradicting licensing conditions.
Meaning, any buyer can or cannot post copyrights for his/her future works if the seller did not state any form of ownership. However, many people have noted that Oshea stole the CFTrader artist's design and used it for his own NFT art.
Yes, Anthony Hopkins is a great actor. BUT:
— Black Jobs Incorporated (@TigerSparks31) April 27, 2021
1. The #Oscars sent out NFT with Chadwick Boseman's face AND
2. moved Best Actor to the end of the show and set us up for this emotional payoff that they then denied.
3. Boseman won EVERY Best Actor award EXCEPT this one.
everything these people do is perfomative. celebrities are NOT your friends, they are NOT here to help us. if the chadwick boseman nft situation isn't enough to convince you of that, nothing will.
— 🍄🌿 witchlet (travel size witch) (@witchgloves) April 27, 2021
Hoooly shit. This dude bought a 3D model of a dead person's head for $50, slapped a gold texture onto it, and is going to make hundreds of thousands of dollars pic.twitter.com/FNlqSAvhSB
— scwiba, President of Doom 64 (@scwiba) April 25, 2021
what is with nfts and stealing the work/imagery of the deceased to make extremely dirty profit from it like first someone stole qinni’s work to sell as nfts and now chadwick boseman’s likeness is a buyable nft? the lack of common decency
— lynne ❤️🔥 7.0 (@kurikaeshii) April 27, 2021
However, I’m infuriated because not only did they try to tarnish Chadwick Boseman’s name with the NFT garb,
— Remidiy 🏳️⚧️ (@remidiy_) April 27, 2021
THEY’RE PROFITING OFF OF THE DECEASED AFTER CLAIMING ALL PROCEEDS GO TO CHARITY.
Fuck NFT, fuck crypto and fuck you if you support that shit.
2/2
Andre Oshea Will Redesign the Chadwick Boseman NFT Art
With all the controversy surrounding the Chadwick Boseman NFT art, Oshea eventually took down the 3D art on Rarible and promised to redesign it. The artist stated that this was a learning experience for him as he promised to put a new NFT art to honor the late actor on the auction site.
Oshea stated on Twitter that he wanted to create a digital monument that embodied Boseman's influence as a hero for the Black community while raising awareness for colon cancer. Oshea added that he is grateful for all the love and support from both the community and netizens online.
This past week has been a huge learning experience for me, and I appreciate all of the feedback on my work, especially from my friends and family.
— andreoshea.eth | Animation Specialist (@andreoshea) April 26, 2021
Here is a statement about this weekend’s events. Thank you to everyone who has shown me support, I am deeply grateful. pic.twitter.com/tvNHGdAMzE
