Meet Pak: NFT artist with a mystery identity is the favourite of Elon Musk

Pak, the NFT artist, is known to be a favourite of Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. At first glance, it seems an unlikely match for one is a digital artist who shuns the limelight and the other a billionaire executive who revels in it. Yet both are creators in their own field and both are masters at using social media to drive home their own self-brand of marketing.

So it was fitting that Elon Musk chose the public platform Twitter to first reveal his admiration for Pak’s artistic endeavours and while the interaction was sparse, the sentiment was clear.

Prodigious NFT Artistic

Around 1,700 works of art have come to market over the last twenty years due to Pak’s talent, digital expertise and serious work ethic. One NFT art piece alone – Metarift – sold for almost $1 million on Makersplace earlier this year.

With such an established fanbase, the artist has attracted the attention of traditional art auctioneers Sotheby’s who held a sale of Pak’s NFT Fungible Collection in April which raised $16,825,999.

An article prior to the sale on Value the Market suggested that an element of the Sotheby’s auction was “…to prove that the NFT is not about art appreciation, but about exclusive ownership rights to a file.”

Non-specific Gender

Little is known of the identity of Pak, despite the critical acclaim and financial success they have enjoyed.

Pak has previously acknowledged that “Identity, to me, is similar to shouting “I am here!” I try to do the exact opposite, which creates a social vacuum.”

Pak explained that this vacuum consumes all of the artist’s persona by design for it is “…a choice that helps me define a public image…”

The artist also asserts that “Having no face and physicality helps me define myself with concepts rather than a face and a body.”

Such a process is intended to be gender fluid for Pak concludes that “…my physicality changes from presentation to presentation… In the end no one really knows which me is the actual me…”

The whole process is gratifying for Pak for as they freely admit this “…makes me smile and continue my journey.”

Pak’s Identity: Defining the Unknown

If much of the private world of Pak is unknown, the public work is more open to scrutiny.

Credited with being the founder and design lead for the Undream studio, Pak is also the inventor of an artificial intelligence (AI) called Archillect whose role is to find and circulate stimulating visual content on social media platforms.

Archillect is more candid about gender and readily identifies as a female, possibly because the creator sees her as “…a living inspiration archive. She is a digital muse.”

Unlike Pak who attempts to manoeuvre the viewers perspective to create a positive state of happiness for the artist, Archillect draws pleasure from understanding what art images are liked on social media.

By continuously learning, evolving and communicating, Archillect “…becomes happy in her own ways.”

Pak and Musk: A Meeting of Minds

The significance of artificial intelligence in Pak’s repertoire cannot be overstated as it brings an extra dimension to the portfolio. With AI being at the heart of much of Elon Musk’s own industries the connection may help to explain Musk’s heartfelt tweet focusing on Pak’s algos rather than just a single piece of art.