The French Cheese Board Enters the Metaverse with NFTs

You probably didn’t expect to come to the Cheese Professor expecting to learn about “NFTs,” and “metaverse” but here we are. “The metaverse is like teenage sex,” says Laurent Damiens, Chief Operating Officer of the French Dairy Board. “Everyone speaks a lot about it; everyone says they are doing it, but nobody actually is.”

You also probably didn’t come here expecting to confront “teenage sex,” but this analogy was actually one of the motivating reasons that the French Dairy Board, and its guest-facing outlet the French Cheese Board, opted to commission 4 cheese-inspired NFTs for the opening of the new French Cheese Board space; to be among the first to move from “talking about it,” to “actually doing it.” “We have to go there because the younger generations are already there, and we want to influence them where they are,” says Laurent. “You will start to see it more and more. Because future consumers will be in the metaverse.”

In non-tech terms, the metaverse refers to the intersection of the actual and virtual worlds, where both the internet and virtual reality simulators can be major conduits between them. NFT stands for “non fungible token” and refers to a bit of digital data, which lately is often presented as a digital artwork, that is stored within a blockchain and cannot be replicated or substituted. (Contrary to cryptocurrencies, which are fungible, or replaceable tokens.) As a “uniquely identified asset,” a NFT is often used as a measure of security, and can also be sold as an asset, but for the French Dairy Board, their 4 commissioned NFTs are a first step toward utilizing more metaverse strategies, purely for the fun of bringing attention to the company and their new space while celebrating that which we all actually came here for: cheese.

Inside the Cheese Metaverse

Admittedly, the digital gallery feel inside the French Cheese Board was as pleasurable as the cheese itself. (Okay, well nearly. Consumed together? Bingo.) The four NFTs are individually outlined below with artist descriptions of the pieces, but initially I was more interested in experiencing them organically and seeing what feelings or images they suggested. Much like a well-constructed cheese plate or generous cheese spread, the NFTs were quite engaging, and I kept going back in for more.

All the NFTs were moving images, and some included numerous panels, which were staged to cover nearly every wall of the FCB’s event space, so it truly felt like a digital cheese immersion. The life cycle of cheese seemed to be happening on one set of screens, complete with fertilization and cell growth, lipid adolescence, and the eventual breaking down of proteins and crystal formation. (Cosmos of Sensations) Another had an almost matrix-like, linear quality, that brought to mind the idea of the tingling of the spine. (Cosmic Cheese) A third gave the impression of a dynamic, cheese-evocative, modernist sculpture gallery. (Wonderland)

The most dramatic of the NFTs (A Cheese Dream) covered the entirety of one wall at the FCB, and was also available to view in virtual reality form for a truly immersive experience. A moving collage depicts every imaginable relationship between the world and cheese, from the sensory organs used to enjoy it, to historical and pop-cultural references. A set of wax lips evokes not only the mouth, but the sculptures I used to make from the wax casings of Babybels. Goldfish crackers are represented by an actual goldfish chasing an orange block of cheddar. What do a pair of figure skaters have to do with cheese? Right. They’re cheesy. You might eventually get full on actual cheese and have to stop eating, but this particular NFT has the potential to be a never-ending feast for the eyes at least.

The NFTs will be on display at the French Cheese Board for at least 6 months. Future plans include exhibitions in Paris and Shanghai.

The Cheese-Inspired NFTs

The French Dairy Board NFTs were commissioned via Artpoint, a Paris-based organization committed to the promotion and exhibition of digital art. Five artists created 4 unique NFTs that directly address one of the metaverse’s limitations: the experience of taste. “We can do many things in the metaverse, but we cannot eat yet,” says Damiens. As such, the 4 NFTs were created given the prompt of representing the experience of eating French cheese.

Cosmos of Sensations by Jakub Spacek and James Lee (REMESH)

“The piece is a 4-part abstract visualization of the process of how cheese is made. The REMESH drew inspiration from other natural processes in the world, using them to find unique visual languages that can communicate ideas about cheese without it being a literal representation.”

Wonderland by Alex McLeod

“‘Wonderland’ is a psychological homage to cheese, in a multi-channel video display…with elements that melt, stretch, roll, and reform, feeling at some moments as if they exist in a world that is akin to our own, yet very different.”

Cosmic Cheese by Lucas Lejeune

“In the beginning, Man took a bite of cheese. Countless delectable molecules entered the depths of his tongue. A myriad of aromatic particles ascended, reaching for his olfactory senses. Man saw that it was good and took another bite…”

A Cheese Dream by Luke Conroy

“In this work, the artist was interested in exploring the cheese tasting experience from both an individual and historical perspective. Individually, cheese tasting is an immediate experience involving multiple senses and pleasurable sensations. Historically, this immediate experience is the meeting of artistry, experimentation, and culture that spans centuries…”

About The New French Cheese Board Space

It wasn’t a big move distance-wise for the French Cheese Board, just up the block and across the street, from 41 Spring Street in Manhattan’s Nolita neighborhood, to 56 Spring Street. It was a decidedly big move, however, impact-wise, with a total space that is 3 times the amount of their previous location, including a retail store front, event space, Culture Lab classroom space, and yes, even a virtual reality gallery.