Last week, a shiny cube made of 24 karat gold appeared in the middle of New York Citys Central Park. Made from 400 pounds of the precious metal, the one-day pop-up installation is the work of German artist Niclas Castello and drew crowds attracted to the shiny block worth over 10 million dollars.
Since itâs 2022 and we live in the dankest timeline, Castelloâs sculpture couldnât just be a cool thing that happened one day in New York. Itâs part of a promotion for the artistsâ upcoming NFT called Castello Coin. According to the New York Times, the pop artist funded the IRL promotion of the NFT by pre-selling tokens ahead of the official launch.
Velveeta, however, provided a better coda to Castelloâs event with some art of its own, and no, there are no NFTs as part of the promotion (thankfully). The Kraft Heinz cheese brand placed an 8-foot replica of its signature product the next day at the exact Central Park location. Velveeta did the math over social media and says it is 1400 times the size of a regular box of cheese, half the height of Michelangeloâs David, and 32 inches taller than Pablo Picasso.