Nicole Ruggiero on 3D Art, VR, and Finding Love Through NFTs | NFTS.WTF Interview

3D artist Nicole Ruggiero on why 3D finally felt like home, building VR and AR exhibitions, and meeting her partner and collaborator through NFTs.

Interviewed by David Cash. Book David to host, moderate, or speak: https://davidcash.ca

Recorded on a New York rooftop on day four of NFT.NYC 2021, Nicole Ruggiero, a New York 3D artist working in VR and AR, talks with David Cash about seeing 10,000 NFT people show up in her hometown and going on stage after Quentin Tarantino. They trade definitions of the metaverse, and Nicole explains why she sees it as a digital existence we have lived in for years. She talks openly about being queer in a space David calls a finance bro world, and tells the story of meeting her partner, the sculptor Plant Daddy, through an NFT shill thread on Twitter, making a piece together before they had met, and asking her out inside a Cinema 4D file. Nicole also walks through How the Internet Changed My Life, a series of six portraits built for VR, AR, and the web, the first-time VR user in Basel who used only hand tracking, the days she spends working inside a headset, and the online micro cultures she likes to explore.

Watch on YouTube

Chapters

1. 00:00 Intro at NFT.NYC with Nicole Ruggiero
2. 0:24 10,000 NFT people in her hometown
3. 1:52 Going on stage after Tarantino
4. 2:38 What counts as the metaverse
5. 3:34 From VR to meeting in person
6. 4:48 Being queer in the NFT space
7. 6:17 Meeting her partner through an NFT shill thread
8. 7:51 Why 3D felt like home
9. 9:55 How the Internet Changed My Life in VR and AR
10. 11:04 A first-time VR user and hand tracking
11. 13:25 Where AR is heading
12. 14:23 Whole days inside a headset
13. 15:40 Micro cultures and emotional bonds online
14. 16:43 From audience to community
15. 18:25 Where to find Nicole

Speakers

• David Cash, interviewer and editor-in-chief, NFTS.WTF
• Nicole Ruggiero, 3D artist

Key topics

• NFT.NYC 2021 and the in-person NFT community
• Definitions of the metaverse
• 3D, VR, and AR art practice
• Queer representation in NFTs
• Collaborating with a partner met through NFTs
• How the Internet Changed My Life, six portraits in VR, AR, and on the web
• Hand tracking and first-time VR users
• The future of AR glasses
• Online micro cultures
• Moving from audience to community

In their words

"For me, it's like, you just have to be yourself, and I think that's most important." Nicole Ruggiero

"When I first started getting into 3D, I finally felt like, okay, this is home." Nicole Ruggiero

How to cite

APA: Cash, D. (2021). Nicole Ruggiero on 3D art, VR, and finding love through NFTs [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/_63QJi4Gcx8

Chicago: Cash, David. "Nicole Ruggiero on 3D Art, VR, and Finding Love Through NFTs." Recorded 2021, New York. YouTube video, 19:50. https://youtu.be/_63QJi4Gcx8.

About NFTS.WTF

NFTS.WTF was a Web3 culture publication and interview series edited by David Cash. It covered artists, collectors, and builders during the 2021–2022 NFT boom. It ran for two years and closed after a board decision by the NFTS DAO, which left many of its interviews unpublished.

More interviews: https://www.youtube.com/@davidcash888/playlists

Recording details

Recorded 2021 at NFT.NYC, New York City. Originally published on NFTS.WTF, November 2021. This edition: archival re-release with chapters and captions, 2026.

Transcript

Machine-transcribed and reviewed. Timestamps link to the moment in the video.

[0:11] Good morning. We are here in New York City for NFT NYC. My name is David Cash. We're here with NFTS.WTF. And we are here this morning with Nicole Ruggiero. Thank you so much for joining us. I hope I'm not butchering the way you pronounce your name. No, it's good. Yeah, you did it. So you're from New York. This is your hometown. But now 10,000 people have joined us here. NFT people, no less. So how does this feel for you being in the space for so long and now seeing so many people IRL getting so excited about NFTs? It's really cool. I'm super glad it's where I live also, because it's been super chill to just leave my apartment and mosey on over to Times Square and be able to hang out with everyone. It's kind of surreal meeting people who are other artists or NFT people or blockchain people or even people who own the programs that I'm using.

[1:08] It's pretty crazy. Everyone in one space, it just feels so surreal, yeah. It's beautiful. And I know you've had your art featured in Times Square a couple of times now, but how does it feel to have your face in Times Square? Because I know for me it was insane, because being behind the camera people, behind the scenes people, we never really think that this is going to be us in context like that. How was that for you? Was it a weird experience? It was also really surreal. I feel like everything's just really weird right now, in the best way possible. Yeah, I don't know. Yeah, absolutely. So it's day three, day four at this point. We've gone to a bunch of different things. Has there been anybody that you've met or an event that you've gone to that's really stuck up for you or that's been super surreal or cool? Jeez, I'm having to pick apart all the events now. Being on stage after Tarantino was pretty crazy. Like, yeah, that was so super cool and also really scary, but awesome.

[2:09] That must've been such a, I was super surprised. How did you feel when you just saw him in an NFT context? Like, what was that like for you? I was like, what? Is this, I start texting everyone, like my family and my friends. I was like, Tarantino's on stage. Like, what is happening right now? You know, like it was, yeah, it was, I don't know. Everything's surreal. Like, that's all I can say. Somebody mentioned it in an interview and I love it. They said, like, the metaverse doesn't exist, but this is the metaverse because we're all here at once, like at one place, like all the people who've got to make this happen. So it's really crazy, it's really crazy. Wait, who said the metaverse doesn't exist though? Well, the metaverse in its initial definition doesn't exist, we're working towards it. We're working towards it eventually. I think we're very much in it already, yeah. Tell us what you think, tell us, give us, because you know, there's always the omniverse, metaverse, what's what, what's your perception, because obviously you work in it quite a bit. I mean, okay, so wait, no, tell me your definition. Yeah, so no, like metaverse isn't like one system where everything works together, like the Decentraland and Sandbox, because like if you could interoperably go between the two, like for me, that would be the metaverse, but I'd say like each solution is in itself, like a bit of a metaverse, but how do you feel about it?

[3:17] That's actually interesting. Yeah, I guess I'm not really defining it in the context of like NFTs or blockchain or anything, it's more of just kind of this like, like digital existence and perception, and I think that we're definitely very much in that already, and we have been for years now, yeah. Well, you also come from like VR and 3D, so I mean like coming from a VR space where it's, I feel like you have interacted with a lot of these people, probably almost IRL, because it's like, you know, you have your avatars, you're there in person. How has that been for you moving from that to in person? Like I guess also post-COVID, it's so strange, because it's also immediate, it's been the past couple months. It's really natural for me, I feel like, I'm like someone who's always kind of existed in that space, so yeah, I think it's really important to have both like in person, like IRL meetups, and online meetups, and I've like very much like, have felt that way for a long time.

[4:14] Yeah, I know you've existed in the space for quite a while, do you think that we have a future of blending the two, like do you want to see more instances of like people in VR being able to experience things like this, like simultaneously? Simultaneously, like walking around Times Square with a VR helmet on. Well, maybe when the glasses come out, I mean, who knows? Yeah, I think we're gonna move more towards like augmented reality, yeah, versus VR, like where you can't see anything, but yeah, that's definitely coming, absolutely, yeah. So we'll take it a couple steps back, because you know, you've been in the space quite a while, and you've been in the space as a queer person for quite a while, and obviously, that's something that's really important for me, representation in the space, you know, when I started doing NFTs, I didn't see any queer representation for the most part, but I think you're really, you're quite public and open with your partner, and you create together, how's the process been for you coming into like, very much like, I don't know, a finance bro space, and kind of like burgeoning yourself into this context, and doing so well about it, how has that been for you? For me, it's like, you just have to be yourself, and I think that's most important, and as long as you embrace that, I think other people embrace you as well, unless they're like, mean people, you know, trying not to say any bad words on camera.

[5:34] Yeah, unless they're, you know, whatever. The not positive term of degen, yeah? Yeah, yeah, yes. So, but yeah, I think generally speaking, I think maybe a lot of these people, or some of these people haven't encountered that many queer people, so I think there's some like education going on for sure, but that's okay, I mean, you know, as long as they're respectful and receptive, then. Right, and I mean like, I think the best thing you can possibly in this space is authentic, and people really appreciate that, so I mean. Definitely, yeah. And then just following up on that, you've been creating with your partner for a while now, how has that process been for you? For anybody who doesn't know, Nicole creates together with her lovely partner, do you wanna talk about your partner, or like that creative process that you guys have together? So my partner's art name is Plant Daddy, and we actually met through NFTs on like a shill thread that I created. That's amazing. Yeah.

[6:30] On Twitter. On Twitter. Beautiful. And then, you know, we flew back and forth, after COVID, we couldn't meet for a couple months, but we flew back and forth, and started making art together. We made a full piece, actually, before we even met, which was crazy, so it's so weird, it was so weird, but really cool to be able to meet in a way. Meeting in the metaverse, dating in the metaverse. Yeah, by making work together like that, it was really cool. It's been awesome, and she's just an amazing sculptor, and our skill sets really complement each other, so yeah, really looking forward to moving forward with that, and we're starting our own studio, and just really excited, yeah. Beautiful, beautiful. Would you say that you, or maybe not even say it, did you go on any dates in the metaverse? Did you do anything in like VR chat or something together when you guys weren't able to be together, not to go too personal?

[7:24] We were just on video, like, a lot, and I like asked her to be my girlfriend in like a Cinema 4D file. Oh my God, I lied. That's so cute. I was like, hey, can you check this for me? Like, I think something's wrong. Like, just like check my file or whatever, and I sent it to her, and she opened it, and she was like, oh my God. I love that. She was like, you totally fooled me, and yes. It was so cute, yeah, yeah. So obviously the both of you work in the 3D context. You have for quite a while now, you especially. I wrote an article about how, you know, the metaverse is facilitating larger scale sculptures than we've ever been able to actually experience, and you've done some crazy things like floating heads in the sky and things that would be physically impossible. How has that process been for you, you know, being able to create whatever you'd like in the metaverse?

[8:22] I know you've been in it for a while, so it's probably pretty native for you, but maybe give the people a little context on that. I'm trying to compare it with like not being able to do that in my head right now. You're like, that's my thing. What has that been like? I think, yeah, so I'm like trying to like rewind to when I first started doing 3D. It's awesome, like I think that was, you know, one of the reasons why I wanted to get into 3D because you can create these like realistic, surreal pieces of art that's like very much my style. And I think I felt very stuck before this because when I first started art, like when I was a kid, you know, I was like drawing and I was into realism and I had a hard time kind of like bridging that gap, getting into animation. I was using After Effects, which is like really cartoony. The early days of After Effects sucked too. I actually started it with like Flash, like when I was like in middle school and it was bad, but you know, I did that. And then yeah, like everything was like really cartoony and that's not like, it didn't like translate very well.

[9:25] So I think when I first started getting into 3D, I finally felt like, okay, this is home. This is, I can express myself properly now. And so, yeah, it just feels really good. It's beautiful. And I mean like, unfortunately in the art world right now, like unless you're Jeff Koons, you can't do some of these large scale sculpture pieces. So maybe can you share with people, like what's the largest scale or most intense piece that you've done that you would not be able to do without 3D or without the metaverse? Larger scale stuff. So I've done like augmented reality and virtual reality exhibitions. I actually have been showing this project called How the Internet Changed My Life, which is like six portraits. And it's also like VR, AR and a website. And it like talks about these six individuals and how the internet has really been integral to their identities.

[10:23] And so, yeah, I mean that project, probably one of the biggest ones I've worked on with my collaborators. Yeah, the GLAAD scientists and Dylan Banks, really awesome people, as well as a few other people who have been really wonderful throughout the process as well. But yeah, just making like larger scale, like pieces with VR, AR, stuff like that. It's just so cool and fulfilling, especially when the person coming to your show puts on the headset and might be using VR for the first time and just like really immerses themselves in it. You see their face without their eyes, but they're so excited. Yeah, and they just love it. And like giving people that experience is just so cool and fulfilling. We used like hand tracking also, and there was one woman, cause I just went to like Basel, Switzerland to show this.

[11:21] And there's this one woman and she did the whole experience. And then afterwards, she took off the headset and she was like, that was so cool. And she was like, that was the first time I've ever done VR. And I was like, what? Cause like she just seems so natural. And it was so cool. Cause like I've done experiences with controllers before, but this one, you just use your hands, which is like a newer technology. No haptics, just her hands. It's hand tracking. And it was so cool to see like that bridging of the gap where you're not using controllers, where you are just using your hands. It's so native and people can just hear it. Exactly. It's like people can more naturally do those experiences. And that was something for me as an artist, that was so cool to see. And I think you touched on something really important beyond just like the art itself, it's part of the user experience.

[12:17] And I think that like with your recent project and some of your work, you really designed that and you go through extra links in creating like a UI, UX, sorry to use a marketing term, but for the user and like when you're curating these six stories into a context and you're creating your micro set and you're creating the whole experience, it's really 360. And like we haven't been able to do that before. So how has that been for you? Cause I say that every NFT artist now is basically a 360 media company cause you have to do so much in the way of producing, et cetera. Have you built out a team? What has been your process like in creating context around your work? Cause you've done such a good job. Jeez, that's a hard question to answer. Yeah, I mean, I think it just kind of goes back to what I was saying, like working with my collaborators and like building out like a whole experience is really important. And bridging the gap is really important between like the physical and the digital. That's always been a really integral part of my practice.

[13:14] Absolutely. And I'm curious just because, I mean, it's been around for a while, but so have you now in this space, it's funny to say because you know it's so new, but AR is also a very important part and you're talking about the blending of physical digital. What's maybe something that you'd like people to check out in terms of AR or that you think is really revolutionary right now that either you've done or you've seen it done recently? I don't know. I think with AR, it's still kind of getting to the point where it's becoming more and more integrated. So I don't know if anything at the moment is like super natural. Like it is kind of like, you still feel like you're like looking through a screen. Especially coming from the VR world. I mean, it's probably hard to compare, right? But I do think that VR, I don't know. What I think is I think that we're gonna get to a point where you can switch between AR and VR. You're gonna be wearing glasses most likely and it's gonna be like your whole field of vision.

[14:08] Glasses, the headset, the glasses. And like you can just kind of like switch it on and off. And yeah, we're not there yet, obviously. But when we do get there, I think, I mean, that's where we're heading. Yeah, in my opinion. Absolutely. And then going back to VR, because obviously that's a big point as well. Just a fun question. I'm curious. What's the longest amount of time you've ever spent in a headset? Roughly. A whole day. I mean, I like make VR stuff. So like... You create in headset, right? Yeah, I'm like in and out of there. You know, definitely spent whole days doing that before. Does it take you out of your like real life context when you're there for like hours and hours on end? Like are you like, oh my God, where am I? Being like in my studio just feels like that. Like, there are times where I'm just working so much and I like leave my apartment and I'm just like, people.

[15:09] Or I'm like seeing like weird patterns like around like that I only see like with polygons or something. Oh my goodness. So the realities are blending. For me, definitely. And then talking about that just a little bit more, we'll wrap it up in a moment. But you know, you're talking about this blending of realities and mixed reality. What's exciting you in terms of maybe your work right now in terms of trying to bridge that gap and have IRL, AR, VR, all of these lovely R words that we like to use in this context. Yeah, so like some of the coolest stuff to me is just the culture that surrounds these experiences, how people form cultural groups around different topics and interests. You know, with NFTs, of course, and the different collectibles. I think everyone's really aware of that.

[16:01] And then you have, you know, I watch a lot of YouTube and I see people form groups over like, you know, like finger boarding or like Pokemon cards or retro gaming or you know, stuff like that. And there's all these like micro cultures that are forming that weren't able to form before because these people might be like kind of like dispersed and not that many, but now that the internet exists, they're able to kind of group up and form these really cool cultures. So that's something that I think is just so cool and something that I really like to focus on as well as just forming emotional bonds online as well and how people do that. I mean, you're the perfect example of that. I mean, you found love in the metaverse. Yeah, it's pretty crazy. I like to contextualize it and a bunch of people say this, Matt Medved and people talk about this, but going from web two to web three, the biggest step has been like going from building an audience that you like almost like speak to to building a community, like people you interact with, people you talk to.

[17:05] I'm sure that you've had many conversations with your collectors and people in your community. How has that experience been for you really connecting one-on-one with people who support you and buy your work? Honestly, I feel like I was kind of already doing that. Like I am not really much of a person that, I just like to be very genuine and like, I already like to be one-on-one with people. So I feel like I already kind of like had my community and so like just growing that, I mean, it's been great. I really like to just like make friends and like be chill with people. I don't really like being put on like a pedestal or anything like that. Like it's kind of weird to me. So yeah, it's been lovely. Amazing. And it's like, it's a really natural shift. I feel like what's happening right now. You know, the Kim Kardashians of like the social media space, it's like that phase is like very slowly ending now. And like even Facebook has tried to really like jump in. Do you want to give your two cents on META or do you want to keep that out of the context?

[18:00] It can be bad. It can be bad. Yeah, I have a lot to say, but I don't know. I'm not going to get into it, honestly. My favorite thing I've seen about META is when DRESSX put Zuckerberg in a bunch of dresses. And I was like, that's good. Okay, all right. That I can work with. That's the one thing we'll say. Well, I don't want to take up all of your day, but is there anything you'd like the people to check out that you're working on right now? Maybe something that's launched during NFT NYC perhaps? I mean, I do have some pieces up for sale. You can check me out or just follow me on Twitter, underscore Nicole Ruggiero, Instagram, just my name, Nicole Ruggiero. And you can like find my NFTs through that. And I'll be coming out with some stuff, some really cool stuff, like early next year as well. Excellent, 2022, look out. Well, thank you so much for making the time to do this.

[18:52] It's really a pleasure. It's nice to finally like chat IRL. I know we've talked briefly online before, but you know, that's what this is all about. So this has been lovely. We're here in New York at NFT NYC. My name is David Cash and checking out. Thank you all so much for taking the time.