A seminar with artist Michelle Thompson (#mich_tom) opened my eyes to the world of NFTs. To start with I questioned if she had gone off on a tangent about American Football but after a little more explanation, I was exploring the world of trading art in the Metaverse. Michelle explained that NFTs allow her to indulge in personal projects outside of set briefs whilst also being financially lucrative.
NFT (Non-Fungible Token) Art is art that only exists digitally. The unique work becomes a cryptographic token, following the same idea as cryptocurrencies, that the artist can sell or rent in the metaverse. As www.theverge.com explains it; “NFTs are designed to give you something that can’t be copied (though the artist can still retain the copyright and reproduction rights). To put it in terms of physical art collecting: anyone can buy a Monet print. But only one person can own the original.”
The artist mints their NFT (i.e., gives it a value) and earns royalties for the sale. If you own sought-after NFTs you can store them on a platform and earn interest on them: “Digital artist Pak’s creation Merge fetched US$91.8 million on NFT platform Nifty Gateway in December 2021” www.crypto.com
Not everyone is a fan. As explained by the Washington Post “One big concern has been the environment. NFTs stored on blockchains secured by a process called “proof of work” used up enormous amounts of energy and were terrible for the environment”
There is also the question of valuing of digital art over physical. For me, the value, as with any art, is entirely subjective to the artist and the viewer/buyer. NFTs may be seen by some as reducing the work to its monetary value and devaluing its creative integrity, but starving artists must eat.
