Andrés-Sebastián Meléndez Muñoz
NFTs are the hot new thing, and for better or worse, they are here to stay. According to a social media poll I set up, 73% of people who participated said that it would have a negative effect on the art market, whether or not they could accurately say how. An NFT (Non Fungible Token) described in lay terms, is kind of like a data point or unit of data that represents an item or group of items as a single unit. It is a grouping of data that together makes up an individual item, or as they are now seen, a digital piece of art.
NFT’s are stored on a blockchain; which works like a ledger in that it stores the specific NFT or data point in a secure way that can have parts added but not removed. Imagine a blockchain like a kind of ladder where you can add to it, but not take away. If you were to attempt to take a away part of the ladder, it would stop working. Another way of thinking about it is as something to which you add layers. You can add all the layers you want, but if you try to remove any layers, then the entire thing loses the form. A blockchain works in a similar way, to secure the NFT’s, you can add to them but you can not take away from it, this is a way of securing the artwork, a way of proving authenticity.
These digital pieces of art are very different from “normal” art objects because they can be used to continuously generate income. An NFT can be something as simple as an image or a video clip, and selling it in a blockchain allows it to be claimed by a single owner. There are downsides though, like the environmental impact it has, or the fact that it takes a lot of money to mine them, this makes it hard for anyone other than the wealthiest of people to take part in this “art.” In the short period of time that NFTs have boomed, hackers have been trying to find ways to hack, and also reproduce them as well.
It does seem perhaps a little bit insulting that those who partake in creating NFTs should be able to elevate them to “high culture” status. As an artist and designer, it is a backhand to the classical definition of “artist”. Where is the originality? Or the elegance of the brushstroke? Or the rhythm of the notes? For centuries, artists have been underappreciated, but they have always held their heads high and with pride. NFTs take the individuality and creative hand out of what is considered art.