01/07/2021 Are NFTs Revitalizing the Art Market?

The art world as is the case for most other fields was devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns. The interface of art with the public was cut off and artists struggled to get their art seen, let alone sold.

The blockchain came to the rescue again with the introduction of NFTs for art. In a very short time, artists have been able to offer digital representations of their art in its creation or destruction in some cases in an online auction format using cryptocurrency as the medium of exchange.

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NFT's use of blockchain technology also provides the proof of originality of the artwork and its history of ownership. Ideally, this concept of 'provenance' is where the value of an NFT is derived from as a digital asset.

The record-breaking Christie's auction of Beeple's “Everydays: The First 5000 Days” for $69 million has drawn the interest of many in the art world but some fear that speculation and hype will dominate the market leaving most artists disappointed.

Other major art auction houses like Sotheby's,  (BID) - Get Report are jumping into the NFT space along with online marketplaces SuperRare, OpenSea, and even crypto exchanges such as Binance.

To some artists such as Max Denison-Pender, the new technological innovation is full of possibilities. His recent auction of self-portrait 'Take Me To The Moon' which was flown into an active volcano in Iceland was a financial success on the OpenSea NFT marketplace. His optimism about the future of NFTs remains cautious.

 

Arts

https://www.thestreet.com/video/are-nfts-revitalizing-the-art-market

Interesting NFTs
#28372
By OthersideDeployer
The Complete MF Collection
THE COMPLETE MF COLLECTION by Beeple
Genesis
José Delbo sent me his striking pencil sketch and powerful inked work, which I then interpreted in oil on canvas. I wanted to create a very painterly piece with obvious brush marks etc, but I was also aiming for a nostalgic feel, a kind of 1980’s superhero comic book look, the kind I grew up with. My goal with this animation was to try to recreate, in part, the creative process that both artists went through with the visual information I had. I was able to showcase my painting process more accurately as I could take photographs of my progress throughout. Consecutive images could then be layered like brush strokes over José’s drawing to create the impression that this was one continuous artwork from pencil, to ink, to completed painting. The representation of the line sketch at the beginning, then pencil/ink and lastly the paint layers being applied demonstrate both artists’ struggle for the right lines, tone, form, and colour until the work is finally completed. As the oil was still wet with each photograph the glare of my studio lights can be seen in the brush strokes. Eventually, the figure emerges and as it does, our hero comes to life, looking directly at the viewer -- but is he grimacing in approval or disgust? We will never know for sure as just before he can say anything, white paint is brushed across the canvas entirely and the process begins again. Only the bat is quick enough to escape.
SolPunk_#2495
Vape it
The Moth Catcher
In this psychologically bed-headed portrait, a creature sets in a trance; his eyes devolved and vestigal, his third eye open but hardened and in a form resembling a Sharingan. The imagery therefore expresses an awareness existing in corporeal introspection. The creature’s mind sprouts, on the left side, an emerging face, grinning. To the right side of the head, red tentacles and fingers intertwine–a collaboration of invertebrate and vertebrate consciousness cooperatively handling paint brushes of the sort used to build an oil painting. The neck and throat bristle with random thorns, as from a rose or the upper portions of a beak sprouting from its flesh. The neck itself disassociates into layers of membranous material, terminating upon an abstracted base of convoluted forms composing its body. The nose is virtually non existent, more a sinus reiterative of the shape of the third eye. Set against the exposed teeth peering out of thick, meaty cheeks, a skeleton-like impression results. That impression sets behind a visceral set of lips and tongue, which is the creature’s prime seat of awareness. Sensual, organic, the tongue organ hangs, meaty, and with consciousness of a sea cucumber. It illuminates at the tip, drawing the attraction of a nearby moth–with mystery of purpose.