Category: Deliverables-06

YoungLee – NFT Reading

When I was first introduced to the topic during class, I was very excited because it seemed like a reliable route for future digital artists to take. However, when I read the articles and looked more into the environmental impacts, I realized the extent of the situation and changed my mind after much thought.

I understand why artists would pursue this opportunity, and I don’t want to blame them for doing so, especially if they didn’t know the ecological impacts or if they are making a living off of it. When it comes to topics about socio-economic issues, I always have to remind myself how privileged I am to have parents who provide me shelter, food, etc. for free. After I promised myself that I would never attempt to “immorally” earn money, my parents responded by saying that once I enter the job market and end up providing for my own family, there’s no other way but to become a little selfish. This topic reminded me of that encounter and made me look at the topic in a different light, so I don’t think people should try to ‘cancel’ these artists.

I think another problem with NFTs is that everyday citizens are so disconnected from the reality of the situation. We don’t see or experience the ecological impacts, which makes it difficult for us to make environmentally conscious decisions. Therefore, I understand why so many people are quick to jump on the train.

For me, until something about the way NFTs are mined changes, I don’t want to feel responsible for possibly tons of CO2 emissions, especially because I don’t need to rely on it to put food on the table. Overall, the solution for the ecological impacts of NFts remains unclear, but it should be addressed. AND we shouldn’t blame everyday artists for using it, but billionaires and celebrities who have invested in NFTs who clearly know the ecological impacts that they are making should stop investing when they already have more than enough money (**cough, cough Logan Paul, Mark Cuban, etc.).

YoungLee – NFT Immersion

 

My favorites:

  1. Title: the appropriate loss of control
    Artist: @xcopy
    Link: https://superrare.co/artwork-v2/the-appropriate-loss-of-control-5882
    Screenshot:


2. Title: Bitcoin Chart
Artist: @pocobelli
Link: https://superrare.co/artwork-v2/bitcoin-chart-21679
Screenshot:

 

3. Title: Blond
Artist: @benabstract
Link: https://rarible.com/token/0xd07dc4262bcdbf85190c01c996b4c06a461d2430:164314:0x1c9fefb363361b303f9ab3cb08395cf863461784
Screenshot:


I don’t absolutely detest this, but it makes me feel uncomfy for some reason >.<
Title: Bop_BOp
Artist: @strack
Link: https://foundation.app/strack/bop-bop-7967
Screenshot:

 

Written response:

There was such a diverse selection of artworks that it’s difficult to explain a common element throughout, but I guess the most obvious commonality was that it was all digital. NFTs don’t sell any physical artworks; thus, the artworks themselves are very digitized rather than hand drawn. Some are still images that have been highly manipulated while others are animated loops that seem very professionally made. 

The price range of the ones I saw surprised me because I thought that some artworks that were admittedly not the best were priced very high while the ones that I thought were fantastic were not bid at all. I came to the realization that many people that are buying the NFTs are not just buying to own the artworks themselves but to invest in them and sell them in the future in order to hopefully make a profit. When there is no demand, people seem hesitant to be the first to bid. Therefore, even though some artworks are better than others (even though art is subjective), the bid price may have a psychological effect on the people buying.

I also noticed that many of them seem reminiscent of surrealist paintings. However, instead of painting the objects, the artists either rendered them through software or manipulated multiple pictures and put them together. For NFTs, I think interactive artworks are missing. I wish there were art pieces where when a user clicks on a certain area, the artwork perhaps changes.

 

shurgbread- NFTImmersion

The 3 Truths- Maxwell Step

Still_Life_02-primerrender

Night Shift- Mason London

Elon Musk Collectible-ny

I took images that span the spectrum of NFTs. Starting with the piece that I dislike the most is the Elon Musk collectible. There is nothing inherently wrong with collections or archives of cards or books or whatever the collection may be of, but the image is of no interest to tell a story or connect with somebody on a level deeper than a novelty. It is a funny moment in internet history and the piece clearly seems to be just a way to share that reference in a baseball card type of way. The artist does not say anything about Elon or referencing the platform it exists on. I find this weirdly placed against the other 3 images because while the other 3 can exist on somebody’s social media or even an online gallery showing; Elon only makes sense as an NFT baseball card. A gallery of celebrity baseball cards doesn’t provide philosophical or even technical interest beyond the fact that it can only exist as an NFT. The others I have less of an issue with because they use the NFT system as a way to try and make work that they have already sunken practice, time, and overhead into. It is also not lost on me that the majority of the work shown both here and the etherium based platforms are entering the Instagram trend of digital art where there’s a million of the same slick, shiny, highly rendered psychedelic images. While on the other end of the spectrum there are pieces that require no skill at all like a woman eating various fruits in front of a camera. While there are many artists trying to experiment with the in-between etherium based platforms are not interested in placing them front and center.

What I saw on these sites was concerning. Yes, I was able to find meaningful, skillful work that speaks to me such as Night Shift and Still_Life_02. What concerns me is the jarring amount of art that rides the wave of being controversial or trendy and existing only with the new platform because it’s new and flashy and shiny rather than artists who weren’t making money before suddenly given a new opportunity. The big fish are garnering a lot of attention very quickly and many people will enter NFTs and never make their gas fees back. All of this, not even mentioning the ecological side effects is scary.

bumble_b – NFTReading

This honestly feels like a really accessible and friendly movement in the ways that it removes the rich and exclusive environment of art galleries. Anybody can access and see NFTs, anybody can sell NFTs (a massive improvement from galleries) because of that sort of “unlimited space” of the internet and the anonymity that prevents racism, ageism, sexism, and other prejudices that could make it difficult for someone to emerge as an artist in more traditional ways. It takes back the power of the individual artist, especially minority artists. Despite the inclusivity I feel exists with sellers and viewers, I have definitely noticed that the exclusivity and upper-class feel of buying art has persisted- if not increased- in this format. I also don’t think that’d ever be remediable; buying art has always been a “I have so much income that all my needs have been met and I also have a bunch left to spend on not-so-necessary things” thing to me. But, I think it’s an improvement in every other category of class.

I also do understand the environmental implications of the more traditional cryptocurrencies and NFT marketplaces. In all honesty, it has been a really hard concept for me to grasp because the internet and cyberspace and all of that has always felt like an intangible, “in the air and everywhere but also not taking up any physical space” kind of thing. I know that’s not true, especially now, but it is something I am having a hard time picturing. I see how NFTs cause this harm, but I also think that the proof-of-stake basis of the crypto we’ll be using is a really great step that will hopefully take off and replace more harmful forms. Everest Pipkin’s take on them though, I noticed, is not good either. They assert that no matter what you do, crypto “almost universally grant[s] power to the already powerful.” I also thought what they said about cryptocurrency being a pyramid scheme was really interesting. The idea of “you make money from the people who join after you” wasn’t one I had considered before, and it definitely got me thinking.

Again, despite all of this reading and discussion, my brain really hurts trying to wrap my head around these concepts, but I really feel like there is the potential for a lot of good to come out of this if it was implemented in a more secure, exact, and environmentally-friendly way. Though I wouldn’t really consider myself an artist the way that people selling NFTs would, I, as a POC, have a lot of sympathy for minorities who have been sidelined who now have a chance to make a life out of their passion.

I have a lot of trust in this class and am definitely more than open to trying this out this week. But, I don’t see myself ever exploring these marketplaces as a seller or buyer again, just because it’s not really my area of interest.

bumble_b – NFTImmersion

1. AM  04  by  @jorencull

I absolutely ADORE Where’s Waldo?-type art like this with a lot going on. You can zoom in and find something new every time you look at it; it’s so incredible. If anyone else is really into these, there’s this awesome subreddit called r/wimmelbilder where artists post things like this!

2. OLD MONEY CORRUPTS VI @missalsimpson

I also really love collages, and the changing colors/gif aspect of this one was a really lovely and captivating touch.

3. Lockdown by ?

Though this one is really simple, I found it quite charming. It reminds me a lot of something I would make, so I was quite drawn to it.

4. Eruption by @macomoroni

This one I find incredibly disturbing. There were a lot of hyper-realistic animations with super surreal concepts I found scrolling through these sites, and though I can see how much work went into making this (something I can really appreciate), the video and the sounds and everything about it are not for me.

5. first poem to be sold as nft by @nikolatosic
In contrast to my “This is not for me, but I appreciate the artistry” feelings about many of the pieces I saw (like the one above), this is just straight up the laziest, most annoying things I’ve ever seen. I mean, seriously? To be fair, I’m not a poet, but I feel like this hardly qualifies as a poem, let alone one that should be sold for $183.71 (the current bid at the time of writing this).

After exploring all the art- just scrolling through- I noticed a lot of surrealist, 3D animated, clay animated, cartoony, and pixelated artwork (at least, those were the ones that most stuck out to me). There also seems to be some photography and even just screenshots/text of things. But, most of the artwork I saw overall look to be digitally created somehow or another! I think that points to what really came off as “missing” to me, which was hand-drawn/hand-painted/hand-something’ed works. Though I definitely saw a few, it seemed kind of rare to scroll past one.

There’s a lot of peculiar and almost meme-esque work that I saw, and even an interesting amount of cannabis/drug-related creations, leading me to believe a lot of the artists posting these NFTs are young. However, I am a little confused about who is buying them. A lot of the art, I felt, is geared toward a more millennial and Gen. Z audience, but a lot of them are being sold for the equivalent of thousands of dollars – disposable income I thought would be more common with an older audience. Regardless, the look of these creations are incredibly modern and exciting, and I think that the people selling them were previously struggling, young artists who have found a new and blossoming outlet with a lot of interested buyers.

This may be a hot take, but part of me thinks the excitement over this new medium will die down soon. Though I suspect it’ll always remain a large industry, I think that it’s currently reaching its peak that I find really common with other pop culture fads. But as of now, I think a lot of the people posting these are posting because it’s a new opportunity to establish a following and make money, and a lot of people are buying them because of the modernity and exclusivity of the medium.