NFTs: A New Epoch of Art Evolution
Written by: Jack Hoye | Illustration by: Jack Hoye
NFTs: A new medium of art, a new tradable asset, a new way to share. This emerging technology has reinvented trade and entertainment industries — exceeding the limitations of human creativity as we know it.
March 2021 Applying the finishing touches to the design work of a digital fashion editorial, I receive a text message from my collaborator. The message links to a TikTok that showcases a digital design piece created by a young woman comparable in age to mine. She shares that she could market her work in the form of an NFT — earning hundreds of dollars with its sale online. I was astonished. How incredible is it that a young unknown artist could sell her digital artwork to an online buyer willing to pay her such a generous price? Determined, I set out to investigate a new and emerging world where the art industry converged with the world of cryptocurrency. NFTs have bestowed unprecedented power to the content creator. The next stage in art industry evolution may find itself in the form of uniquely authenticated tradable digital assets. I had to find out more.
Months passed, and I kept the notion of the NFT locked securely in the archives of my brain. But then I noticed an artist I idolize sharing headlines with NFTs. “Grimes Sold 6 Million Worth of Digital Art as NFTs.” And so, my interest in the matter sextupled.
Having been inspired by Grimes’ sensibilities, music, and visual language for years, the prospect of exploring the untapped fertile universe of NFT creation became a priority. Galvanized by a true artist’s call for creative innovation, I, too, wanted to participate in the future of digital media and design. As a digital content creator and entrepreneur, I feel inclined to position myself at the forefront of what creative technologies can conceive and share this with like-minded creatives.
In my quest, I had the pleasure of connecting with NFT and crypto-expert Darnell Schoolfield. Schoolfield began his NFT journey amidst the coronavirus pandemic in the summer of 2020. He first learned of them using Twitter and saw the potential of NFT technologies in the world of art. The accessibility of NFTs for the everyday artist gives deserving creators the ability to capitalize on their content in ways never before imagined. “I noticed around that time you had to be pretty much invited to these popular platforms to even showcase your art to potentially sell. It was very gatekept, and I didn’t agree that it should be, especially with the minimal artistic efforts that were being sold at ridiculous prices by people who were already super-wealthy.” Schoolfield wanted himself and his talented friends to be able to mint their art into NFTs too.
NFT is an acronym for Non-Fungible Tokens — a distinctive kind of crypto-asset, or value of cryptocurrency, created using computer code and data representing unique digital items’ ownership. NFTs let artists and consumers alike tokenize these items. Tokenize means to code data to render it specific and unbreachable.
And so, each token created attests that each owner’s asset is its actual version.
This ownership is why said tokens are non-fungible instead of fungible assets like the dollar or euro, whose value can be easily interchanged with other minted currencies. Considering every NFT is one of its kind, they can validate the proprietorship of those original items. And can be bought and sold like fine art.
NFTs maintain their unique properties because of blockchains. Blockchain is the technology behind tracking data, with most NFTs existing on the blockchain, Ethereum. The blockchain allows creators to keep the rights of NFTs and allows them to be paid again and again from each of their sales. And because of blockchain technology, which ensures the content’s security and exclusive ownership, NFT modification or duplication is impossible. “NFTs are the newest and coolest way to collect and sell art,” says Schoolfield. An old idea has been reinvented, yielding incredible new modes of media, and the art-buying public is beginning to believe in them. Digital art, as a medium, can now be minted and sold using NFT technology.
Ownership of digital assets changes how art is valued and benefits content creators. Previously, creators could make something that gained praise and popularity in limited physical or digital quantities over a limited time and with limited availability. By employing NFT technologies, creators and buyers can sell triples or quadruples that artists and buyers would’ve otherwise paid for the same artworks. Now, the creator gets to always gain royalties from art sales via NFTs.
Such is the story of groundbreaking Canadian multi-media artist Claire Boucher, professionally known as Grimes. In February 2021, Grimes released a collection of NTFs collaborating with her brother, Mac — selling for millions. Grimes’ NFTs appear as digital art and audiovisual pieces from what the public has witnessed. Deemed The Warnyph Collection, these items have surfaced on the internet in duplicated inauthentic form. A short YouTube video provides a glimpse into a private creative world of Grimes, auctioned off and carefully crafted for the eyes of one. The YouTube video shows a tri-segmented series of short, enigmatic animated graphics accompanied by exclusive unreleased music created by Grimes and Mac. The Warpnyph Collection includes “Death of Old,” a surreal immersive audiovisual that features cherubs in flight over a dilapidated castle on a barren mountainside complete with an original medley entitled “Anhedonia;” “Earth,” a larger than life cherub suspended in space striking planet earth with a massive unidentifiable weapon that features an ominous techno track; and “Mars,” a sister space cherub hovering over the Martian planet complete with Grimes’ ethereal reverberating ad-lib vocals.
NFT technologies have empowered artists like Grimes, and justifiably so. With the employment of NFT technologies, the creator’s content can build generational wealth. Art collectors can do the same if they have a piece someone else wants and are willing to pay the equivalent price of traditional rare fine art. That’s what makes NFT art so desirable: art buyers want to flaunt the fact that they own an original, inimitable piece. They can show off their art to virtually anyone with an internet connection, all the while capitalizing on their absolute ownership of the piece. NFTs become a worldwide accessible asset, and like fine art, ownership comes with an air of prestige.
As the phenomenon is still in its infancy, NFTs as a classified art form are relatively subjective. NFTs are beginning to represent a wide span of commodities, let alone digital artworks. Digital art, sculpture, and multi-media pieces all encompass the various works featured in up-and-coming NFT art galleries across the globe.
Schoolfield co-founded the first-ever NFT art showroom in the City of Philadelphia, Art From The Heart Gallery. He firmly planted it within the gentrifying neighborhoods of North Philadelphia. Art From The Heart Gallery offers local art enthusiasts a glimpse into the world of crypto-art for the first time in real-life physical form. Schoolfield, a successful multi-talented modern renaissance man, has relayed his years of experience in media arts and design to create this contemporary art space.
“Art From The Heart is the first of its kind in the city of Philadelphia, even in the state of PA, which was and is forever a part of history.”
Says Schoolfield, “Not only is it the first-ever NFT Gallery in Philadelphia, but we also focused on accessibility for all when it came to pricing, and we held free panels with experts to educate the community on cryptocurrency and NFTs.”
The gallery came about when Jay Ortiz, Schoolfield’s high school friend and CEO of Art From The Heart Gallery, contacted him about an opportunity to partner on curating a yoga and wellness center space. The pair reconvened with the idea of continuing those previous efforts, though they began developing new ideas. Ortiz had invited a close friend and previous art collaborator, Zevi G, to see the space and explore its potential. “We thought about possibilities within the realm of yoga. We began to map out all kinds of art-centered classes and fun activities like watch parties, painting with a twist, among other things.”
During his visit, Zevi raised the question of why they hadn’t considered converting the space into an art gallery, especially given Ortiz’s background. “Finally, we all agreed that that’s what we should ultimately do! Through more conversation based on our pasts and with the learning of NFTs, believing that they’re the future of the art world, we began to flirt with the idea of featuring NFT artists alongside physical pieces in the space. Fast forward to when we visited Zevi at his home and spoke more about our endeavors with the space. Zevi began to tell us about an NFT drop he was planning. Instantly, we all knew we had to be the first to feature Zevi’s drop, as he’s an amazing renowned artist in the physical art world. From there, we asked if Zevi would like to be our first featured artist to have a solo opening exhibition. He agreed, and the process of creating our first physical art, augmented reality, and NFT exhibition began!”
NFT technology is just beginning to breach the mainstream, gaining worldwide attention, and demand is expected to grow in the long-term with more accessible price points. Regardless of NFT practicality, as they remain expensive and somewhat gatekept, people will want NFTs of their own, just as they would fine art and other limited items. With NFT technology, people will be able to show their assets to virtually anyone with an internet connection, all the while proving its absolute ownership.
NFT popularity and accessibility are growing as more investors, creators, buyers, collectors, and industry moguls engage with crypto-assets and appreciate their value.
The potential for NFT application towards any pre-existing tangible, intangible, or unique asset is limitless.
“I will say anything can happen with anything new, especially when it’s decentralized,” Schoolfield remarks. “I do believe with the number of people backing NFTs, particularly the very influential ones who’d lose a lot of money if they didn’t stick around over time, NFTs aren’t going anywhere. Physical art hasn’t gone anywhere, and it’s been around for centuries, and it’ll stick around for more centuries; the same goes for NFTs. We’re living in a digital world that’s only going more digital!”
December 2021 I discuss the evolution of art and the transcendence of human creativity with like-minded digital content creators and media arts industry professionals alike. I find myself a window, and I click. We find ourselves on the verge of a re-renaissance, amidst a social revival of what was and actively surpassing technologies none of us had fathomed could emerge. What has solidified in my mind is that we are on the periphery of artistic redefinition, and it is taking the form of NFTs.