A question that comes up again and again in the course of art history, especially when it comes to new forms of expression.
Non-fungible-tokens, or NFTs in short, are unique cryptographic tokens that are encrypted with the artist’s signature and can be authenticated, certified and identified using the blockchain. They are absolutely forgery-proof. NFTs are CryptoCollectibles, beside CryptoArt there are e.g. CryptoMotors, CryptoVoxels, CryptoPunks or CryptoKitties.
In purely formal terms, NFTs fulfill all the characteristics of an artwork: artist name, title, year, medium, dimensions (pixels).
CryptoCollectibles are like trading cards that find applications in many areas, especially in life style.
The share of art within these collectibles is around 8%.
But when do we really speak of art?
First of all, it should be noted that NFT works fullfil all the external characteristics of a work of art:
Artist’s name, title, year, medium, dimensions (pixel)
Within the historical classification, new technologies are no longer a passive tool of artistic practice. Art created through the computer has existed since the 1960s.
CryptoArt is a sub-area of digital art. Digital art itself is difficult to classify, usually combining different elements (such as a physical installation with an interactive sound and software component). Digital art is created with the help of new technologies such as augmented reality, virtual reality, artificial intelligence, and there is also software-based art, internet art. Films, videos, robotic works or digital files. Digital art is subordinated to media art. Media art, in turn, is contemporary art.
Iconography
Whether art or non-art, NFT works are primarily concerned with inconography, that is, the scientific method of art history that deals with the determination and interpretation of motifs in works. Artists who produce NFTs and offer them on various art platforms such as Nifty Gateway, SuperRare or Foundation are inspired by the world of games; anime, i.e. Japanese comic figures, or tech idols such as Elon Musk are also found among the motifs of NFT art; yet other artists work conceptually by exploring the limits of a digital file as a unique specimen, like the artist PAK, and offering identical image files with different prices and titles
Judging art
Art collectors, gallery owners, curators and art critics play a significant role in the assessment of art. Knowledge, experience and the exchange of opinions determine, among other things, the market value of an artist.
But how does the connoisseur judge art that breaks completely new ground and defies comparison? If we look back at modernism, many masterpieces were only recognised as such much later because of their novelty. Works towards the end of the 19th century were reviled and criticised as „impressionist“, Marcel Duchamps‘ „Fontaine“ was initially ridiculed, and abstract art also submitted to various attacks.
All these developments were extremely important and paved the way for future art
Innovation
NFT-based artworks are also new, both in their aesthetics and their subject matter. The traditionalists have to get used to the new ways of seeing at first. The generation growing up with the iPhone, on the other hand, is conspicuously interested in this new form of art.
And interestingly, they form a completely new collector base. Many of the well-known NFT collectors, such as Whale Shark or Justin Sun, did not have much art experience before, but are happy to buy physical objects afterwards. The community is large and forward-looking.
In short: yes, some of the NFTs on the net are art, but some are not. Time will tell which artist will become established. Their value is currently determined by demand. And demand is great!