The art world has a problem. But NFTs can offer ‘a practical solution’
NFTs are bringing new possibilities and opportunities to artists in a way that the traditional art world has never offered.
With the advent of technology, a new art ecosystem has developed, without many of the structures artists typically navigate just to reach an audience, let alone succeed. In important ways, blockchain levels the playing field, and suddenly anyone can participate in the new creator economy.
NFT projects built from the ground up on Discord and other social media channels have brought together like-minded individuals and created exciting new possibilities for the distribution of digital artworks loved by these communities and the capital flows that come with them. Digital illustrators and artists whose art has spread across the Internet over the last decade have finally found a way to be recognized and adequately compensated for their work. The era of Web3, it seemed, would usher in a new and more equitable future for all.
NFT has not solved the problems of the industrial world
But the development of the crypto art space is not only a story of success and equity. The new creative economy emerged from the context that preceded it. So it’s no surprise that some of the same issues of artist disenfranchisement, media optics and financial obsession have carried over into today’s NFT space.
Perhaps the most notable example of this dynamic occurred when All Seeing Seneca, lead artist of the Bored Ape Yacht Club, randomly discovered one day that the NFTs of a project he had helped create were selling for millions at a time. That Seneca hasn’t seen a proper payoff from a project now worth billions suggests that the decentralization and equity that projects like BAYC and others talk about may be less of a priority than space.
But fair compensation of artists for their work is one aspect of the NFT space to analyze when comparing it to the traditional or contemporary art world.
An honest look at both the good and bad sides of the Web3 art space is crucial to its sustainable future. So, where do things stand? What remnants of the traditional art world do artists still have to navigate on Web3, and what does the space happily leave behind?
Evolution of the art world
Numerous makers and collectors have made their debut in contemporary art in the NFT space. People like Artwrld founders Nato Thompson and Josh Goldblum have front-row seats to the blockchain-based revolution.
Thompson, a writer, curator, and self-described cultural infrastructure builder, has served as artistic director at Philadelphia Contemporary, Creative Time, and MASS MoCA. Goldblum is the founding principal of Bluecadet, an Emmy-award-winning digital agency that creates websites, mobile apps and interactive installations. Together, and with Lebanese artist Walid Raad, they created the Artwrld platform for contemporary artists to find a home on Web3 and NFTs.
“Major media outlets follow big money and big controversy in nft,” Thompson explained in an interview with nft now. “That’s what happened in the industrial world. [and it] Has always been his loss. There are 770,000 builders in the NFT space — and everyone mentions the Bored Ape Yacht Club. The nature of the media continues to be exactly the same.”
Despite this, Thompson notes that many of the structures and effects of industrial ecosystem hierarchies are likely to change completely. The analog art world, he says, is remarkably static, and forces people to navigate power structures that are difficult to penetrate. Web3 and NFTs represent a pushback from that paradigm.
“I think there’s some real opportunity for participation between artists and their communities when it’s not mediated by galleries, museums or Facebook,” Goldblum added in an interview with NFT Now.
“We can’t help but remember Web2 and what came of it.”
Nato Thompson
One of the best things about the NFT space, Goldblum and Thompson say, is that everything is still in flux. This contrasts with the traditional art world, where structures are rigid and gatekeepers reign supreme. The two hope things will remain fluid for some time, as this atmosphere overall allows for more possibilities and greater freedom for everyone.
“The time when it’s not clear is the most exciting time,” Thompson elaborates. “The world of coming digitally is now taking shape. Those camps are now taking shape. And they’re made by people, not just systems. I think good movements start with utopianism. But for some of us older folks, we can’t remember Web2 and what came of it.”
To Thompson, Web3 is a great opportunity to build frameworks around values of diversity and equality, especially in a context where artists and communities can be “truly trans-global.” “These things are profound in a way that has never happened in the history of the avant-garde.”
Artists and institutions open to Web3
But the kind of ephemeral and amorphous space that Thompson fondly notes is what keeps many contemporary artists from making the Web3 leap, Ronnie K. According to Pirovino, a well-known collector and curator in both the traditional and crypto art space. The promise that the NFT space holds, he maintains, has yet to materialize.
“I think that promise was largely unfulfilled because there are still a large number of artists from the contemporary art space who have to figure out how they can fit into this new space and how they can contribute to it,” Pirovino explained in an interview. nft now. “Don’t treat it like it’s something they shouldn’t go anywhere because they don’t understand it, or they think it’s over their time.”
Pirovino, who curated Christie’s first on-chain NFT auction, says a more fully-realized vision of the NFT ecosystem will only evolve as non-Web 3 native artists make the jump. “When we see more and more artists from the contemporary art space expanding their practice into these new territories, we will begin to feel the fulfillment of the promise. [of NFTs]” he explained.
Ironically, the current bear market may help artists start experimenting with NFTs, Pirovino says, since the stakes are simply lower. If contemporary artists saw the risk factor as more aligned with the creative than the financial, they would be able to explore crypto art with more confidence.
“This space doesn’t need to be inextricably linked to money,” Pirovino says encouragingly. He also believes that leveraging artists can be a real solution to a project or organization’s problem.
“It’s absolutely preventing them from entering space.”
Ronnie K. Pirovino
“It is a matter of concern. It’s definitely a concern,” admitted Pirovino, of the exploitative practices that can occur. “But, I think people are becoming much more sophisticated about all the dimensions surrounding the space that I think it’s becoming less of an issue. To educate yourself. You can find a lot of educational resources. Like Twitter spaces, where you can sit and listen to what’s going on all day. Even if you’ve never heard of NFTs, by the end of it, you’ll probably know a fair amount of what’s going on in the space.”
When asked if he thinks most people in the NFT space are more interested in building long-term art collections or simply being part of a community and making money, he remains optimistic.
“You definitely see very passionate collectors in this space who are focused on specific individuals,” Pirovino elaborates. “FVCKRENDER has quite a loyal fan base, for example. I’m starting to see very prominent collectors like 33nft, Pranksy, 888, and GMoney, who are increasingly doing what they can to collect the best work out there. They have taken it upon themselves to be the definitive collector in the space. This is certainly a parallel with the contemporary art space. Same sentiment there.”
But the biggest barrier to contemporary artists and collectors experimenting with NFTs, says Pirovino, is the technical level involved in engaging with them. He believes the Web3 community needs to take a more proactive stance in onboarding people to blockchain-based technology and simplifying the process for them.
“At this point, you’re at risk,” says Pirovino. “If you’re clicking on the wrong thing, if you’re working too fast on something — it’s anxiety-inducing. And for an older person who’s very interested in all of these things, it’s absolutely preventing them from getting into the space.”
The critical question the NFT community needs to ponder, says Pirovino, is simple: How easy is it for the mainstream to adopt something?
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