In the spring of this year, interest in the sale of digital art using NFT tokens has grown: the two oldest auction houses Sotheby's and ...
In the spring of this year, interest in the sale of digital art using NFT tokens has grown: the two oldest auction houses Sotheby's and Christie's have joined this process, which together accounts for 90% of the world market for auction sales of antiques. On March 11, a digital mosaic by Mike Winkelmann, working under the pseudonym Beeple, was sold at Christie's for $ 69.3 million. On April 12-14 at Sotheby's, two NFT art objects by Pak artist - The Switch and The Pixel - were sold for $ 1.4 million and $ 1.36 million, respectively, although trading began at $ 50. The Russian art community strives to keep up with the general boom, writes RBC Crypto.
The State Hermitage has announced plans to hold an exposition of NFT art by the end of 2021. The next exhibition of NFT works by Russian artists curated by Marat Guelman will open on June 1 in Moscow on Nikolskaya Street. And the Russian agencies FMT.JETLAG and NFT.ARKA has entered into partnership agreements with the Binance marketplace to release NFT works of Russian artists. The digital art and painting industry is increasingly drawn into the NFT space, and digital art is resonating with the public.
How do NFT auctions work?
The mechanics of NFT auctions are more complex than simply raising bids. Each NFT piece can have its own unique mechanics. The owner of The Cube (circulation 1 copy) by artist Pak during the Sotheby's auction was the man who bought the most microcubes during the three days of sales. One hundred people who bought more than other micro-cubes got the Complexity work (circulation 100 copies). One copy of the Equilibrium concept (circulation 4 copies) was donated to four participants for performing actions during the auction: solving the riddle, buying the most expensive painting of Pak on the secondary market, distributing the auction hashtag to the largest audience of social networks, for the correctly guessed bid amount. One copy of The Builder (30 copies) was presented to insiders who helped Pak break into the world of NFT.
Top 5 NFT Art Sales:
$ 69 million: Everyday - The First 5000 Days (Beeple, art selection);
$ 16 million: Hashmasks (over 70 artists, art collection);
$ 6 million: War Nymph (Grimes, music artwork)
$ 7.58 million and $ 7.57 million: CryptoPunk # 3100 and # 7804 (algorithm-generated squeaky alien image);
$ 6.6 million: Crossroads (GIF poking fun at Donald Trump).
Advantages and disadvantages of NFT art
Sotheby's highlighted the following benefits of NFT:
Authenticity is technically anchored in the architecture of the art object;
Copyright Guarantee: A commission to the author from each sale can be automatically programmed into the NFT blockchain network.
Among the shortcomings and difficulties, Sotheby's analysts point out the following:
it is difficult to determine the artistic value of an object;
it is not always possible to assess the uniqueness, how many copies were released;
the search for "first hand", the first owner can be difficult.
The most popular NFT platforms on which you can buy, sell and release your NFT works: OpenSea, Raible, SuperRare, Foundation, Atonic Market.
Criticism
NFT has been criticized for its digital approach to art, comparing the uniqueness of the blockchain with the uniqueness of the barcode on the product packaging, called "smart bookkeeping." According to concept artist Margaret Wertheim, "the authenticity created by NFT is like the transaction number code on a credit card statement, and art needs ecstasy."
Critics point out that there are difficulties with copyright protection when selling NFTs. As an example, they cite the case of an NFT drawing by Jean-Michel Basquiat, which was put up for auction on April 26, and was removed two days later, after it was discovered that the sellers were not its owners. Margaret Wertheim calls NFT digital tulip fever.
But, despite the disadvantages and uncertainties, the landscape of NFT art continues to replenish with authors, among whom there are many celebrities - Elon Musk, Edward Snowden, Pussy Riot. Conceptualists and art provocateurs like Puck and Winckelmann fit into the world of NFT most organically. Many digital designers have described NFT as the new frontier of avant-garde experimentation, empowerment for those who are accustomed to thinking in three dimensions.
The market correction cryptocurrency is likely to negatively affect the market as a whole NFT and digital art, in particular, said analyst James Royal. A local decrease in sales volumes in the market was noted at the end of April when the volume of sales on OpenSea decreased by 46.13%. Most likely, the decline in prices for cryptocurrencies, for which digital art such as ETH is acquired, will have a bad effect on the market situation, Royal said.
