{"id":56431,"date":"2021-03-16T00:00:19","date_gmt":"2021-03-16T07:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/world.edu\/?p=56431"},"modified":"2021-03-15T12:19:10","modified_gmt":"2021-03-15T19:19:10","slug":"why-would-anyone-buy-crypto-art-let-alone-spend-millions-on-whats-essentially-a-link-to-a-jpeg-file","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/world.edu\/why-would-anyone-buy-crypto-art-let-alone-spend-millions-on-whats-essentially-a-link-to-a-jpeg-file\/","title":{"rendered":"Why would anyone buy crypto art \u2013 let alone spend millions on what\u2019s essentially a link to a JPEG file?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-56432\" src=\"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/crypto-art.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"680\" height=\"383\" srcset=\"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/crypto-art.jpeg 680w, https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/crypto-art-250x141.jpeg 250w, https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/crypto-art-600x338.jpeg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>As an\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/scholar.google.com\/citations?user=ZcWO2AEAAAAJ&amp;hl=en&amp;oi=ao\">academic researcher<\/a>, developer of artistic technology and amateur artist, I was quite skeptical about crypto art when\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.artnome.com\/news\/2018\/1\/14\/what-is-cryptoart\">I first read about it several years ago<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>However, I follow a community of artists on social media, and some of the artists there whom I respect, like Mario Klingemann and Jason Bailey,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/quasimondo\/status\/1310612476011175936?s=20\">embraced<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/artnome\/status\/1310614348260352000?s=20\">advocated for<\/a>\u00a0crypto art. Within the past few months, activity and prices seemed to snowball. I started thinking it deserves to be taken seriously.<\/p>\n<p>Then the Beeple sale happened.<\/p>\n<p>On March 11, Beeple, a computer science graduate whose real name is Mike Winkelmann, auctioned a piece of crypto art at Christie\u2019s\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2021\/03\/11\/976141522\/beeple-jpg-file-sells-for-69-million-setting-crypto-art-record\">for US$69 million<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">was on CNBC this morning to talk about the sale and what it means for digital art and NFT&#8217;s in general ????????????<a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/aqYKaszrTr\">https:\/\/t.co\/aqYKaszrTr<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 beeple (@beeple) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/beeple\/status\/1370468587320836099?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 12, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The winning bidder is now named in a digital record that confers ownership. This record, called a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/explained-non-fungible-tokens-nfts-010049576.html\">nonfungible token<\/a>, or NFT, is stored in a shared global database. This database is decentralized using blockchain, so that no single individual or company controls the database. As long as the specific blockchain survives in the world, anyone can read or access it, and no one can change it.<\/p>\n<p>But \u201cownership\u201d of crypto art confers no actual rights, other than being able to say that you own the work. You don\u2019t own the copyright, you don\u2019t get a physical print, and anyone can look at the image on the web. There is merely a record in a public database saying that you own the work \u2013 really, it says you own the work at a specific URL.<\/p>\n<p>So why would anyone buy crypto art \u2013 let alone spend millions on what\u2019s essentially a link to a JPEG file?<\/p>\n<h4><strong>Art is inherently social<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>It might be helpful to think about crypto art in the context of why people buy original works of art.<\/p>\n<p>Some people buy art for their homes, hoping to incorporate it into their living spaces for pleasure and inspiration.<\/p>\n<p>But art also plays many important social roles. The art in your home communicates your interests and tastes. Artworks can spark conversation, whether they\u2019re in museums or homes. People form communities around their passion for the arts, whether it\u2019s through museums and galleries, or magazines and websites. Buying work supports the artists and the arts.<\/p>\n<p>Then there are collectors. People get into collecting all sorts of things \u2013 model trains, commemorative plates, rare vinyl LPs, sports memorabilia \u2013 and, like other collectors, art collectors are passionate about trying to hunt down those rare pieces.<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps the most visible form of art collecting today \u2013 and the one that drives so much public discussion about art \u2013 is the art purchased for millions of dollars \u2013 the pieces by\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/content.time.com\/time\/specials\/packages\/article\/0,28804,1917097_1917096_1917100,00.html\">Picasso<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.clc.sllf.qmul.ac.uk\/?p=391\">Damien Hirst<\/a>\u00a0traded by the ultrawealthy. This is still social: Whether they\u2019re at Sotheby\u2019s auctions or museum board dinners, wealthy art collectors mingle, meet and talk about who bought what.<\/p>\n<p>Finally, I think many people buy art strictly as an investment,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/business-42011989\">hoping that it will appreciate in value<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h4><strong>Is crypto art really that different?<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>If you look at the reasons people buy art, only one of them \u2013 buying art for your home \u2013 has to do with the physical work.<\/p>\n<p>Every other reason for buying art that I listed could apply to crypto art.<\/p>\n<p>You can build your own virtual gallery online and share it with other people online. You can convey your tastes and interests through your virtual gallery and support artists by buying their work. You can participate in a community: Some crypto artists, who have felt excluded by the mainstream art world, say they\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MattKaneArtist\/status\/1370396745851605008?s=20\">have found more support in the crypto community<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/missalsimpson\/status\/1369798571747389443\">can now earn a living making art<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\"><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/artnome?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@artnome<\/a> Have you seen the scathing anti-NFTs article on Mashable? Was curious ???? if you think their concerns and criticisms have any merit <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/yENrj2Pt2y\">https:\/\/t.co\/yENrj2Pt2y<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Skip Hunt (@skiphunt) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/skiphunt\/status\/1369715624579055626?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 10, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>While Beeple\u2019s big sale made headlines, most crypto art sales are much more affordable, in the tens or hundreds of dollars. This supports a much larger community than just a select few artists.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/artnome\/status\/1356708775915384838?s=20\">And some resale values have gone up<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h4><strong>Value as a social construct<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>Aside from the visual pleasure of physical objects, nearly all the value art offers is, in some way, a social construct. This does not mean that art is interchangeable, or that the historical significance and technical skill of a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/artsandculture.google.com\/exhibit\/rembrandt-master-printmaker-cincinnati-art-museum\/uQKi73GQ6NY4IQ?hl=en\">Rembrandt<\/a>\u00a0is imaginary. It means that the value we place on these attributes is a choice.<\/p>\n<p>When someone pays\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2019\/05\/15\/arts\/jeff-koons-rabbit-auction.html\">$90 million for a metal balloon animal made by Jeff Koons<\/a>, it\u2019s hard to believe that the work has that much \u201cintrinsic\u201d value. Even if the materials and craftsmanship are quite good, surely some of those millions are simply buying the right to say \u201cI bought a Koons. And I spent a lot of money on it.\u201d If you just want an artfully made metal balloon animal, there are cheaper ways to get one.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_56433\" style=\"width: 690px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-56433\" class=\"size-full wp-image-56433\" src=\"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/bananaonwall.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"680\" height=\"454\" srcset=\"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/bananaonwall.jpeg 680w, https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/bananaonwall-250x167.jpeg 250w, https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/bananaonwall-600x401.jpeg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-56433\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Maurizio Cattelan\u2019s \u2018Comedian\u2019 displayed at Art Basel Miami in 2019. Cindy Ord\/Getty Images<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Conversely, the conceptual art tradition has long separated the object itself from the value of the work. Maurizio Cattelan\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/news.artnet.com\/art-world\/maurizio-cattelan-banana-explained-1732773\">sold a banana taped to a wall for six figures, twice<\/a>; the value of the work was not in the banana or in the duct tape, nor in the way that the two were attached, but\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2019\/12\/08\/arts\/design\/a-critics-defense-of-cattelan-banana-.html\">in the story and drama around the work<\/a>. Again, the buyers weren\u2019t really buying a banana, they were buying the right to say they \u201cowned\u201d this artwork.<\/p>\n<p>Depending on your point of view, crypto art could be the ultimate manifestation of conceptual art\u2019s separation of the work of art from any physical object. It is pure conceptual abstraction, applied to ownership.<\/p>\n<p>On the other hand, crypto art could be seen as reducing art to the purest form of buying and selling for conspicuous consumption.<\/p>\n<p>In Victor Pelevin\u2019s satirical novel \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.penguinrandomhouse.com\/books\/286440\/homo-zapiens-by-victor-pelevin\/\">Homo Zapiens<\/a>,\u201d the main character visits an art exhibition where only the names and sale prices of the works are shown. When he says he doesn\u2019t understand \u2013 where are the paintings themselves? \u2013 it becomes clear that this isn\u2019t the point. Buying and selling is more important than the art.<\/p>\n<p>This story was satire. But crypto art takes this one step further. If the point of ownership is to be able to say you own the work, why bother with anything but a receipt?<\/p>\n<h4><strong>Manufacturing scarcity<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>It still seems hard to get used to the idea of spending money for nothing tangible.<\/p>\n<p>Would anyone pay money for NFTs that say they \u201cown\u201d the Brooklyn Bridge or the whole of the Earth or the concept of love? People can create all the NFTs they want about anything, over and over again. I could make my own NFT claiming that I own the Mona Lisa, and record it to the blockchain, and no one could stop me.<\/p>\n<p>But I think this misses the point.<\/p>\n<p>In crypto art, there is an implicit contract that what you\u2019re buying is unique. The artist makes only one of these tokens, and the one right you get when you buy crypto art is to say that you own that work. No one else can. Note, though, that this is not a legal right, nor is there any enforcement other than social mores. Nonetheless, the value comes from the artist creating scarcity.<\/p>\n<p>This is the same thing that\u2019s happened in the art world\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.artsy.net\/article\/artsy-specialist-buying-limited-editions\">ever since photographers and printmakers had to figure out how to sell their work<\/a>. In the world of photography, a limited-edition print is considered more valuable than an unlimited edition; the fewer prints in the edition, the more valuable they are. Knowing that you have one of a few prints personally made and signed by the artist gives you an emotional connection to the artist that a mass-produced print doesn\u2019t.<\/p>\n<p>This connection could be even weaker in digital art. But what you are buying is still, in part, a connection with the artist. Artists sometimes\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MattKaneArtist\/status\/1370059188660011009?s=20\">publicly tweet their thanks to their crypto art patrons<\/a>, which may strengthen this emotional connection.<\/p>\n<h4><strong>A bubble bound to burst?<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>Personally, I want to buy only art I can hang on my walls, so I have no interest in buying crypto art. There are also environmental costs.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/memoakten.medium.com\/the-unreasonable-ecological-cost-of-cryptoart-2221d3eb2053\">Certain blockchains used for crypto art are really bad for the climate<\/a>, because they require computations that consume staggering amounts of energy.<\/p>\n<p>That said, if buying it right now gives you pleasure \u2013 and you enjoy sharing what you\u2019ve bought and the community around it and you\u2019re using\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/github.com\/memo\/eco-nft\/\">a more environmentally friendly blockchain<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 that\u2019s great.<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re buying it for some future reward, however, that\u2019s risky. Will people care about your personal virtual gallery in the future? Will you care? Will crypto art even be a thing in a few years?<\/p>\n<p>As an investment, it just seems inconceivable to me that the higher prices reflect true value, in the sense of these works having higher resale value in the long term. As in the traditional art world, there are a lot more works being sold than could ever possibly be considered significant in a generation\u2019s time.<\/p>\n<p>And, in the crypto world, we\u2019re seeing highly volatile prices, a sudden frenzy of interest, and huge sums being paid for things that seem, on the surface, not to have the slightest bit of value at all, such as\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/2021\/3\/9\/22321464\/jack-dorsey-nft-tweet-auction-bitcoin-donate-charity\">the $2.5 million bid to \u201cown\u201d Jack Dorsey\u2019s first tweet<\/a>\u00a0or even the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/opensea.io\/assets\/0x495f947276749ce646f68ac8c248420045cb7b5e\/34250611840767046457364755162887744273167171110707576795476315639371094032385\">$1,000 bid on a photo of a cease-and-desist letter about NFTs<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/03\/13\/technology\/crypto-art-NFTs-trading-cards-investment-manias.html\">Much of this energy seems to be driven by price speculation<\/a>. It\u2019s also worth noting that\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/03\/12\/arts\/beeple-nft-buyer-ether.html\">the winner of the Beeple auction seems to be heavily invested in the success of crypto art<\/a>. The cryptocurrencies that drive crypto art are often considered highly speculative.<\/p>\n<p>I have no doubt that, right now, there\u2019s a big NFT bubble.<\/p>\n<p>There have been lots of bubbles before \u2013\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.history.com\/news\/tulip-mania-financial-crash-holland\">tulips<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/slate.com\/culture\/2010\/03\/the-great-baseball-card-bubble.html\">baseball cards<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wbur.org\/hereandnow\/2015\/03\/02\/beanie-baby-bubble\">Beanie Babies<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 objects that were flying off the shelves one year and then piled up in landfills the next. And, in a bubble,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/02\/07\/business\/gamestop-stock-losses.html?searchResultPosition=9\">a few headline-making winners get rich, while a whole lot of others lose their shirts<\/a>. Even if crypto art lasts, maybe the particular artist or platform where you\u2019re buying won\u2019t be popular in the future.<\/p>\n<p>My feelings about crypto art aside, I do believe that art is, fundamentally, a social activity. The more our social lives are lived online, the more it may make sense for some people to have their art collections online, too \u2013 whether or not blockchain is involved.<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Author Bio:<\/strong> Aaron Hertzmann is Affiliate Faculty of Computer Science at the University of Washington<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As an\u00a0academic researcher, developer of artistic technology and amateur artist, I was quite skeptical about crypto art when\u00a0I first read about it several years ago. However, I follow a community of artists on social media, and some of the artists there whom I respect, like Mario Klingemann and Jason Bailey,\u00a0embraced\u00a0and\u00a0advocated for\u00a0crypto art. Within the past [&hellip;]\n&hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/world.edu\/why-would-anyone-buy-crypto-art-let-alone-spend-millions-on-whats-essentially-a-link-to-a-jpeg-file\/\" class=\"more\">learn more&rarr;<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":56432,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[366252],"coauthors":[11733],"class_list":["post-56431","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-politics","tag-crypto-art"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Why would anyone buy crypto art \u2013 let alone spend millions on what\u2019s essentially a link to a JPEG file? - World leading higher education information and services<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/world.edu\/why-would-anyone-buy-crypto-art-let-alone-spend-millions-on-whats-essentially-a-link-to-a-jpeg-file\/\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Why would anyone buy crypto art \u2013 let alone spend millions on what\u2019s essentially a link to a JPEG file? - World leading higher education information and services\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"As an\u00a0academic researcher, developer of artistic technology and amateur artist, I was quite skeptical about crypto art when\u00a0I first read about it several years ago. However, I follow a community of artists on social media, and some of the artists there whom I respect, like Mario Klingemann and Jason Bailey,\u00a0embraced\u00a0and\u00a0advocated for\u00a0crypto art. Within the past [&hellip;]\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/world.edu\/why-would-anyone-buy-crypto-art-let-alone-spend-millions-on-whats-essentially-a-link-to-a-jpeg-file\/\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"World leading higher education information and services\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-03-16T07:00:19+00:00\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/crypto-art.jpeg\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"680\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"383\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Kevin\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Kevin\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"9 minutes\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/why-would-anyone-buy-crypto-art-let-alone-spend-millions-on-whats-essentially-a-link-to-a-jpeg-file\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/why-would-anyone-buy-crypto-art-let-alone-spend-millions-on-whats-essentially-a-link-to-a-jpeg-file\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Kevin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/42c1c1d5ff7ffbdf0bd50ed94c6ae6ee\"},\"headline\":\"Why would anyone buy crypto art \u2013 let alone spend millions on what\u2019s essentially a link to a JPEG file?\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-03-16T07:00:19+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/why-would-anyone-buy-crypto-art-let-alone-spend-millions-on-whats-essentially-a-link-to-a-jpeg-file\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1830,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/why-would-anyone-buy-crypto-art-let-alone-spend-millions-on-whats-essentially-a-link-to-a-jpeg-file\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/03\\\/crypto-art.jpeg\",\"keywords\":[\"crypto art\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Business and Politics\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/why-would-anyone-buy-crypto-art-let-alone-spend-millions-on-whats-essentially-a-link-to-a-jpeg-file\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/why-would-anyone-buy-crypto-art-let-alone-spend-millions-on-whats-essentially-a-link-to-a-jpeg-file\\\/\",\"name\":\"Why would anyone buy crypto art \u2013 let alone spend millions on what\u2019s essentially a link to a JPEG file? 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