{"id":3382,"date":"2022-07-26T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-07-26T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/singularityumexicosummit.com\/?p=3382"},"modified":"2022-07-26T10:00:00","modified_gmt":"2022-07-26T15:00:00","slug":"are-nfts-a-passing-trend-or-here-to-stay-beeple-weighs-in","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/singularityumexico.com\/en\/are-nfts-a-passing-trend-or-here-to-stay-beeple-weighs-in\/","title":{"rendered":"Are NFTs a Passing Trend, or Here to Stay? Beeple Weighs In"},"content":{"rendered":"

From oddly-dressed apes<\/a> to clip-art yachts<\/a>, NFTs have been all the rage for the last year. But will this new trend last, or is it just that\u2014a trend that will ultimately fade, leaving those who\u2019ve poured money into digital works of art wishing they\u2019d bought a painting or sculpture instead?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a talk at South by Southwest<\/a> this week, artist Beeple<\/a> (whose given name is Mike Winkelmann) shared his thoughts on why NFTs<\/a> matter and what their future might look like.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was almost exactly a year ago that Beeple auctioned off his piece\u00a0Everydays: the First 5000 Days<\/em><\/a>, a collage of 5,000 digital images he created over the course of as many days (he started in 2007); that\u2019s some consistency right there. The piece sold at Christie\u2019s for a whopping $69 million, making Beeple the third-most expensive living artist behind American sculptor\u00a0Jeff Koons<\/a>\u00a0and British painter\u00a0David Hockney<\/a>. It also marked the first time a purely digital work of art was auctioned off by a major auction house, and helped legitimize NFTs as an art form.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Before the sale, Winkelmann said, \u201cI had not sold my art directly because there was really no market and way for people like me to do that. I was making money as a freelance graphic designer and was getting better jobs as I gained more notoriety.\u201d He\u2019d only become aware of NFTs about five moths prior, and knew nothing about cryptocurrency or the blockchain. \u201cI got lucky with the fact that I was working on this project well before the blockchain even existed, and in retrospect it fit very well with this new technology,\u201d he said. He still creates and posts a new image every day.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Beeple at SXSW 2022<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Ironically, though, as the art world takes steps towards becoming more digital, Winkelmann has moved in the other direction, recently opening his first physical gallery in New York<\/a>. \u201cI wanted to do something\u2026to show people that digital art is just another medium that has the same messages and craft and emotion attached to it that any painting or sculpture has,\u201d he said. \u201cWhat gives anything value is that emotional connection.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The exhibit, called Uncertain Future<\/em><\/a>, displays prints of works the artist made digitally, and aims to encourage dialogue about the role big tech companies play in our lives and the power they have in modern society (for example, Winkelmann said, \u201cBy kicking Trump off Twitter<\/a>, Jack Dorsey unilaterally made a decision that affected the global power structure.\u201d).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Part of the promise of NFTs, he believes, is that they\u2019re going to allow people to have more ownership over their virtual selves. Though there\u2019s a lot of hype around the metaverse, crypto, and NFTs right now, it does appear likely the internet will look different in the not-too-distant future. Winkelmann predicts it will be less centralized, with more segmentation of the market and users having more control over their data. \u201cInstead of uploading personal information to sites that take it and use it to sell ads, you\u2019ll have true ownership of your information,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The artist acknowledged that it will take time for the traditional art world to accept his work\u2014and NFTs overall\u2014as true art, and it won\u2019t be the first time a new medium slowly gains recognition as an art form. \u201cPhotography wasn\u2019t art for a long time, but then it was,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s what this moment is about: widening peoples\u2019 perception of what can be art.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It will also take time for people to understand and appreciate virtual ownership (myself included). \u201cThis is a blank slate and it can do so many different things,\u201d Winkelmann said. \u201cAt its core it\u2019s actually such a simple idea, being able to prove you own something that doesn\u2019t exist.\u201d Virtual ownership could also find applications outside of art, for different types of assets or inventory systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before these possibilities become reality, though, there\u2019s room for improvement across multiple aspects of NFT technology. The marketplaces for NFTs are still very new and immature, and many of them need to create better protections for users and improve their interfaces. The aforementioned widespread lack of understanding of the tech will need to mature as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As ominous as it seems in many ways, life is steadily becoming more digitized and moving into virtual spaces. We don\u2019t yet know the trajectory this will take in the next decade, or if\u00a0NFTs<\/a>\u00a0will still be around\u2014or, more importantly, still be worth millions\u2014later in our lifetimes. What it comes down to, Winkelmann concluded, is that in order for them to last, NFTs will have to prove their value both as a technology and as an art form, giving us something superior to traditional art. \u201cNone of this NFT sh*t is going to last if it\u2019s not better than what came before,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Image Credit:\u00a0Mo<\/a>\u00a0\/\u00a0Unsplash<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking for ways to stay ahead of the pace of change? Rethink what\u2019s possible.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>Join a highly curated, exclusive cohort of 80 executives for Singularity\u2019s flagship Executive Program (EP), a five-day, fully immersive leadership transformation program that disrupts existing ways of thinking. Discover a new mindset, toolset and network of fellow futurists committed to finding solutions to the fast pace of change in the world.\u00a0Click here to learn more and apply today!<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Author:<\/strong>
Vanessa is senior editor of Singularity Hub. She’s interested in biotechnology and genetic engineering, the nitty-gritty of the renewable energy transition, the roles technology and science play in geopolitics and international development, and countless other topics. Learn More<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Original article<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From oddly-dressed apes to clip-art yachts, NFTs have been all the rage for the last year. But will this new trend last, or is it just that\u2014a trend that will ultimately fade, leaving those who\u2019ve poured money into digital works of art wishing they\u2019d bought a painting or sculpture instead? In a talk at South by Southwest this week, artist Beeple (whose […]\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3385,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"audio","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[173,108,20,86,32],"series":[],"class_list":["post-3382","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articulos-ingles","tag-art","tag-blockchain","tag-future","tag-nft","tag-tech"],"episode_featured_image":"https:\/\/singularityumexico.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/pink-palm-tree-pool-rainbow-unicorn.jpeg","episode_player_image":"https:\/\/singularityumexico.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/11711533-1673157178559-89a95be153719-4-scaled.jpg","download_link":"","player_link":"","audio_player":false,"episode_data":{"playerMode":"dark","subscribeUrls":{"apple_podcasts":{"key":"apple_podcasts","url":"","label":"Apple Podcasts","class":"apple_podcasts","icon":"apple-podcasts.png"},"stitcher":{"key":"stitcher","url":"","label":"Stitcher","class":"stitcher","icon":"stitcher.png"},"google_podcasts":{"key":"google_podcasts","url":"","label":"Google Podcasts","class":"google_podcasts","icon":"google-podcasts.png"},"spotify":{"key":"spotify","url":"","label":"Spotify","class":"spotify","icon":"spotify.png"}},"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/singularityumexico.com\/en\/feed\/podcast\/the-feedback-loop-by-singularity","embedCode":"

Are NFTs a Passing Trend, or Here to Stay? Beeple Weighs In<\/a><\/blockquote>