Paper 13: CryptoArt
10 ways to think about the CryptoArt movement
Impressionism; cubism; surrealism; abstract expressionism; cryptoart.
Cryptoart is an art movement with its own life.
But what is it and how can you get a sense of it?
In this paper I give my thoughts on some of the components considered to be core to the cryptoart movement.
With a thousand thanks to Jason Bailey, from whom I have learned (and continue to learn) on a number of fronts about art on the blockchain. The following italicised points regarding cryptoart were made by Jason back in January of 2018 (!) in the article What is CryptoArt?. After these points I provide some personal views.
1. Digitally native: For the first time, artwork can be created, editioned, bought, and sold digitally
Being digitally native makes sense to me. This movement is forged in the fire of computers, the internet, and the blockchain. (For more on this check out my first paper.)
Thus the art which is created with these technologies must qualify best.
But what does that mean for art which is created physically and uploaded?
Whilst I love physical pieces of art, I struggle to see as cryptoart a physical piece photographed and uploaded as an NFT.
It can both be true that it is wonderful that artists are able to reach into their back-catalogue and monetise their work, and that this is not the most “native” use of the medium.
I can see a scenario where we have ‘NFT Fine Art’ - or ‘digital art’ - as a broad category, within which cryptoart sits happily, alongside a number of other categories of ‘digital art’ like generative, glitch, GAN, trash, and pixel art etc.
2) Geographically Agnostic: Empowered by the internet, artists participate from all over the world
3) Democratic: Everyone is encouraged to participate regardless of skills, training, class, gender, race, age, creed,etc
The fact that artists of all kinds are not limited by geography or any immutable characteristics is so excellent. This is undoubtedly one of the clearest wins for the medium. Just create art and take charge of your own supply.
4) Decentralized: Tools and guidelines are designed to reduce the power of gatekeepers and middlemen and increase the autonomy of artists
The key word here is “reduce” (the power of gatekeepers).
Whilst the tools exist to “reduce” the power of gatekeepers and middle people, this simply won’t be in the actual interest of many artists.
It is taxing to be the producer, designer, accountant, marketer, artist, writer, etc. Working solo is hard. (I know because I was up to this in a previous life!)
And this is, at least in part, why centralised forces emerge to push artists in the first place.
On the operation of these forces it has been said:
In the end, the question of “What is judged to e valuable in contemporary art?” is determined first by major dealers, later by branded auction houses, a bit by museum curators who stage special shows, very little by art critics, and hardly at all by buyers. High prices are created by branded dealers promoting particular artists, by particular artists, by a few artists successfully promoting themselves, and by brilliant marketing on the part of branded auction houses.
Don Thompson, $12 Million Stuffed Shark: The Curious Economics of Contemporary Art
So are we really able to say we are cutting out middle people now? Who is deciding what is valuable?
First, branded dealers/houses still exist; they have just changed.
SuperRare and Art Blocks are prime examples: well-set-up platforms/distributors of curated digital art. Just to be distributed by these brands is tough for artists to achieve.
For this reason I think it's quite rich for some to criticise traditional systems for "gatekeeping". One person's "gatekeeping" is another person's "curating".
Having said this, there is no doubt the terms under which artists operate with these platforms are significantly more artist-friendly, since traditional dealers could take as much as 50% of sale prices.
We are definitely in a world now where creators have more autonomy, but it is foolish to think there are no greater forces at play or that mere entrance into the NFT space means ascension into the pantheon.
5) Anonymous: Pseudonyms allows artists to create and sell art while staying anonymous (if preferred), freeing them from social judgment
I love the pseudonymous aspect of this space - but don't think it is necessary to thrive.
It probably depends on your own personality.
With my lawyer hat on, however, I do think there is a reputational benefit of not being tied to your irl self who has probably sinned in so many ways across time such that some corner of the internet might turn on you. (NB. Historical reputation still exists for pseudonymous actors! And that is great. I thought creating a pseudonym would free me entirely and it really hasn’t - reputation is everything in this space.)
6) Memetic: CryptoArt are often literally memes valued for their ability to spread quickly. The difference? The "Meme Economy" is now a reality
There is a lot lost in p2p communication with the absence of faces and body language. The Meme Economy is healthy because in a world that is dominated by internet communication, memes (a combination of text and typically moving images) are able to strike at our cores in a way that typed words cannot.
7) Self-Referential: CryptoArtists often play with references to key events + personalities within cryptocurrency + blockchain culture
@deekaymotion references all sorts of famous and influential figures/projects from NFT/Crypto Twitter in his ‘Let’s Walk’ series:
@lphaCentauriKid includes all sorts of notable profile photos from Crypto Twitter: @punk6529, @iamDCinvestor, @peruggia_v, @DeezeFi and @KeyboardMonkey3
@osf_nft included so many memes in this piece. It’s my favourite of his pieces. Collected by @mooncat2878
The Satoshi image has been used so often. Here it is brought to life by @pascalboyart.
Love this @killeracid derivative of Xcopy’s ‘Right-click and Save As guy’.
These are just some cool examples I like of how the genre is constantly self-referential in funny, playful, and innovative ways.
8) CryptoPatrons: CryptoArt is collected by the CryptoRich: a group of savvy technologists and investors who got into cryptocurrency early
In Paper 1, Part 2: NFTs and their Creators I spoke about how the rise of cryptocurrencies has created a new class of wealthy patrons.
Rapid and substantial wealth creation creates patrons. There is only so much money that needs to be spent on essential things (house, car, mortgage, student loans, parents, kids) after which wealthy people turn to other pleasures and pursuits.
BCheque, Paper 1 Why NFTs can be so valuable, Part 2: NFTs and their Creators
I’m not going to go into this in too much detail here.
I am building something which should hopefully “introduce” these patrons in a slightly more fun and accessible way - without undoing some of the mystery and magic of pseudonymity. Stay tuned.
9) Pro-Artist: Blockchain platforms often take little to no commission from artists. Artists are often remunerated for every future sale
This is a huge win for artists. Though in future I can see platforms slowly increasing their percentage as their marketing power increases. It is something to watch out for. Industrious artists who want and are able to fight for themselves in the attention economy will be best positioned to resist.
10) Dankness: Because CryptoArt is open to everyone, judging it by traditional artistic standards kills what is great about it. Instead, it is best to judge CryptoArt by "dankness" or potency of expression and creativity
It is "dankness" which is hardest to lay your hand on - and it is "dankness" which makes a piece of cryptoart.
It is potent.
It is a bit rough (around the edges).
It is a bit static electric.
It is a bit electric.
It is not shy.
It is plugged into the matrix.
It has been injected into your veins.
It does not sleep - and it does not need sleep.
It has a fluctuating velocity - but it always has a velocity.
It is the injection and the respirator.
On reflection, I get the sense cryptoart is something best to sense, and not a term to apply too decisively or arbitrarily.
I also think the term will come to denote a certain style, whilst other pieces of digital art will flourish separate to it.
Hope you enjoyed - would love to discover what “cryptoart” you like most.
Have a great day,
B
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Disclaimer: The content covered in this newsletter is not to be considered as investment advice. It is for informational and educational purposes only.
I hold some of the NFTs mentioned in these newsletters.