The evolution of digital spaces has introduced not only realistic digital avatars but also fuelled new approaches for digital ownership. As a result, the newly emerging online marketplace has changed conventional approaches for creating and exerting ownership of digital assets. The scope for NFT art has been growing profoundly in recent times since the $69 million NFT sales in 2021. A digital artist known as Beeple created massive waves in the crypto space when his artwork sold as an NFT. Subsequently, many NFT artists have come up with unique creations fetching unreal financial returns.
However, the hype around the NFT art world creates many prominent concerns which need answers. Will NFT revolutionize the art world completely by bringing every piece of real art to the digital space? How will NFTs gain the trust of art collectors and artists for serving as a representation of original art? Let us find out what NFTs hold for the future of the art world in the following discussion.
What Do NFTs Bring to the Table?
The first thing you need to discover before finding out “what is an NFT art” is the definition of NFTs. A basic impression of non-fungible tokens can help you understand how they fit in the domain of art. Non-fungible tokens or NFTs are a new category of unique tokens used for certifying ownership of digital assets. Information about NFTs stays on a blockchain or a shared ledger, under maintenance by thousands of computers worldwide.
Therefore, you could not find any possibilities for tampering with ownership records of NFT art or any NFT-based digital asset. Interestingly, NFTs don’t have any limits on classification of assets eligible for tokenization. For example, the first tweet ever by Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey sold as an NFT for $2.9 million. On the other hand, the NBA has accumulated over $320 million just by selling NFTs of basketball game highlights.
You can clearly see that NFTs bring some promising value advantages for the art world with verifiable proof of ownership. In addition, the most expensive NFT art fetching $69 million is a clear indication of the favorable prospects for the art world with NFTs. What is so special about NFTs that they fetch such massive sums of money?
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Is NFT Art a Feasible Proposition?
You can find out the special traits of NFTs as the answer to this question and the one before it. A few pieces of NFT art have fetched unreal sums of money, while many others are sold for around $200 on average. Anyone would wonder about the possible reasons for which one would try NFTs in the world of art.
For example, if you want to have a portrait of the Mona Lisa in your living room, you can do a Google search for high-resolution images and print them on a canvas. Now, you have a classic in your living room, and that too almost without any costs. However, you need to reflect whether the portrait of the Mona Lisa in your living room is an original one. In that case, the portrait in your living room is just the same as every other dupe of the Mona Lisa portrait. On the contrary, a piece of NFT-based art is unique and represents that only you are the owner of the artwork.
The prospects for an NFT art platform seem bright when you take note of the fact that NFTs offer uniqueness. When an artist creates an NFT artwork, they are basically offering a certificate of authenticity to the buyer. The NFT proves that the associated artwork is owned only by the buyer and no one else. As a result, NFTs can create scarcity for artwork, thereby driving value.
The use of NFTs for art also depends a lot on the blockchain and crypto functionalities with NFTs. Non-fungible tokens are decentralized, thereby implying that artists don’t have to wait for approval to sell their art. In addition, the cryptographic security of NFTs offers the assurance of safeguards for NFT art ownership. You can clearly notice how NFTs bring many unique value propositions to the art world. How will they influence the existing world of art?
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Effect of NFTs on Existing Business Models of the Art World
The easiest way to identify the future of NFT art marketplace alternatives available now is to learn how NFTs present new perspectives on business models in the art world. One NFT sold for $69 million, and other artists just started putting up their works for auction. In the initial days, few would have identified how the lines of code representing an artwork on blockchain can bring in such exclusive financial returns.
The phenomenon created by Beeple led to a revolution that garnered momentum in the next few months. As a matter of fact, the growth of NFTs led to revenues amounting to almost $3.5 billion in initial three quarters of 2021. Despite a few initial setbacks, the NFT art market has been growing at a steady pace while introducing new paradigms in a sector driven by conventions.
Artists are highly cautious about the prospects of using NFT for art gallery exhibitions and auctions. Why? NFTs are practically challenging the business models stipulated by auction houses and art galleries. The traditional business models of art galleries and auction houses have never been challenged in years. However, such traditional institutions are also seeking opportunities to reach a massive global audience without the intervention of any intermediaries. For example, a renowned NFT art marketplace like OpenSea or Nifty Gateway could help art galleries and auction houses reach more buyers.
Such prospects could also drive new opportunities for artists who have not been able to garner acceptance in the traditional art market. For example, female artists and artists from the African continent can make the most of an NFT art platform to take their work to thousands of interested buyers. For example, the partnership between Art X, a Nigerian art fair, and the SuperRare NFT marketplace shows promising roads ahead for NFT artwork.
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New Ways for Creating and Collecting Art
Another significant aspect in defining the future of NFT art is an understanding of how NFTs will create a new breed of artists and art collectors. As of now, younger people have shown exceptional potential in capitalizing on the NFT world. For example, digital-native artists in the age group of 12 to 15 years are successfully generating considerable revenue by selling digital artworks as NFTs.
One of the best examples of the new breed of NFT artists emerging now is Victor Langlois, popularly known by the moniker “FEWOCiOUS.” The 18-year old transgender NFT artist sold five NFTs in partnership with Christie’s for $2.16 million in June 2021.
Apart from all the talk about a new breed of NFT artists, it is also important to identify the new generation of collectors for such assets. The biggest trouble for auction houses exploring the NFT market is to identify what satisfies the new class of collectors. Generally, it is difficult to identify what drives buyers to visit and shop from an NFT art platform. One of the common factors behind the decisions of buyers to purchase NFT artwork is the hope of reselling them at massive value.
In addition, some of them also purchase NFT artwork for status on different social media networks. Since majority of NFT artwork buyers use cryptocurrency for payments, the sale of NFT for art gallery can make the most of virtual currency integrations. At the same time, auction houses and art galleries can capitalize on the prospects of offering coveted NFTs.
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Concerns for Use of NFT in Art
The future of NFTs in the art world seems quite favorable with many elements of opportunity. On the other hand, it is also important to identify the underlying concerns which can hamper the adoption of NFT art in the long run. NFTs run on the philosophy of decentralization which implies the need for a distributed network of computers. While NFT users get freedom from centralized authorities, they often ignore the hidden costs of NFTs.
The environmental costs of running a huge decentralized network of computers are quite massive. Just imagine the scale of server farms and the electricity used for driving blockchain networks that power NFTs. The environmental footprint of NFTs would be a massive factor in determining whether they are a reasonable choice for transforming the art world.
Conclusion
Non-fungible tokens or NFTs present many favorable value propositions for the art world. First of all, they help in representing real art on a blockchain in the form of code. On top of it, you have the assurance of verifiable proof of ownership with an NFT art platform. In addition, you should also notice how NFTs enable artists to obtain fair incentives for their work.
At the same time, buyers can get the benefits of transparency and secure ownership of artworks through NFTs. Artists who have struggled forever to gain entry into the traditional art market can explore new gateways with NFTs. In simple words, NFTs bring promising opportunities for the art world, albeit with concerns arising due to the environmental footprint of NFTs. Discover the world of NFTs in detail and explore the possibilities for their future in art.
*Disclaimer: The article should not be taken as, and is not intended to provide any investment advice. Claims made in this article do not constitute investment advice and should not be taken as such. 101 Blockchains shall not be responsible for any loss sustained by any person who relies on this article. Do your own research!
