A pandemic craze of a turning point for the art world?


Life has changed drastically since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Thanks to hours of free time stuck inside and the majority of jobs becoming remote, we're spending more time sitting in front of our screens than ever. The days where we'd spend our weekends strolling through galleries have now ended and in turn, a new digital art space has been established. 

The artworld is notoriously difficult to break into; it's always been about who you know, rather than what you know. But this new wave of cyber art has provided an alternative way to showcase your work, whilst making big bucks for it. Websites like 'Nifty Gateway' exhibit thousands of works, each with several editions, and they're all selling out for a few thousand each. According to Nifty Gateway, these works aren't to be referred to as digital artworks, but instead as 'digital collectibles', 'nifties' or 'NFTs'. They are digital items that are stored on the 'blockchain'. 

Blockchain is a technology system that records information in a way that makes it extremely hard to alter or hack the system. An example you've probably heard of is 'bitcoin'. This new technology prevents the main problem that the art world has had with digital works in the past. In previous years, digital art has been easily copied and there's no way of knowing if what you've bought is a one-of-a-kind work that exists nowhere else, or it's one copy amongst thousands of others. When a nifty is bought, the data is timestamped and validated by the blockchain system, giving it a so-called "digital signature" and assurance of its originality. 

Like with the viral investment trend of Gamestop, Nokia, and AMC stocks a couple months ago, it's difficult not to be skeptical about this sudden digital art boom. Is it simply a short-lived fad and will buyers quickly regret their investments? As we move out of lockdown and galleries begin to open up, will the enthusiasm for NFT-based artwork die down as we will be able to go back to buying our trusted physical pieces? But that is what's so great about this new 'nifty' technology, is that it's easy to prove authenticity and produce digital scarcity. Hence leading to a digital art piece retaining or increasing in value and also leading to our trust in its investment. 

Christie's a world-renowned, typically traditional (showcasing physical artworks) auction house certainly agrees that digital art is not just a pandemic craze, but is here to stay. This past week, an NFT artwork was bought by an Indian blockchain entrepreneur and programmer Vignesh Sundaresan, for $69.3 million during a tense auction on Christies.com. The work by the artist 'Beeple' consists of a collage of 5000 images, named "The first 5000 days". It started at only $100 and swiftly increased to become the most expensive digital art piece of all time. Sundaresan said that the purchase of the work showed " Indians and people of colour that they too could be patrons” of the art world. It's clear that the days of exclusivity and classism within gallery walls are coming to an end. Anyone who has access to Photoshop and the internet can become the next phenomenon overnight. 

Whilst the musical artist Grimes is not unknown, she too has noticed the impact of this innovative technology. Two weeks ago, she released a 10-part series of NFT artwork on Nifty Gateway called "WarNymph Collection Vol 1 by Grimes x Mac". Within twenty minutes the works were sold out and she made $5.8 million. Her highest-selling piece "Death of the Old" was an animated video with a new song she'd produced, depicting a landscape with a derelict church and flying cherubs.

However, one can't help thinking, isn't the great thing about art is that you can hang it up on your wall and admire it every day? Who wants a piece that can only be viewed on your computer? The reality is that whilst we have a hippie idealistic view of the art world, it's a cutthroat business. The main objective of buying art is not to create an eclectic wall art collage to show off when your friends come over for dinner, but instead, like stocks, to have an impressive investment portfolio. When investment is a priority, who cares about whether it's physical or digital? 

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