Fuck Around and Find Out
The journey of NFTs as an art medium is, at its core, a journey of transformation—one that redefines not just how art is created but how it exists and interacts with the world. In this new landscape, the tools we use are not mere instruments but collaborators, shaping and redefining the creative process in ways we are still learning to understand. Programs like Photoshop and platforms like X are not just ways to make and share art; they are integral parts of a symbiotic system where the digital and the creative collide, generating outcomes that often feel like digital serendipity.
Traditionally, NFTs have been misunderstood as mere "JPEGs on the blockchain," a perception that reduces them to static digital assets. Yet, there exists another approach, which I like to call "blockchain art," where the mechanics of the blockchain itself—hashes, smart contracts, and self-referential systems—are leveraged to create works that echo traditional conceptual art. This type of art is more palatable to the traditional art world because it brings a kind of didactic quality; the work itself becomes a commentary on the blockchain, a way of solidifying its status as "real art." But it’s a closed system that tends to reinforce existing notions of what art is supposed to be, even while playing with new technology—ultimately doomed to be just another echo chamber for blockchain enthusiasts and collectors with a big stake in it.
However, my vision for NFTs goes beyond this. I believe we are still viewing NFTs too narrowly, focusing too much on how they fit into old frameworks instead of exploring how they can break them. In Isabelle Graw's The Love of Painting, she explains the revolutionary impact that the invention of canvas paintings had on the art economy in the 15th century:
"The economic success and the explosive spread of painting is linked to the invention of canvas painting in the 15th century, which followed 'transportation-related considerations'—these paintings could be conveniently transported in any size. In other words, the canvas painting enabled a mobility that facilitated the shipment of images from country to country and court to court."
Just as the canvas transformed art by making it portable, scalable, and tradable across borders, NFTs are poised to do something similar in the digital age. They are not merely a new way to store and sell images; they are a new kind of canvas, one that can encompass all aspects of our digital reality. The blockchain gives art the mobility to travel seamlessly between platforms, communities, and even between physical and virtual worlds, untethered from the traditional gatekeepers of galleries, auction houses, and large institutions.
For me, NFTs represent a perfect medium to disrupt the traditional art system. They challenge existing structures by offering new ways to engage with art, not just as a product but as a process—one that is dynamic, continuous, and intertwined with the contemporary digital tools we use daily. From Illustrator to Stable Diffusion, every tool contributes to this new ecosystem, forming a vast network that allows for infinite remixing, recycling, and reinterpretation. Even platforms like X, TikTok, or Instagram become archives, reservoirs of material waiting to be repurposed.
The true power of NFTs lies not just in their ability to reflect our digital age, but in how they emerge from it to push beyond existing boundaries. Using the same tools that shape our digital world, they foster an environment where experimentation thrives, and where anyone can participate, unrestricted by traditional barriers. Unlike the art world of galleries and résumés, where reputation often overshadows creativity and dynamism, NFTs thrive on a foundation of anonymity. On platforms like X, Telegram, or Discord, artists and creators can engage directly with a global audience, liberated from the constraints of who they are, where they come from, or what accolades they hold. It’s a space where ideas and creativity can speak for themselves, where connections are based on shared visions rather than status. This anonymity is not a limitation—it is a powerful equalizer, allowing voices that might have been drowned out in the traditional art world to emerge, resonate, and redefine what art can be in the digital era.
This perspective is why I see NFTs as more than just images inscribed on the blockchain. They represent a holistic system that allows for the creation of new creative processes, detached from the traditional power structures that have long defined what art should be and how it should be experienced. We’re seeing the beginnings of this, yet even now, the conversation around NFTs often falls back on self-referential concepts designed to solidify the blockchain on a functional level—like the "burn and redeem" mechanisms where an NFT is destroyed to receive a physical counterpart. These approaches seem to try too hard to prove the legitimacy of blockchain by tying it back to physical reality, as if to say, "See, it’s real because you can hold it in your hand."
Yet, this misses the point. The beauty of NFTs lies in how they extend the artist's ideas across multiple planes—digital, conceptual, and physical. They don’t need to conform to old-world analogies; their value emerges from the artist’s vision, concept, narrative, and the lore that connects the works, all backed by a community of collectors, artists, and friends. NFTs act as essential pillars, anchoring and enhancing the various mediums the artist engages with, seamlessly bringing these elements together into a cohesive, interconnected experience.
As an artist in 2024, the question for me is not just about how I use these tools, but how I position myself within this digital age, an age that is accelerating faster with each technological leap, leaving old power structures scrambling to catch up. To create NFTs is to engage with a medium that can encapsulate everything from identity and community to economics and communication, in ways that traditional art simply cannot. The blockchain allows for transparency, provenance, and direct interaction with collectors, but more than that, it allows for experimentation, for pushing boundaries, and for embracing unpredictability. It’s about finding new ways to express and connect, not just through the art itself but through the process of making it, sharing it, and evolving it.
I think we are still at the beginning of understanding what NFTs can be. But already, they have shown us that they are not confined to a single definition or function. They are a canvas, a tool, a network, a community, and perhaps most importantly, a challenge to the status quo. And in that, there is a kind of freedom—an opportunity to redefine not just what art can be, but what it can mean, in a world where the lines between the digital and the physical are becoming increasingly blurred. For me, this is not just about creating art; it's about participating in a broader conversation about how we navigate our digital age, and how we leave behind the limitations that no longer serve us.
And if that requires some risk, if it means pushing the boundaries and defying old expectations, then so be it. To truly understand the potential of NFTs, we need to embrace the unknown, to fuck around and find out.
