Crypto-Art: the ecosystem that takes art to new heights
Crypto art exhibits a unique characteristic that makes it different from anything that came before it.
BeInCrypto spoke with crypto-artists Daniella Attfield and PR1MAL CYPHER.
Crypto-art attracts a wide variety of like-minded members
Imagine being an artist , for a moment. Whether your niche is digital art or creating a physical piece, you are creating amazing visuals that others can enjoy. One of the most important elements of artistic creation is the protection of your work against reproduction without your permission.
In the particular case of digital art , there is always the possibility that the image will be reproduced several times and distributed, which essentially decreases the value of the work and destroys this precious element of rarity. Indeed, what was once a single original work has been multiplied by others, thus making it common.
Crypto-art has recently appeared on the scene, with a pioneering aesthetic. It sets out to offer a solution to the threat artists face when their works are copied by unauthorized parties, resulting in a depreciation of their work. In a nutshell, crypto-art is the artistic version of Immediate Edge software.
To dig deeper into this point, BeInCrypto spoke with crypto artists. Daniella Attfield, a young South African crypto artist, explained this new and growing phenomenon:
Crypto art is fundamentally art (usually, but not always, digital art), that is, it receives a unique signature on the blockchain that confirms it is original and limited in quantity – just like original artwork and photographic prints that have been signed. It is then sold or auctioned for cryptocurrency and then transferred to the buyer, so that they have a totally unique and verified original work of art.
It is no different from traditional art forms, in that you would pay an artist if you wanted to own their original work. Often there can be several editions of the same work, as with photographic prints, and sometimes 1/1 editions as with oil paintings. The only difference is the digital signature. This means that crypto-artists can now sell their works in a way they can control.
A unique feature
There are apparently some drawbacks to the pursuit of the traditional art market , especially for obscure or unknown artists. Creating artwork can be a slow and tedious process. Artists must also think about all the elements necessary for an exhibition, which takes time and resources, in collaboration with a gallery willing to present their work.
The disadvantages increase when the presentation is limited to the time slot of a gallery, for example its opening hours. Artists may never see the immediate results of their work, although it can take years for their work to hit the market.
Unlike conventional works of art, crypto art has a unique characteristic, which makes it different from anything that came before it. Each crypto work of art has an exclusive and indelible identifier – a digital signature, similar to a copyright or encoded watermark, which is not visible to the naked eye.
This exclusive signature is then used to identify, verify and track its history on the blockchain, allowing the artwork to be inalienably linked to its unique signature and engraved in the blockchain’s immutable digital public ledger. This is called “tokenization”, “minting” or even “issuance of currency”.