Oh no not again!
Ok. A few disclaimers. I am an NFT artist. AMA! I have constructed an NFT pipeline using hundreds of paintings as source material which have been cut into thousands of pieces and are recomposed based on the users history who is buying the image. This results in (I kid you not) billions of possible unique combinations. These combinations are created generatively and needless to say, the website and minting process is an absolute spaceship of sorts (meaning it's super complex) . All of the paintings which are being used are my own. These would generally be considered traditional paintings, as in, they don't start off digitally. Part of my work involves situating oil painting in a digital landscape since the late 90s. The paintings themselves are about the intersection of technology and biology. How our bodies, and minds are largely shaped by this thing we're all on now. You know, the internet. I've studied, and created internet art for over 25 years now, and have worked with some of the earliest practitioners in this space. Probably some which you may have heard of. I've attended some of the most renowned schools in the world (SAIC, Glasgow School of Art) and I've spoken with consultants who work for major art institutions (Christies, Artnet, etc.) and my gallery is extremely interested in being brought in. Many other galleries are as well. This is a business waiting to happen for anyone who has the skills to pull it off.
So, now that we've got that out of the way. Lets talk about Lebron selling a dunk video for a couple hundred grand. Basically, as I see it, usually this type of obscure technology is harnessed by artists first. And this case is no different. There have been a few places selling NFTs for years now. One of the most famous projects, cryptopunks, was started over two years ago. Lebron and Taco Bell have got in the game for different reasons, however what's connecting them is the fact that digital collectibles have become more commonplace. As I said in my last post, if you want a good breakdown of why people care about non tangible art, ask an average 8 year old about their favorite digital pet. Of course those in film, performance, and conceptual art are also not strangers to art that doesn't just hang on a wall, but exists in a different space. With that being said, the market still likes tangible items, which is why artists have devised different methods for offering a tangible piece (a book, a print, lightbox, etc.) alongside the NFT. However, this represents a bit of a problem, because the person who buys the piece doesn't necessarily have to resell the original item along with it. There are a LOT of kinks to be worked out. The whole medium is still a baby.
So, Why are people buying these? When I told my friend I was working on an NFT project he said "Have you thought about making an NFT which isn't garbage?" which is funny, but also true to some extent. A lot of them look like shit. But then again, so does the front page of /r/art ( here's the top post from this year with nearly 100,000 upvotes ), and some of the most upvoted images on Instagram. Whether we like it or not, the general public doesn't have the same views on art as art nerds may have. When's the last time you saw a major artist make a post, and then say "Show me what you're up to!" or a collector saying "Reply in the comments with your paintings! I've got $100,000 to spend today!" Simply doesn't happen.
Adressing some of the concerns about "scams", there are people doing weird things with money. One thing about crypto is that all of these transactions are public in a sense, so it's not the best medium to launder money, however surely it is happening, just as it happens with the highbrow art market, and concrete sales, casinos, etc. If you want a good medium for illicit activity, then cash works quite well, however we wouldn't imagine getting rid of cash because drug dealers use it (well, maybe some have) . (Techbro hat on) Another factor is that it doesn't seem that crypto is going anywhere, as it continues to just rise in value, but has also now been absorbed by the major banks of the world who also see the benefits.I don't know enough about banking to know whether or not crypto is a safer way of transferring millions of dollars as compared to how the banks have done this in the past, however the fact that it is a public ledger would lead me to believe that the banks actually do see some benefit and are no longer scared of it.
One really amazing thing I've witnessed within the scene, is how eager a lot of people are to trade these as well. The secondary market is absolutely buzzing at the moment, and i've never seen anything online which has been similar to how the public is interacting with, and buying art. And all doing so without the need for galleries, or large auction houses. I think in part, some of the skepticism we see, is due to the fact that NFTs kind of make them irrelevant.
Look. I don't know what the future of the market is. Perhaps it does fizzle out in the current iteration, however I think this method of purchasing nontangible art is going to stick around. This is a good thing for people working in these mediums. I'm kind of amazed that a lot of my peers from art school are extremely skeptical, and even disparaging NFTs. I get that you don't want your work to be synonymous with a celebrity sex tape, or a sexy elf queen, but the technology itself is actually really robust and amazing. The idea of digital collectibles is actually quite old, and I can remember the original pearl clutching over the so called "gold mining" efforts done some 20 years ago in World of Warcraft. Ebay actually banned the sale of digital items in the early 2000s, but obviously that didn't stop people from buying them, and now purchasing digital swords and pets is pretty much standard in literally thousands upon thousands of games. There's no going back now.