With technology becoming increasingly integral to the art world, we examine how the industry responds to this digital shift, its concerns regarding technological progress, and how artists are embracing these changes.
The rise of the “Creator Economy” reshapes the art landscape, blurring the lines between artists, creators, and their audiences. The term refers to a rapidly expanding economic landscape driven by individuals from diverse backgrounds and skill sets who produce content and leverage digital platforms to generate income. This inclusive ecosystem comprises content creators of all kinds, such as social media influences, artists, and online personalities. In the age of the Metaverse, cultural life has partly migrated to virtual platforms, paving the way for global, interactive art experiences. Artists can now engage with their audiences in real time, fostering an exciting and immersive creative process. Let’s take a closer look at this revolution.
Metaverse Art Week 2023 – Art and Culture in Web3
When attempting to grasp the trajectory of art and its future, it is impossible not to mention the Metaverse, especially with the recent Metaverse Art Week. While for some, the Metaverse remains a mystery, it undeniably represents a vital part of modern art. Within this mirrored reality, art has transcended borders, allowing for global virtual reality experiences and interactive installations to come into place. One unique aspect of art in the Metaverse is its potential for interactivity and collaboration and its global, almost unlimited, reach.
Since its establishment in 2020, Decentraland has been named a pioneer in the metaverse’s evolution, providing a platform for users to create, experience, and profit from their content and applications. The Metaverse Art Week 2023, held in the virtual social world of Decentraland, curated and organized by the art collective Vueltta, co-founded by Bay Backner, web3 producer and artist, and Adrián Martínez, designer and founder of the CUATRO CUATROS design studio. The collective promises an extravagant celebration that embraces both the end and the new beginning of the Metaverse.
This year, the virtual doors of Decentraland were opened to independent artists and creators who are shaping the metaverse. The highlight of the event was the MESH art fair, showcasing forty captivating new creations by 3D, metaverse, and VR artists. Participants, including Hannes Hummel, Mattia Cuttini, Rebecca Rose, and Morteeeza, contributed to the events. Combining elements from 1970s New York, 1990s rave culture, and the futuristic aesthetics of Blade Runner, these parties were poised to push the limits of artistic exploration and innovation.
The offline art galleries also can plug in. Some art galleries have begun establishing separate virtual galleries within different metaverses. For instance, in June 2021, Sotheby’s introduced its inaugural virtual art gallery in the already mentioned Decentraland. Galleries can be found in KnownOrigin and Narra Gallery in Decentraland as well, or B.20 Gallery and Async Gallery in the Voxels metaverse. While galleries want to mark their presence in the meta world, sellers, art dealers, and collectors must remain mindful of the different transaction fees and royalty payments associated with digital art transactions.
As traditionally offline spaces such as art galleries expand into online arenas such as virtual galleries, gamified metaverses, and online museums hosting unique digital properties, key ownership, intellectual property (IP), and regulatory issues need to be addressed for sellers and art galleries moving into or further.
Flowers, collages & owning the digital identity
Web2 emerged when internet users actively participated in the online space, mainly through the introduction of social media platforms. In contrast, Web1 was characterized by the launch of static HTML websites in the early-mid 1990s. Web3 is now on the rise, offering the potential for individuals to claim unique ownership of their digital identity and assets, including art in its broadest meaning. As the digital world continues to expand, it’s a natural progression to shift from renting assets, as seen in Web2, to owning them outright. This shift is a milestone in artist ownership. Web3 relies on decentralized networks, and NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens) serve as a concrete manifestation of this new generation of the internet and/or artwork rights.
A significant milestone for the art world in this transition was the moment NFTs skyrocketed to prominence, exemplified by Christie’s auction of Beeple’s collage Everydays: the First 500. Mike Winkelmann, the digital artist known as Beeple, sold an NFT of his work for $69 million.
Another artist who moved into the NFT is Takashi Murakami. The artist fearlessly explores various mediums and outlets for expression and does not need an introduction. After his highly successful NFT collaboration with RTFKT, of the biggest brands in the NFT market, Murakami has excitingly revealed the launch of Murakami.Flowers: a collection of digital, pixelated interpretations featuring his famous flower motif.
However, Christie’s reported a 96 percent decline in NFT sales over the course of the year, but Sotheby’s launched an NFT-Only Marketplace. The platform introduces innovative technological features that were not possible on Sotheby’s conventional website before. Users who register on Metaverse receive a special profile picture crafted by the renowned NFT artist Pak as a gift. Pak’s highest-selling NFT, Merge, generated $91.8 million in sales in December 2021 and is one of the most expensive non-fungible tokens. Pak’s NFTs have been sold on Sotheby’s, Nifty Gateway, MakersPlace, SuperRare, and Async Art platforms.
Artists conceptualizing new art forms you should know
There are many significant artists who mark their presence in the art world using new media forms. Jason Allen is one of them. His A.I.-generated work, Théâtre D’opéra Spatial (Space Opera Theater), took first place in the digital category at the Colorado State Fair last year.
Allen created his work with Midjourney, an artificial intelligence program that turns lines of text into hyper-realistic graphics. By many this victory was controversial, but some voices stated that using A.I. to create artwork is no different from using Photoshop or other digital image-manipulation tools.
Another creative mind working with new media is Refik Anado. In his works colors and shapes are floating and changing, and his primary material is… Data. Machine Hallucinations is a coral visual work from Refik Anadol Studio’s ongoing research project on data aesthetics based on collective visual memories of nature. For this unique, site-specific data sculpture designed for Art Basel Miami 2021, in collaboration with Aorist Art and Faena Hotel Miami Beach, and displayed on Miami Beach, Anadol and his team collected 35,742,772 images of coral from publicly available social media platforms and processed them with machine learning classification models. As the machine mind begins to make its own connections between data points and “hallucinate” about alternative coral shapes and colors, the data universe expands into a latent cosmos in which fluid dynamics become the main inspiration for Anadol’s artistic creativity.
It’s not all about technology – a contrafuture?
While the digital realm offers exciting possibilities, it also raises concerns about sustainability and environmental impact. The energy consumption of the Metaverse and NFTs is a pressing issue that artists, tech companies, and the art community need to address responsibly. As artists embrace digital opportunities, it becomes crucial to strike a balance between creative expression and environmental consciousness. Sustainability and eco-art movements are gaining importance in this digital (r)evolution, reminding us that art’s future must be as mindful of our planet as it is bold in its imagination. Without a doubt, the art world is undergoing a profound transformation, fueled by the rise of the Metaverse, NFTs, and innovative technologies.
