Jump to content

NFTs again (Non Fungible Tokens)


Recommended Posts

  • 4 weeks later...

Brian Eno on NFTs:

 

https://the-crypto-syllabus.com/brian-eno-on-nfts-and-automatism/

 

"Why don't you dabble in NFTs yourself?

 

I’ve been approached several times to ‘make an NFT.’ So far nothing has convinced me that there is anything worth making in that arena. ‘Worth making’ for me implies bringing something into existence that adds value to the world, not just to a bank account. If I had primarily wanted to make money I would have had a different career as a different kind of person. I probably wouldn’t have chosen to be an artist. NFTs seem to me just a way for artists to get a little piece of the action from global capitalism, our own cute little version of financialisation. How sweet - now artists can become little capitalist assholes as well."

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 hours ago, Harry Harrison said:

Brian Eno on NFTs:

 

https://the-crypto-syllabus.com/brian-eno-on-nfts-and-automatism/

 

"Why don't you dabble in NFTs yourself?

 

I’ve been approached several times to ‘make an NFT.’ So far nothing has convinced me that there is anything worth making in that arena. ‘Worth making’ for me implies bringing something into existence that adds value to the world, not just to a bank account. If I had primarily wanted to make money I would have had a different career as a different kind of person. I probably wouldn’t have chosen to be an artist. NFTs seem to me just a way for artists to get a little piece of the action from global capitalism, our own cute little version of financialisation. How sweet - now artists can become little capitalist assholes as well."

Good on ye Brian Eno! 😏

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Harry Harrison said:

Absolutely, I've since read that he's reputed to have accumulated $60m without resorting to crypto pyramid schemes, good on him indeed.

His musical work and collaborations have always been amazing resulting in many big sellers...

Saw him talk at the Starmus festival here a few years ago...inspirational!

G8YN43.jpg

Phil

  • Love 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

A little more on Brian Eno's turntable here:

 

https://www.inputmag.com/design/brian-eno-color-changing-turntable-sold-out

 

It's a little out of my price range so it's a good thing they've all sold  otherwise I'd be having sleepless nights.  Still, it's an actual physical artwork that you could buy with actual money, and when you tire of it you can sell it again, probably for even more actual money. Further down on the same page they talk about Sotheby's selling 'Chromie Squiggles':

 

https://www.inputmag.com/culture/sothebys-enters-the-metaverse-something-with-random-squiggly-lines

 

This is a set of NFTs, "Sotheby's first generative NFT project' on sale to the highest bidder, it would seem that they sold for $380,000:

 

https://metaverse.sothebys.com/chromie-squiggle-mint-it/bidding

 

Edit: In fact they sold for $478,800, more about them here if you can bear to read it.

 

https://metaverse.sothebys.com/chromie-squiggle-mint-it

 

 

Edited by Harry Harrison
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Been looking into NFT's, there are some very talented photographers using it, its a very very new scene and i can see why some people are very anti towards it. I think there are issues with it, gas is too expensive if you want to buy and list on the most popular NFT platforms but hopefully they will move away from using ETH. 

 

Photography is what i do and what i am interested in and i like the fact that with NFT's i can set my own price and i can also make sure that i get paid a commission if my work is sold on by the original buyer. It has the potential to be good for image creators, will it pan out like that, who knows but with falling prices at normal agencies i am definitely going to look more into it to see if it it works for me. 

 

One of the photographers i follow in the NFT scene https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2021/aug/19/imagining-peoples-stories-in-pictures-monaris-momentos?fbclid=IwAR1G7PQc4fuYXMP115GNVH-uk_pcIatrneowDa8ZE8t6acnqmK0i3LBwAWY

 

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The NFT business and the financial speculation surrounding them, indeed driving them,  are often described as the Wild West, with reason.

 

https://petapixel.com/2021/12/20/as-theft-thrives-artists-say-opensea-does-little-to-protect-copyrights/

 

Worth following the Twitter account of NFT Theft

 

As has been already mentioned, the environmental cost of all this is criminal.

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The environmental cost of doing and making many things is costly, as i said earlier NFT's do have issues but those issues can hopefully be reduced, its a new, very new scene so lets see what develops. You clearly do not like it, that's fine but i feel it can be a positive space for creators and artists. No one is forcing anyone to 'get into' NFTs. https://time.com/6120237/nfts-environmental-impact/

Edited by Lynchpics
Added link
  • Dislike 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Lynchpics said:

No one is forcing anyone to 'get into' NFTs. 

No, but many people are suggesting that they should think very seriously before doing so, it's always possible to make money if you get into a pyramid scheme early, that doesn't mean that pyramid schemes are a good thing. It seems that they're now re-opening coal-fired power stations just to power them. Brilliant.

 

https://grist.org/technology/bitcoin-greenidge-seneca-lake-cryptocurrency/

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, Harry Harrison said:

No, but many people are suggesting that they should think very seriously before doing so, it's always possible to make money if you get into a pyramid scheme early, that doesn't mean that pyramid schemes are a good thing. It seems that they're now re-opening coal-fired power stations just to power them. Brilliant.

 

https://grist.org/technology/bitcoin-greenidge-seneca-lake-cryptocurrency/

People SHOULD think seriously about it before doing it, as i said its very early days and there is already people talking about making it more environmentally friendly. From a recent article looking at that issue "

The Proof-of-Work system is the main reason behind NFT’s high energy intensity right now. However, steps are being taken to rectify the situation. One of the main remedies is to use a blockchain running with a different system such as Proof-of-Stake (PoS). PoS is viewed as more energy efficient as it removes the high-powered computing from the consensus algorithm.

Ethereum itself is currently transitioning to a newer, less environmentally impactful system. A series of upgrades, known as Eth2 or Ethereum 2.0, will replace mining with staking (or PoW to PoS). This will remove computing power as a security mechanism, and reduce Ethereum’s carbon footprint by 99.98%. This development is something we greatly support.

Several Proof-of-Stake blockchains are already in existence. The open-source Tezos network consumes over two million times less energy than Proof of Work networks like Bitcoin or Ethereum. The low carbon footprint of Tezos means developers and users can prioritise innovation without compromising sustainability.

There has also been a move towards ensuring that all blockchain runs on renewable energy which will also reduce the environmental impact. According to a Cambridge report, 39% of Proof-of-Work mining is already powered by renewable energy, with that figure expected to rise in the future. "

 

 

 

Pyramid scheme, well to be honest if you don't research what you are buying before you buy it, then you are stupid. I have seen photographers and artists sell NFT's that also include a physical print, how is that  different from someone going into a gallery and buying a print there. I do see that many mainstream art galleries etc are getting their drawers in a twist about NFT's, i wonder if they are scared that artists will take control of their own work and leave the middle men like them on the outside looking in, how much do galleries charge if you sell work via them?  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 21/12/2021 at 21:54, Lynchpics said:

Interesting read. The first half of the article does a great job of summarising the problem which affects all digital art/photographs (they can easily be copied and the credit line mislaid). But the second half of the article (about NFTs) only provides a possible solution for those whose art is sufficiently desirable/fashionable/famous that collectors will pay a significant premium for a certificate (NFT) proving they own an original. All they really get for their money are the "bragging rights" that they own an original and the possibility that they maybe able to sell their "bragging rights" in future to another collector for a profit. Exact digital copies of the art itself may still circulate, as they do now, so non-owners will have exactly the same viewing experience as the NFT owner. This is very different from owning and viewing an original of an oil painting (for example) versus a print or an electronic copy.

 

I imagine NFTs will be successful for the top end of the market - look how much of a premium some folks will pay for a designer badge (largely for "bragging purposes"). But IMHO, for the majority of photographers, NFTs will provide no benefit at all. Just my opinion.

 

Mark

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, M.Chapman said:

But the second half of the article (about NFTs) only provides a possible solution for those whose art is sufficiently desirable/fashionable/famous that collectors will pay a significant premium for a certificate (NFT) proving they own an original.

I think that it's also driven by exposure on social media, so photographers that have a lot of followers there (and there are many) will stand to do well, at least in the first flush. The almost hysterical enthusiasm shown by presumably young 'collectors' is quite something. You may have seen the 'GM' & 'GN' tweets with which they bond with each other (Good Morning & Good Night) almost like a secret conspiratorial handshake. It also strikes me that they are of a generation where actual physical examples of the photographic art, i.e. prints printed or at least supervised by the photographer, are not the norm and in addition they may have already dabbled in bitcoin currency. However NFTs of photographs have to compete with all kinds of digital art, comic book characters, randomly generated patterns etc. and at the end of the day the buyer just gets a certificate that purveys a totally artificially created rarity and exclusivity. Once that lustre wears off then there may be a different kind of flush sweeping through the market.

 

It is pure financial speculation without any of the safeguards that traders in stocks and shares are legally bound by, it has been shown that many of these high prices are achieved by consortiums (including the actual original artist) inflating the prices, insider trading in effect, but there is nothing to prevent it. There is a problem with fakes as highlighted above and added to that of course is the huge variation in the value of the blockchain currencies underlying the market. It's a shark infested sea.

Edited by Harry Harrison
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

As someone who knows the tech rather well (author of "Attack of the 50 foot blockchain") has retweeted to point out, what the NFT gives you is a unique link to an url of the image that you have no control over and don't own the rights to replicate (non-fungible) the original artwork or its copy on the website you bought the link to.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.