It is an auction of a new kind.
Kitsch clips populated with cherubs floating in the void of space or facing - like
2001, The Space Odyssey
- the terrestrial globe or an unreal Martian setting.
Digital creations as there are an astronomical amount of them in the niches of the web devoted to the creation or hosting of images.
These, on the other hand, belong to Grimes, a 32-year-old Canadian musician.
On sale Monday on Nifty Gateway, the ten digital works of this artist - some unique, others drawn in several hundred copies - flew in twenty minutes for a total sum of 5.8 million dollars.
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A sale almost among others, within the art market, except that the works in question are all provided with their digital 2.0 certificate of authenticity: the "non-fungible token" , abbreviated as NFT.
Forged from the same blockchain technology that made Bitcoin, Ethereum and cryptocurrencies so successful, the secure system guarantees the authenticity and perfect traceability of the digital object associated with it;
a tamper-proof crypto-signature, in short, for what some already define as “
crypto-art
”.
The principle is the subject of a small revolution in the world of digital art long parasitized by concerns such as the authenticity of images, the profusion of forgeries and plagiarism, to the point where historic auction houses have also started to take an interest in it.
After having used NFT technology as an additional guarantee associated with tangible works, the auction house Christie's has just taken the
plunge
with the sale of a work of the “
digital artist
” Beeple, EVERYDAYS: THE FIRST 5000 DAYS, currently estimated by potential buyers at more than $ 3 million.
On February 22, already, another work by Beeple had snapped up on Nifty Gateway for $ 6.6 million: titled CROSSROADS, the work had been created ahead of the US election last November and planned to take a different appearance depending on the winning candidate.
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Craze for digital objects
Part of the art world's fascination with NFTs and blockchain dates back at least a handful of years.
In 2018, the
New York Times
set out to meet American artist Kevin Abosch, who was working to materialize and give shape to the blockchain.
“
I didn't want to be satisfied with making these 10 million virtual art objects.
I wanted them to be connected to my body, ”
he said at the time.
To the first artistic curiosity, and timid, a more recent craze has however emerged in the complex world of NFT, beyond even the strict world of art.
Since the beginning of January, the NBA Top Shot platform - associated with the NBA - has been making record sales to collectors by selling basketball clips certified by NFTs.
As for the works, each clip - of the “
moments
” - is available in a certain number of copies, or in a single copy, then very popular, in the image of a
unique
“
moment
” of a handful of seconds showing a basket of LeBron James acquired in February for $ 20,800.
“
This is the future.
That's going to be the collectibles of the future,
”Steve Poland, creator of the Mighty Minted consulting and analysis site, told AFP.
The phenomenon also touches beyond art and sport: in February, again, an authentic copy of
Nyan Cat
- uploaded by its creator, Chris Torres, also snapped up for $ 580,000, as the season approached. tenth anniversary of the same historic internet.
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“
Digital art has a well-recognized history dating back to the 1960s. But the simplicity of reproduction has traditionally made it almost impossible to attribute provenance and value to the medium,
” observes Christie's in its press release on the
medium.
sale of Beeple's work.
“
The recent introduction of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and blockchain technology has enabled collectors and artists to verify the rightful owner and authenticity of digital artwork.
Recalling that this is a "
turning point
for the digital art market
", Christies has exceptionally provided no estimate for Beeple's digital work.
“
We're breaking new ground with this piece, your estimate is as good as ours,
” said Noah Davis, the auction house's contemporary art specialist.
"
You buy an emotion,
" attempted to explain to the
New York Times
an American investor versed in the NFT after the extraordinary sale of the authentic Nyan Cat, last month.
80 years after his death, Walter Benjamin would be amazed at this unexpected return of the aura in works on the web, at the time of the infinite reproducibility of digital objects.