NFT

The drawing was set ablaze in a cocktail glass at a Miami party.

Depictions of Frida Kahlo appear nearly everywhere in the retail world, from t-shirts and sneakers to perfume and tequila brands, all bearing the likeness of the famed Mexican artist. Now, the commercialization of Kahlo has extended into the world of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), in a highly-criticized publicity stunt.

A reflection on the transformative power of data in art.

Dataism is an artistic practice that acknowledges how data has become humanity’s principal means of understanding nature, characterizing social processes, developing new technologies, and, increasingly, probing what makes us human. This way of making art is fueled by the conviction that art cannot escape, ignore, or bypass data if it wishes to remain relevant to the post-visual processes that shape our society. 

The Rembrandt Heritage Foundation wants to open a virtual Rembrandt museum. To raise money for it, the foundation will sell 8,000 digital pieces of the Night Watch for 200 to 300 euros each in cryptocurrency. They are not just selling digital images of fragments of the masterpiece, but Non-Fungible Tokens or NFTs - unique properties that cannot be copied. Ownership is also recorded in a database.

As far back as the late sixth century BC, the Greek philosopher Parmenides declared, “nothing comes from nothing.” In the digital era, every two or three years now, apparently unprecedented phenomena seem to come from nothing and yet appear to have the power to revolutionize the world and the law. A few years ago, it was Web 2.0, then Cloud Computing, Blockchain and Web 3.0.

Ahh, NFTs. I’m not a fan of art ownership through collectible tokens. There are just too many instances of art plagiarism. But according to Sandra Ro, CEO of the Global Blockchain Business Council, things are just getting started in the world of NFTs, and it goes far beyond art. At this year’s TNW Conference, Ro shared an insider perspective of where we are with NFTs and where we’re going.

What is the metaverse? In the simplest of terms, it is a virtual space in which users are and will be able to interact and connect with each other in myriad ways – gaming, collaborating, shopping, and exploring – without leaving the comfort of their couch. Some of this functionality already exists in gaming platforms.

Will our favourite artists be able to live forever on the stage?

It was a technological feat that made history, wowed audiences, and brought a dead rapper back to life. In April 2012 at the Coachella festival in California, Tupac Shakur took to the stage with Snoop Dogg and Dr Dre. He’d been dead for 16 years, killed in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas. But this was Tupac the hologram, foul-mouthed and lifelike, performing before a “shocked and then amazed” crowd.

From "Squid Game" to Olive Garden, the NFT boom is an orgy of intellectual property infractions.

The most popular show in Netflix history, “Squid Game,” earned an estimated $900 million for the streaming company. And the producers are not stopping there. They are gearing up for even more revenue as they look towards season two and have secured more than two dozen trademarks for the property as they tee up a range of merchandising and licensing deals.