Collectibles with attitude — CryptoPunks, Bored Ape, what next?
If your first reaction to Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) as works of art was WTF, that’s good! Read on. I’ll make the case here that CryptoPunks, Bored Ape and other NFTs collections to follow, are in the tradition of irreverent works raising eyebrows and redefining our concept of art and value since 1917 and beyond. Let’s look at 6 examples …
WTF art in the 1900s:
- Marcel Duchamp’s 1917 ‘Fountain’ — a male urinal tipped on its back. Rejected at first, a 1950s reproduction ended up on display in Paris’ Centre George Pompidou.
- Damion Hirst’s ‘The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living’ — a shark in formaldehyde. A 1991 $50k Saatchi commission. Resold for a reported $8M.
- God Save the Queen’ by the Sex Pistols. Banned by the BBC in 1977. Cost at release was less than £1. A rare A&M vinyl pressing fetched £13,000 in 2019!
NFT art in the 2000s:
- CryptoPunks — 10,000 blocky pixelated faces like those found on 1980s computer games, each within a 24x24 pixel space. One sold for 2,500 ETH ($2.6M) in July 2022.
- Bored Ape Yacht Club — 10,000 cartoonish bored primates. The apes initially sold for 0.08 ETH in 2021. One attracted an offer of 458 WETH (nearly $0.5M) in July 2022.
- Everydays: The First 5000 Days — a collage of 14 years of digital artist Beeple’s daily doodles and stock art composites. Sold at auction in 2021, reportedly for $69M!
Eyebrow-raising examples, right? Yet, for early adopters of Bitcoin and Ethereum, owning a bit of crypto history like this is pure, unadulterated fun. NFT profile pictures are here to stay. But, what’s coming next?
For the near future, Marcel Katz (AKA The Art Plug) and his DigiArt team plan to have all eyes on NFT drops by Harif Guzman (AKA Haculla), Ghanaian fantasy coffin craftsman Paa Joe, and Vollut whose popular animations always have an inventive twist. NFT holders might find accompanying experiential live events hosted by Marcel Katz a little eyebrow-raising too :-)
For the latest on what DigiArt has to offer, including the soon to be released Haculla NFT collection, join the DigiArt community on Discord. Also, look out there for Q&As and quizzes and register on our website for the chance to win a pair of tickets to Miami Art Week (flight and hotel included)!
About DigiArt
DigiArt provides an authentic art and community-centric team that connects collectors with true artists and creatives through online and face-to-face events, NFT artwork drops and new and unusual experiences.
