NFT: a field in transit

The emergence of Non-Fungible-Tokens has disrupted the digital art scene as the new generation of art collectors rides the crypto wave. Furthermore, this newfound love of art investment and creative technology have created innovative synergies in the industry. As a result, built a massive ecosystem based on peer-to-peer creative expression and secure direct transactions. However, these claims are not the entire story. The future of NFT is not yet decided and it might as well end up as nothing more than an antique hype as the movement seems to move further away from its original promise.

What is NFT?

Non-Fungible-Tokens are objects which hold the property of non-fungibility. In economics, non-fungibility refers to the property of a commodity whose individual units are not interchangeable and are distinguishable from other units. In this case, NFTs are non-fungible data, stored on a blockchain, which certifies a digital file that is non-printable. The benefits of owning a digital collectable are the unique information properties that ensure easy and reliable verification. This verifiability makes the creation and distribution of fake versions meaningless as there is only one of a kind. Therefore, NFTs are marketed as a way for artists to fight back piracy. Additionally, it promotes the opportunity for artists to make huge profits and be self-reliant without the middlemen like galleries. Or do they?

My NFT Concept

During this project I found myself travelling by aeroplane and stuck in transit in a pandemic reality. While overlooking the deserted airports and checking in to the empty hotel, I was struck by this disorienting feeling of being in-between. Not just the physical state of being halfway to my destination, but midway in some transcendent thought process. Personally, I’ve always believed the concept of time doesn’t exist in international airports or while flying. Usually, however, it is because of the vast amount of time zones that meet and interact. This time, however, the atmosphere in the empty plane aisles gave the illusion of time not passing at all.

After doing some quick research on what my environment made me feel, I concluded that it was a case of liminality and liminal space. In architecture, it is defined as “physical spaces between one destination and the next”[1]. Internet pop culture has also recently grown fond of liminal spaces and describes it by “ a sense of nostalgia, lostness and uncertainty” [2]. This is a description that highly resonates with my experience.

Then I started wondering if an AI model could create this evocative and ambient scene, so I decided to try it out and make it my NFT. I gathered a dataset of about 500 pictures of liminal spaces I could find in my camera roll and on internet forums. Here is a small collage of pictures in my dataset.

Then, I trained a 2500 steps model with the dataset on runaway. ml, and the result was astonishing:

The output really encapsulates the feeling of liminality perfectly through the corridor shapes, white powdery snow, and fluorescent light. For my NFT x AI Project, I created a gif based on the output images :

I decided, however, to not put my NFT concept on the blockchain due to the following implications. These are related to the environmental impact and questions regarding the morality and efficiency of NFTs.

Environmental implications of NFT and blockchain technology

NFTs have a huge environmental footprint like all current blockchain technology. To put it into perspective, Bitcoin, which is the largest blockchain by market size has a carbon footprint similar to Serbia+Montenegro with 64.18 Mt CO2 according to the digiconomist. Furthermore, it annually consumes 135.12 TWh, which is the same energy consumption as Sweden. Moreover, a single bitcoin transaction equals the same carbon footprint as watching 135,536 hours of youtube or the power consumption of 58.68 days in an average US household. [3]

The environmental impact of NFT’s should not be left out of the conversation. Memo Akten, calculated the carbon footprint of an average NFT and concluded that:

“ This single NFT’s footprint is equivalent to a EU resident’s total electric power consumption for more than a month, with emissions equivalent to driving for 1000Km, or flying for 2 hours.”

Therefore, before blockchain is run on clean energy and the algorithms are energy-optimised, there is very little justification for creating and collecting NFTs. But kudos, it is creative to kill the planet with art!

Are NFTs for artists?

The recent surge in NFTs asks the perplex, yet essential, question: “how do we value art?” and maybe more importantly: “how should we value art?”

While traditional art’s value is based on several factors such as skill level, material, size and age, an NFT’s value essentially comes from scarcity( because it is limited on the blockchain). The scarcity, however, is actually more prominent in the case of traditional art as an artist only live for so long and can only create x units. In NFTs you have to battle the concept of diluted ownership as nothing is stopping the artist (or copy-pasters) from minting the artwork(or a screenshot of it) to another blockchain. The main issue lays in the fact that an NFT and a screenshot of the NFT have different values. If it was the art and creativity that was valued there would be no difference. Therefore, NFTs encourages an anti-evolutionary approach to valuing art and promotes no real improvement to the art field.

Another major problem with the NFTs is the lack of “creation verification”. While NFTs were developed to combat piracy, it doesn’t help with theft and copyright issues. It is in fact an avenue for selling stolen art. Anyone can take someone else’s art and mine it on the blockchain. This happened to the famous illustrator, Qinnie, who got her art stolen after she died recently.[4]

So is it really for the artists or the blockchain technologists and investors? While it might have started as a way to fund an artists dreams, it is not the optimal environment for new artists anymore. With the huge initial costs, low margins and competition with huge brands it is nearly impossible to be guaranteed a profit. It is, however, a way to make a brand for artists and to support your favourite artists.

In conclusion,

a lot of the claims that the crypto art community promises about NFTs are straight-up lies. NFTs are not as much for the fresh artists or the art-collector, as it is for the crypto-investors who doesn’t care about the environmental impact of crypto transactions. However, on a more positive note, NFTs have also given creative technology the well-deserved spotlight and introduced even more people to digital art.

The fact is, it is a young field that has not yet reached its final destination. Moreover, does it have a lot of work to do if it wants to move forward. I believe this is another example of liminality, as it really is a field currently in transit.

References:

[1] Asuncion, Isabel Berenguer (2020–06–13). “Living through liminal spaces”. INQUIRER.net. URL: https://business.inquirer.net/299862/living-through-liminal-spaces Retrieved 2021–07–14

[2] “Architecture: The Cult Following Of Liminal Space”. Musée Magazine. . URL: https://museemagazine.com/features/2020/11/1/the-cult-following-of-liminal-space Retrieved 2021–07–14

[3]” Bitcoin Energy Consumption Index” digiconomist. URL: https://digiconomist.net/bitcoin-energy-consumption Retrieved 2021–07–14

[4] “ Are NFTs aiding digital art theft?” by Bethel Brill URL: https://btcpeers.com/are-nfts-aiding-digital-art-theft/ Retrieved 2021–07–14

• Wikipedia “ Non-Fungible Token” URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-fungible_token Retrieved 2021–07–14
• Wikipedia “Liminality” URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liminality Retrieved 2021–07–14
• Memo Akten (2020–12–14) “The Unreasonable Ecological Cost of #CryptoArt (Part 1)”URL : https://memoakten.medium.com/the-unreasonable-ecological-cost-of-cryptoart-2221d3eb2053 Retrieved 2021–07–14
• Mitchell Clark ( 2021–03–11) “NFTs, explained” URL: https://www.theverge.com/22310188/nft-explainer-what-is-blockchain-crypto-art-faq Retrieved 2021–07–14
• Morgan Nitz and Robert (2020–10–23) “How do we value art?” URL: https://www.theartblog.org/2020/10/how-do-we-value-art/ Retrieved 2021–07–14
• Robyn Conti, John Schmidt (2021–05–14) “ What You Need To Know About Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs)” URL: https://www.forbes.com/advisor/investing/nft-non-fungible-token/ Retrieved 2021–07–14