Digital art: between the concept of traditional art and the ignorance of the universe of crypto art

Dec. 26 (Portaltic/EP) –

In recent years it has been seen how digital art It has generated both interest and skepticism and precisely the latter has occurred due to the absolute ignorance that exists about this not so new way of creating new languages ​​and artistic works.

Due to its intrinsic relationship with non-fungible tokens (also known as NFT) and, by extension, with the chain of blocks and cryptocurrencies, the true meaning of digital art can be confused, which goes beyond the new asset exchange systems in the virtual realm.

Therefore, it is convenient to first determine what digital art is. This is the one created by digital tools, that is, with a computer or with a digital camera. In this way, it can be considered digital art could be a JPG image, a video, a GIF or a sculpture Made with augmented reality (AR) technology.

It should be noted that this type of art “is not new or something unknown, a market has simply emerged where they can be sold, something that was very complex before,” acknowledges the artist and pioneer in crypto art in Spain, Javier Arrés, in an interview with Europe Press.

The artist insists that “not all NFTs are artbut all crypto art is NFT”. In this sense, he clarifies that what these acronyms really mean is that said digital file has been tokenizedthat is, that a contract has been associated with it in a ‘blockchain’ network.

When this occurs, said asset becomes unique, “it gives it authenticity and marks that file as the original, which is surely the most important thing in the art and collecting market,” adds Arrés, who assures that “the connection between the crypto world and NFTs is less than people realize.”

In this sense, it should be emphasized that digital art is not new, but that it was already abundant before the explosion of crypto art. “We had been doing it for many years. The brutal difference is that, whoever did it digitally, could not later sell that work as the only. It sold its use, but not the original“, says Arrés, who stresses that the “true NFT revolution” lies in the concept of uniqueness.”

Contrary to what many people think, crypto art does not require full payment with cryptocurrencies, but can be purchased with a credit card to avoid, in fact, the so-called Gas Fee. That is, money paid to create an NFT or carry out a transaction within a ‘blockchain’.

On the other hand, Arrés stresses that digital art does not require large means to be able to be exercised, since only an Internet connection is necessary, a crypto wallet in MetaMask —that can be created for free— and a little more than 10 dollars (about 13 euros) to mint the work and create an NFT. This is in the case of a minor work, since, as in traditional art, the creations are classified according to their price and prestige.

Due to the fact that these media are affordable and within the reach of the majority of users, it is common for this area to speak of digital and democratic art, unlike traditional art, which It does require high economic amounts to be a collector.

This has been one of the reasons why some artists have launched into the digital art environment in recent years, as it serves as a means to bring their works closer to the rest of the world in a massive way and, in turn, raise money. with your sales.

In any case, the artist assures that in digital art, as in any other field, they also include factors such as luck. “All creators can agree to create an NFT, but not everyone can be on the best platforms and earn a living from this”, he adds.

RELUCTANCE AND REGULATION

Despite the fact that digital art has been shown to be more accessible than traditional art, since most of the time, the latter is only available to a few; artistic NFTs continue to arouse some reluctance in society.

“It’s undeniable that coinciding with the bit economy produced a speculative boom and financial operations that grabbed headlines in the media and that generated great uncertainty and fear”, comments the artistic designer and member of the agency, consultancy and gallery Kriptie’s Fernando Carmona, who assures that digital art is still found “in a very young process”.

“The regulation, marketing and critical rigor and artistic will do to calm the waters”, insisted the gallery owner, who believes that “everything seems to indicate that digital art is heading towards a clear stability”.

Arrés, for his part, believes that “digital work has always been well received”, but that the generalization of the word NFT has caused “a lot of confusion and money” and that this “has generated a sensation as if it were different from the traditional art market.

In any case, its regulation is still little advanced. This is because it is already difficult to create a system that can encompass both cryptocurrencies and NFTs, assets that are already decentralized. To that must be added “a true law of patronage, which is vital”according to Carmona.

Despite this scant regulation and the constant paradox in this area, in which a large part of the regulations conflict with the actual functioning of the ‘blockchain’, both artists consider that digital art offers better security and authenticity options for both creators and artists.

“The connection between the crypto world and NFTs is less than what people think. What must be understood as a revolution is the possibility of verifying a digital file as authentic,” adds Arrés.

BRANDS COMMIT TO DIGITAL ART

Samsung Electronics is one of the brands that has opted for digital art thanks to the first edition of its Digital Art Awards in Spain and Portugal, which includes different artistic disciplines divided into four categories.

These are audiovisual short, digital photography, digital plastic work and Net Art, that is, that category that covers all artistic manifestations created on the web and for it.

For Arrés, this type of initiatives generate “visibility, one of the most important things that any artist needs”. In addition, the artist believes that it is essential that technology firms such as Samsung understand “well the synergies that can occur between brands and digital artists”.

Metapro Academy is another of the companies focused on the crypto world and NFTs, which seeks that students can develop their professional career in the field of marketing, communication and artistic creation.

To do this, it offers three-month bootcamps, which are complemented by another nine months of follow-up and commitment to the ‘micro-learning’ methodology, that is, with training capsules of between five and 15 minutes.