Digital world

As we know the World Wide Web was created by Tim Berners-Lee, a British scientist, in 1989, while working at CERN. Originally conceived and developed to meet the demand for automated information-sharing between scientists in universities and institutes around the world, it is now a huge network of online content from technical information to mems of cats. Its technology and reach improve every day, with many different artificial worlds meeting on the web. This digital world has even its own currency: cryptocurrency. It is more and more used, from gaming to fashion via artwork. For instance, we have been buying music digitally we have been playing games digitally and now we can buy art digitally using digital currency. NFT are a way to support your favourite artists and you can even speculate on it. Learn more in Digital World.

The internet is today a way for artists to reach a wider public and digital tools are a new way to create and innovate. Nowadays it is easy for an artist to create and then sell work in a fully digital way through NFT. There is so much talk of NFT with artists and also fashion brands creating assets, but what really are they? and how do they work? and who is making them?

NFT means Non Fungible Tokens. It is like a digital ID. One NFT is linked to one digital content, for example, a work of art. If you buy the NFT linked to a piece, you own the unique NFT link to it. Therefore, it is based on the notion of rarity.

In fact, each NFT is registered in a database called a blockchain which guarantees the NFT to be unique and not reproducible. To buy NFT you need a digital wallet to stock your ‘Ethereum’: the digital money needed to buy NFT.

However, why would you buy NFT? For the buyer, the NFT represents ‘virtual capital’. It can be sold for a higher price later regarding speculation or it can serve a personal goal. (unlock objects or skins in games, collection cards, etc)

For the seller, his NFT means an amount of crypto money (Ethereum) that he can sell whenever he wants. After that, there are several ways to convert your crypto money into real money. (Peer-to-peer, shopping platforms, cryptographic bankcards, etc)

This kind of identification is really interesting for the creator of the piece identified with an NFT. For an artist, they create a digital work of art and ask for a unique NFT for the piece on the blockchain (the database). Somebody can buy this NFT and this person will own the digital piece. However, the artist can also ask for a commission each time a trade is done with the piece.

Why is it so trendy in 2021? Because we use more and more digital tools to create Art. On the internet, everybody can see your work but that also means that everybody can steal your work without asking you, even if it is illegal.

These tokens are a way to respond to this problem. It permits the art to continue to circulate but the property of this art is only to the one who has the NFT corresponding to this work.

For instance, Atari, a french videogame company, collaborated with RTFKT creation studios to create pairs of baskets, more precisely digital sneakers. One has been sold for 18,000 dollars. These pairs can be used in some Atari games, it can even be tried on Snapchat to see what it would look like if you had a real pair.

Finally, NFT is also a way for artists to stand out from the crowd, it is innovative and original. One of these outstanding artists is Aitor Throup. One of the most innovative names in fashion-art, he is an artist, designer and creative director. He worked as the creative director of G Star Raw until 2018 and he’s also known for all his successful partnerships. His work is in general inspired by the movement and the human body.

Aitor’s sculpture for May 7th release

On Friday 7th May he launched an exclusive genesis NFT collection of digital sculptures via Nifty Gateway. It is the first official release of his new design concept: Anatomyland. It covers the themes of mental health, inequality and higher consciousness; under the form of digital sculptures.

Furthermore, Gucci also captured the importance of the digital market. In 2021 they launched their digital sneakers. Between $9 and $12, you could afford these colourful sneakers made in collaboration with Wanna, a Belarussian Studio. For those interested in this digital art, it is available on Gucci’s app and you can try your pair on Snapchat and Instagram cameras.

Image credit, Gucci Instagram.

Aitor and Gucci are not the only ones who use NFT to celebrate art. Havaianas collaborated with Adhemas Batista, a Brazilian artist to create happiness inspired art pieces. Their first NFT drop will be released on May 12th through foundation.app/Havaianas. Part of the proceeds from the auction will benefit an open-air museum, the Favela Galeria Project, located in Sao Paulo, Brasil.

Havaianas x Adhemas Batista

Another 3D NFT artist has made a new contribution to the NFT’s world. Andre Oshea, an NFT artist, and Black NFT Art, a media brand and creative agency, announced the creation of A Young Boy’s Dream piece, a revision of Tribute: Chadwick of Gold. It will be auctioned on MakersPlace from the 14th-16th but, what makes this work different from others? This NFT action will support The Colon Cancer Foundation by giving it 50% of the auction proceeds.

Finally, when you know that the first tweet of Jack Dorsey, Twitter CEO, was sold 2,9 million dollars, why not try these NFT by yourself? Create, buy or sell, you choose. The digital world opens its doors to you!

In case you are interested in buying digital art, here is the nifty gateway website.

You can find Anatomyland website here and Aitor Throup Instagram here.

If you enjoyed reading Digital World you could read Trip The Light.