{"id":357518,"date":"2021-08-11T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-08-11T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.1stdibs.com\/blogs\/the-study\/?p=357518"},"modified":"2022-02-01T14:27:47","modified_gmt":"2022-02-01T19:27:47","slug":"nft-art","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.1stdibs.com\/blogs\/the-study\/nft-art\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is NFT Art? A Collector\u2019s Guide to Non-Fungible Tokens"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Homesick,
Homesick<\/em>, 2021, by mvhvma<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

If you follow the art<\/a> scene or simply read news headlines, you have likely heard of non-fungible tokens. NFTs have been the talk of the art world, because of their recent explosion on the market. They have generated billions of dollars in sales in 2021 alone \u2014 one example sold at auction in March for $69.3 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With that sort of money at stake, it\u2019s no surprise that long-established auction houses, blue-chip galleries and internationally admired creators from the \u201ctraditional\u201d art world are venturing into the NFT universe. As they revolutionize the way we sell, buy and collect digital art<\/a>, NFTs are sparking spirited discussions about digital scarcity and ownership \u2014 indeed, the very notion of what constitutes an artwork.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As 1stDibs launches its own NFT art platform<\/a> \u2014 with thoughtfully curated auctions premiering every two weeks \u2014 we thought it was time to take a deep dive into the history, technology and philosophical intentions behind this 21st-century art revolution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this guide, we define NFTs, inquire about artists\u2019 thoughts on the NFT landscape and answer commonly asked questions concerning this relatively new category. To place the current movement in a historical context, we also present a digital-art time line and track the recent emergence of cryptoart. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Are NFTs?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Le
Le sorelle Gioconde dell’orbitale 29<\/em>, 2020, by Da\u00efm Aggott-H\u00f6nsch<\/a>, is a speculative digital remix of the Prado Mona Lisa<\/em>, 1503\u201316, by Leonardo da Vinci’s workshop.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

NFT stands for \u201cnon-fungible token.\u201d<\/strong> \u201cNon-fungible\u201d means that the item described is unique and cannot be replicated or subdivided. However, some NFTs are now being fractionalized, which means they can be co-owned by multiple collectors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oil is a fungible asset, because a barrel of crude from Saudi Arabia is equivalent to and can be exchanged for one from Venezuela.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In contrast, oil paintings<\/a> are non-fungible, because they cannot be traded like for like. An NFT is a digital certificate or signature of authenticity, representing a one-of-a-kind digital asset that, like an oil painting, can be bought, sold and collected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Can\u2019t You Simply Duplicate a Digital Image?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

You can make copies of a digital image but not of the NFT. So, if you have an NFT of a JPEG, the image can be replicated, but the unique token cannot. Owning the token is similar to owning a painting: You can make prints or photographs of the work, but only one person possesses the original. That said, owners of NFTs are not allowed to make derivatives of the underlying image, since they don’t own the rights to it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Digital-Art Time Line and the Rise of NFTs<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Although many people have become aware of NFTs for the first time because of the excitement currently surrounding them, the tokens have actually been around for several years. And digital art, of course, has been evolving for decades. Here, we trace the major events in the development of digital art and NFTs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"history<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

How do NFTs Work?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

NFTs are powered by blockchain technology<\/strong>. A blockchain is a secure digital ledger that tracks the transactions involving and ownership of an NFT or a cryptocurrency. Most NFTs are part of the Ethereum blockchain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NFTs are bought and sold in various online marketplaces. Almost all NFT sales platforms accept Ethereum or Bitcoin cryptocurrencies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The magic that makes NFTs possible is, of course, the unfalsifiable and unalterable record of provenance that blockchain technology provides, allowing collectors to verify whether a given work originates from an established cryptoartist’s publicly listed wallet address,” says Hungarian digital artist Da\u00efm Aggott-H\u00f6nsch<\/a>. “Counterintuitively, this makes digital art more verifiable and less prone to successful forging than traditional physical art.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Can Be an NFT?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"CryptoPunks
CryptoPunks are a set of 10,000 pixilated NFT avatars created in 2017 by Matt Hall and John Watkinson, of Larva Labs.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In the art space, NFTs are commonly associated with digital artworks. However, one can technically create, or \u201cmint,\u201d an NFT from anything, from the tangible to the intangible. Some examples include: <\/p>\n\n\n\n