Thursday 3 June 2021

non-fungible intangibles

As Futility Closet relates, artist Salvatore Garau has auctioned off his invisible sculpture (entitled I Am—Io Sono) for a rather princely sum, recalling the works of Yves Klein and other more contemporary phenomena. According to the sculptor’s instructions, the piece is to be be displayed free from any obstruction in a one and half square metre space. Because the object is immaterial and does not exist, however, there are no special lighting or climate-control requirements.

Wednesday 26 May 2021

zones of immaterial pictorial sensibility

Via Super Punch and vis-ร -vis the enthrallment and repulsion that the markets are experiencing for tokens—fungible or otherwise—we really enjoyed learning about these performative pieces from Nouveau rรฉalisme artist and judo master Yves Klein (*1928 - †1962) called Zone de Sensibilitรฉ Picturale Immatรฉrielle, who wanted his patrons to experience the void, offering vacant spaces in exchange for gold. The buyer received a certificate of ownership. Eight such invisible works were sold, some with elaborate rituals including throwing the gold in the Seine and burning the bill-of-sale.

Wednesday 12 May 2021

merriam-webster defines…


In a very meta move with proceeds going to an international charity dedicated to improving and expanding access to education, Merriam-Webster is auctioning off its helpful, edifying definition of an NFT (Non-fungible token, previously) as an NFT. The dictionary definition is: a unique digital identifier that cannot be copied, substituted, or subdivided, that is recorded in a blockchain, and that is used to certify authenticity and ownership (as of a specific digital asset and specific rights relating to it). More at the links above.

Sunday 9 May 2021

jpeg image, 512x512 pixels

Via Boing Boing, we are afforded a very exclusive peek in a very elite gallery with a inimitable exhibition which you and you (most likely) alone get to experience with This Art Work Does Not Exist—see previously here, here, here and here—created spontaneously through an artificial intelligence using a generative adversarial network. Refresh the screen to get another one-of-a-kind—quite unique but in a different way than a non-fungible token—piece of art, once again begging the question what it means to copy, up-sample, create and own the creative process.

Saturday 13 March 2021

8x8

zaouli: a traditional dance of the of the Guro people of central Cรดte d’Ivoire 

line-dry only: experimental living apparel sequesters carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and produces oxygen  

everydays—the first five-thousand days: the digital artist better known as Beeple sold an artwork as a non-fungible token (previously) for nearly seventy million dollars at auction, more here  

: Lou Ottens, the inventor of the cassette, passes away, aged ninety-four 

 upward mobility: theory that Flintstones and Jetsons take place simultaneously with an elite technocracy and a post-apocalyptic underclass—see also  

ikebana: a vintage guide to the art of Japanese flower arranging, previously  

life finds a way: using parallel processing and stochastic algorithms, one programmer generates Mona Lisa from John Horton Conway’s game  

personรฆ: short documentary Beyond Noh filters through thousands of colourful and evocative ceremonial masks from cultures around the world

Saturday 20 February 2021

nyan cat

In anticipation of the wholesome meme’s tenth birthday in April, the animator behind the original gif file, put a newly re-mastered version up for auction. It sold for the equivalent of over half-a-million dollars—or rather three hundred Ether (ETH) on a crypto art platform  As oxymoronical as it may sound, this sale represents part of a trend in high valuation for rare digital works of art with these one-of-a-kind pieces backed up by what are called “non-fungible tokens” (NFTs) that are allocated for unique assets.

Friday 5 February 2021

tulipenmanie

The market bubble peaking, according to available records and sales ledgers, on this day in 1637 before bursting, rampant speculation (see also) and deviation from intrinsic value, with single flower bulbs selling for what a skilled artisan or trader could expect to earn in a decade in his trade drove the Dutch Tulip Craze, generally understood as the first stock market crash. With a newly liberated—no longer the Spanish Netherlands—and wealthy populace captivated by an import from the Ottoman Empire that could be cultivated and coveted unlike any other flower endemic to Europe, increased demand attracted as many professional brokers as tulip fanciers to the marketplace, complete with abstractions including short-selling and futures contracts. Once the bottom finally fell out of the trade amid distress and recrimination, those left holding flowers and bulbs in the end were left with little recourse as no court was willing to enforce the terms of a contract, declaring the debts incurred through gambling and not subject to commercial law.