Score an invite to an A-list gallery event or the opening of a well-anticipated exhibit, and your first thought might not be about the art, but about who will be in attendance. Why? Because art consumption has long been thought of as an upper-class endeavor – much like attending the opera or ballet. In fact, this notion is so engrained that the National Endowment for the Arts nearly had their funding pulled by the House Budget Committee because its programs were believed to be “generally enjoyed by people of higher-income levels” (Mallonee, 2021). It is understandable then that the keepers of the gate, including art dealers, curators and collectors, are shaking in their Gucci loafers as the rise of mass media has threatened “high culture” art with “mass culture” NFT (nonfungible token) art. As culture critic Dwight Macdonald noted, traditional culture is “high culture’ – that is chronicled in the textbooks” and desired by the elite and upper classes (1953). While fine art has traditionally been included in this definition, the upper class has not so easily accepted NFT art, finding it to be of low culture. Nevertheless, the rise in popularity of digital art NFTs is indeed changing the art world landscape.
The origin of the NFT can be traced to digital artist Kevin McCoy who created and minted the pixelated image “Quantum” in 2014; however, CryptoArt gained mass popularity in 2017 with the notoriety of CryptoPunks - unique characters minted and generated on the Ethereum blockchain which supports NFTs (Steinwold, 2021). These cultural phenoms grew from the strength of viral networking and the digital art NFT market exploded as a result – changing how fine art is collected.
Historically, the art world has been dominated by two groups – the artists and the wealthy collectors of their work. However, through NFTs that are minted and maintained on decentralized platforms, the goal was to create more equitable economic opportunities for both artists and buyers (Chow, 2021). This crossover is a potentially huge win for NFT artists who can now reach a broader (mass) audience and participate in secondary sales, capturing appreciation and value through royalty payments. (Steinwold, 2021).
Surprisingly, it did not take long for NFTs to become part of popular culture – complete with celebrity launches. From rappers Snoop Dogg and Eminem to influencers Cara Delevingne and Paris Hilton, celebrities want it on the craze – only serving to further fuel the popularity of NFT art (Salmi, 2021). Arguably, we are on our way to becoming a postmodern culture that does not recognize the distinction between high and popular culture in the art arena (Storey, 2015).
In his critique of mass or popular culture, Herbert Gans argued, in part, that “popular culture borrows from high culture, thus debasing it, and also lures away many potential creators of high culture, thus depleting its reservoir of talent” (1999). NFTs – like traditional art – vary in style and content and indeed borrow from high culture And, creators of high art have also created NFT art, perhaps luring them from traditional endeavors. However, whether this borrowing debases high culture is debatable and artists who enter the NFT arena are certainly free to “move“ between mediums.
From traditional one-of-a-kind artwork, to trading cards, or to GIF-animated artwork, how artists express themselves digitally is ever evolving and unlimited. A prime example: NFT artist Beeple. Beeple may not be as well-known as Monet or Picasso, but his digital collage of images was recently auctioned off by Christie’s for $69.3 million – making NFTs both a medium of high art, despite the disdain of the high-brow art world, and one of mass culture (Chow, 2021). Art critics may debate the value of digital art, but one thing is almost certain, the worlds of high art and crypto currency are now one. Despite its mass culture appeal, NFT are no longer operating at the margin – but are at the center of the high-value art scene.
While the high culture artifact has evolved to appeal to mass culture, the value that has suddenly been placed on NFTs may eventually breed another “high culture” sphere, as only the wealthy may someday be able to afford the original content and “bragging rights” that come with ownership. Perhaps then, it is true that as the gatekeepers of high art rush to defend “the last bastion of expression that hasn’t been exploited,” the NFT culture might be how the “last bastion maintains its elite status for generations to come” (Thurman, 2021).
As the Beeple auction demonstrates, wealth is still a force in the NFT art sphere and white males still dominate the crypto space. However, the move of art collecting to an online platform also brings the potential to open the proverbial door for more and diverse artists, some of whom may have never sold their work. While women and people of color have reportedly “hit familiar walls” there is a greater opportunity for change on this platform (Chow, 2021).
While some may dismiss the value of NFTs, it is important to dissect the mass appeal of a “thing” in the context of its “social value, influence and ideology” (Ziesler, 2008). As digital images continue to crossover from canvas to blockchain, everyday buyers will have the opportunity to lay claim to an art domain once occupied only by high culture collectors. And, artists and creators, previously unknown, will have the opportunity to expand upon the collaborative and inclusive goals of the endeavor by welcoming change in what has quickly become a mass market artifact. One only hopes, the goals to achieve balance and equitable economics will guide this movement as NFTs continue to move art from elite to mainstream culture.
References
Chow, A. (2021, October 15). As the NFT market explodes again, artists fend off Old Art-world power structures. Time.com. Retrieved November 28, 2021, from https://time.com/6106679/nft-art-rise/.
Gans, H. J. (1974). The Critique of Mass Culture - Postcript. In Popular culture and high culture (pp. 29–88). essay, Basic.
MacDonald, D. (1953). Chapter 4 a theory of mass culture. Dwight Macdonald on Culture, 1(3), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.3726/978-3-653-02428-9/8
Mallonee, L. C. (2015, September 17). Education, not wealth or class, matters most when it comes to making art. Hyperallergic. Retrieved November 28, 2021, from https://hyperallergic.com/237539/education-not-wealth-or-class-matters-most-when-it-comes-to-making-art/.
Salmi, N. (2021, May 24). 13 celebrities who have joined the crypto art craze - nfts Paris hilton Emily Ratajkowski. L'Officiel USA. Retrieved November 28, 2021, from https://www.lofficielusa.com/pop-culture/celebrities-on-the-crypto-art-craze.
Steinwold, A. (2019, October 7). The history of non-fungible tokens (nfts). Medium. Retrieved November 28, 2021, from https://medium.com/@Andrew.Steinwold/the-history-of-non-fungible-tokens-nfts-f362ca57ae10.
Storey, J. (2015). What is popular culture? Cultural Theory and Popular Culture, 17–33. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315744148-7
Thurman, A. (2021, March 11). Storming the 'last bastion': Angst and anger as NFTs claim high-culture status. Retrieved November 28, 2021, from https://cointelegraph.com/magazine/2021/03/11/storming-the-last-bastion-angst-and-anger-as-nfts-claim-high-culture-status.
Zeisler, A. (2008). Pop And Circumstance: Why Pop Culture Matters. In Feminism and pop culture. essay, Seal Press.
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