Ever since the rise of awareness of NFTs (Non-fungible token) there has been an ongoing question of what the future of art and art ownership will be. NFT’s are essentially a way of owning a digital asset and a way of verifying ownership via a database often called the “blockchain”. In theory, this is part of the future democratization of art, but this leads only to the further bastardization of art.  

Bored Apes fill the screen of anyone online today, they have become the most popular NFT of all time. These apes are created through a series of random mixing of traits imposed onto a base ape, an AI-generated art piece to create low-cost images. This brings into question what is the future of art with NFT’s? I believe it to be a future of lower quality creativity and further privatization of art appreciation. 

When talking about the privatization of art a notable example is Basquiat’s “Equals Pi” a piece bought by Jay-Z that remained hidden to the public until it appeared in an ad for Tiffany in 2021. This comes at odds with the “new” democratization of art. The public had no opportunity to enjoy the piece until it became an item for further money-making and this is the path of NFT’s. 

The main idea currently of NFT’s is to get in early to increase return on investment, however, this is at odds with the idea of democratization of art. The opportunity to obtain an NFT has been relegated to an inflated cost as day traders buying low and selling high.  

This brings the question back to what is the future of art with NFT’s? Why would a skilled artist spend the time to produce works of art that take days to make only for it to be overshadowed by computed generated cats, apes, and lions. If we continue to allow artistic exploiters to reign over quality work, we will inevitably reach a point where AI-generated art fills our screens, we will lose the human touch. 

There still is an opportunity to shift this thinking about art and the mass production of art. First, don’t give in to the hype, NFT’s are a speculative market you are forever at odds with day traders and rich investors. Second, acknowledge artists whose work has been overshadowed by low effort work. Third, be aware that great art is still being created just because mass-produced art is popular now; with care from consumers, this destructive culture can be slowed.