My Growing Thoughts on NFTs

The year of the ox, the year of the non-fungible token

In March of this year I put out a statement, Waiting for Stakes. I was trying to wrap my head around the technology and value of NFTs, but I was also trying to understand my emotional response to a new wave of technology reaching a broader audience. On paper, this kind of movement should be right up my alley. While I am in full support of seeing emerging artists receive both accolades and patronage, the more I learn about art on the blockchain the more questions I have about this technology and about my own artistic values.

As I wrote at the beginning of the year, “… my way of understanding is through the process of making. At this early stage, I have few takeaways. What I do have is an intention. In the spirit of permanence, do not feel the need to rush. Be open to changing your mind and your process based on new findings and understanding.”

In addition to four NFTs I made and dozens I bought on two different blockchains (Ethereum and Tezos), I have been working with a burgeoning company whose purpose is to provide virtual gallery spaces on the web for collectors to show off the art they have bought. The company is called Cyber and most of the team is based in Morocco. For me, it has been an illuminating experience. My prior work in virtual reality granted me expertise that I can impart to Cyber and the NFT space. In return, this space and community have given me a renewed perspective to share.

In the spirit of sharing during the holidays, I would like to gift you an NFT that I have been working on. This animated GIF (sample pictured above) is a contemporary interpretation of still life paintings. However, instead of painting each image, I have written a program that generates them.

Blockchains add material weight (financial, environmental, and more) to what I spend so much of my creative energy on. They also add ownership and authorship to digital images. This has the potential to add a new kind of relationship to my work. I hope you will join me in this evolution of my practice.

Happy Holidays. To a restorative 2022,

—Jono