Are NFTs Destroying Art? Artists Weigh In

[{"selector":"#anim-030d182b-6e6d-4673-8b82-181df238f076","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":300,"duration":2500,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-b925b0d9-39b2-4f1d-91ce-77ee54444417","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(-103.15789%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":300,"duration":2500,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-618c7752-fe75-4c87-881b-f4d961760fff [data-leaf-element=\"true\"]","keyframes":{"transform":["translate(0%, 0%) scale(1)","translate(0%, 0%) scale(1)"]},"delay":0,"duration":3500,"easing":"cubic-bezier(.3,0,.55,1)","fill":"forwards"}] Learn more

NFTs, or Non-Fungible Tokens, are the hottest thing to hit the art world since the advent of photography. There were over 11 million NFT sales in 2021, and 2022 is shaping up to be even hotter, with over two million sales in January alone.

[{"selector":"#anim-0d63b4b8-afb6-41c6-82a6-584433e68d63 [data-leaf-element=\"true\"]","keyframes":{"transform":["translate(0%, 0%) scale(1)","translate(0%, 0%) scale(1)"]},"delay":0,"duration":5000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(.3,0,.55,1)","fill":"forwards"}] [{"selector":"#anim-819d1d6a-2fb3-49c2-8fb7-de0ed87270f0","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":100,"duration":1000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-bbf683a6-f13a-47c9-bf81-2a08de72be84","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(132.80000%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":100,"duration":1000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] Learn more

However, these sales numbers don’t tell the whole story. NFTs pose unique challenges, including questionable copyright laws, and moral implications.

[{"selector":"#anim-386c6f90-0232-4436-b6f9-4d903ea35d41 [data-leaf-element=\"true\"]","keyframes":{"transform":["translate(0%, 0%) scale(1)","translate(0%, 0%) scale(1)"]},"delay":0,"duration":5000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(.3,0,.55,1)","fill":"forwards"}] [{"selector":"#anim-a9ff3da8-fd61-48cd-a44a-0f1d8996e40a","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":100,"duration":1000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-efa15ca6-d4ca-4c68-b1e9-677a38f6ff02","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(135.34482%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":100,"duration":1000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] Learn more

Although many artists have embraced the new technology, others have legitimate doubts.

[{"selector":"#anim-0eda428a-858c-4b74-ae1d-e9621207bb33 [data-leaf-element=\"true\"]","keyframes":{"transform":["translate(0%, 0%) scale(1)","translate(0%, 0%) scale(1)"]},"delay":0,"duration":5000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(.3,0,.55,1)","fill":"forwards"}] [{"selector":"#anim-694d1aa1-eb76-44e7-818b-a881e16a6280","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":100,"duration":1000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-ab6ba69d-1353-4464-8d03-221995716513","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(135.34482%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":100,"duration":1000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] Learn more

Lemon Johnson is a hobby artist who mainly worked with oils and acrylics before dabbling in NFTs.

[{"selector":"#anim-929cb9a7-defa-4f92-a2b3-79866dc628c4","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":200,"duration":2500,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-222174ae-a6a3-4470-a590-ed22d603f1be","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":200,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-e600698c-2951-4d73-a20e-b642f2799c55","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(-99.17808%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":200,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] Learn more

Thus far, Lemon has made nearly $15K with his limited edition NFT offerings.

[{"selector":"#anim-05fc0161-d321-48fd-b1e7-b3acd7fa6b52","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":200,"duration":2500,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-bc88de05-cda5-45cc-b613-85c72c9e2a7a","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":200,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-22a6b857-245a-415b-b3d6-04fee2966af2","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(-99.17808%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":200,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] Learn more

Professional artist Rodrigo Mendez offers NFTs as a bonus to clients who buy a physical painting.

[{"selector":"#anim-49078a99-d773-463a-8fd4-50e4df4cbeb2","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":200,"duration":2500,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-a3290ff0-c2a7-423b-bca5-5dd8dff0c265","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":200,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-c88205df-167a-459d-9f35-81cbecf0fb78","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(-99.17808%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":200,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] Learn more

Not all artists have jumped aboard the NFT train. Many are concerned about copyright infringement, sustainability, and the morality of the NFT marketplace.

[{"selector":"#anim-d91f5833-1592-44d0-84e1-86206a0ea55f","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":200,"duration":2500,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-a1555f42-f41a-4142-bbf8-19124c3d4d3e","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":200,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-a0afff1b-04ba-49b4-9e04-5b740b809a18","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(99.17809%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":200,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] Learn more

“Minting, selling, and re-selling a single NFT has a stupid big carbon footprint. There are always promises from crypto types that they’re going to make this process less wasteful, but it’s not happening very quickly.”

[{"selector":"#anim-3e5f4e93-8942-4686-8c04-47e730370b0e","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":200,"duration":2500,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-8dac54ad-6d3a-4003-9669-db9e5f2df822","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":200,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-0ccd2e9a-28cc-449a-b90e-3fe3ce13900d","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(99.17809%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":200,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] Learn more

SWIPE UP FOR MORE!

[{"selector":"#anim-be3ae984-8de5-432e-897d-92debe049acb","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":1000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-0d3970f6-7584-4b37-8f29-441f3e93e50b","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, 320.61897%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":1000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] Learn more

More Stories

[{"selector":"#anim-730e2ed3-85d5-4a28-8317-a1f07b5585fb","keyframes":[{"transform":"scale(1)","offset":0},{"transform":"scale(1.05)","offset":0.33},{"transform":"scale(0.995)","offset":0.66},{"transform":"scale(1)","offset":1}],"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"ease-in-out","fill":"both","iterations":3}] [{"selector":"#anim-2894888f-7685-4d89-b57c-8b0ce926ad05","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(-255.31915%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":550,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-7db26cb4-ffcc-4b4b-8597-28acfef47b9b","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":550,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-199af2c0-fb44-495c-b223-0605e2bb6297","keyframes":{"transform":["scale(0.15)","scale(1)"]},"delay":550,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"forwards"}] [{"selector":"#anim-f2c6696c-13de-49e3-94ff-c5e2c2f5d25d","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(-100%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":500,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-173f7086-fdd7-4a01-b61f-b02acbc78cc9","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":500,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-1478e5c5-13d0-413a-bbb2-08457116f32e","keyframes":{"transform":["scale(0.15)","scale(1)"]},"delay":500,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"forwards"}] [{"selector":"#anim-b245d69e-b00d-4e6e-8000-f827dcf2a54c","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(-100%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":700,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-5f66e23c-0a5b-48b8-8c97-2244c8f6bc5c","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":700,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-82e96058-e6b3-41ba-8426-787d4541c023","keyframes":{"transform":["scale(0.15)","scale(1)"]},"delay":700,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"forwards"}] [{"selector":"#anim-608a4ea6-432d-43c6-a9f1-123c46b82fa3","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(-253.52112%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":550,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-051ed3f2-b423-4ad1-b310-5886cbd8ebfb","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":550,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-0fbf1076-79fd-4b23-af2d-58e26605c0ea","keyframes":{"transform":["scale(0.15)","scale(1)"]},"delay":550,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"forwards"}]

Are NFTs Destroying Art? Artists Weigh In

NFTs, or Non-Fungible Tokens, are the hottest thing to hit the art world since the advent of photography. There were over 11 million NFT sales in 2021, and 2022 is shaping up to be even hotter, with over two million sales in January alone.

However, these sales numbers don’t tell the whole story. NFTs pose unique challenges, including questionable copyright laws, and moral implications.

Although many artists have embraced the new technology, others have legitimate doubts.

Lemon Johnson is a hobby artist who mainly worked with oils and acrylics before dabbling in NFTs.

Hobby Artists Cash In

Thus far, Lemon has made nearly $15K with his limited edition NFT offerings.

Hobby Artists Cash In

Professional artist Rodrigo Mendez offers NFTs as a bonus to clients who buy a physical painting.

Professional Artists Use NFTs

Not all artists have jumped aboard the NFT train. Many are concerned about copyright infringement, sustainability, and the morality of the NFT marketplace.

Not all Artists Onboard

“Minting, selling, and re-selling a single NFT has a stupid big carbon footprint. There are always promises from crypto types that they’re going to make this process less wasteful, but it’s not happening very quickly.”

Environmental Impact

SWIPE UP FOR MORE!

More Stories

The Most Famous Painters of All Time

Getting Married? Save Money with Wedding Dress Rental