NFTs
Robert Alice’s ‘on NFTs’ is the largest blockchain-based art historical survey
in nfts: a historical catalog of art in the medium
While the buzz around NFTs may have seemingly calmed down along with the volatility and dips in the crypto market, Robert Alice reminds us of the thriving arts scene in his cultural sphere. On NFTs, edited by the London artist and published by Taschen, is the largest art historical survey of blockchain-based art to date. Spanning the entire NFT ecosystem – from algorithmic art to avatars – On NFTs seeks to demystify every facet of this medium that has been shrouded in misconceptions in the contemporary art domain since it established itself nearly a decade ago.
A compilation of ten academic essays by pioneering voices in art and blockchain, including Hans Ulrich Obrist; extensive essays exploring ideas such as Sol LeWitt’s influence on artistic algorithms; Glimpses into the creative processes of names like Beeple and Refik Anadol shape the book. Illustrated profiles of 101 important and emerging artists who have shaped the scene through its highs and lows are authored by expert curators, critics, artists and even AI to present an extensive glossary of terms and a comprehensive exhibition history and timeline of the digital canon of art. Unlikely but thought-provoking connections throughout art history are also traced, placing works by artists such as Rembrandt with CryptoPunk avatars. With this, Alice examines crucial processes, including the use of AI and blockchain as a medium. O book materializes the evolution of its printed virtuality, researching its context in history to contemplate its future: ‘Building bridges with history helps us understand how NFTs fit into the broader art historical narrative and create surprising connections that reshape the context for a broader general public context,’ Roberto Alice tells designboom.
Read our full conversation with Robert Alice, NFT artist and editor of On NFTs, as we discuss his catalog compilation and his views on demystifying the craftsmanship behind digital art, and at the same time begin to distinguish NFT art from the broader crypto financial market. ‘The media did a good job of creating clickbait news that put NFTs and $ in the same headline, but not exploring the deeper meaning of the art being made,’ says the artist.
image courtesy of Taschen
interview with artist and NFT publisher, Robert Alice
designboom (DB): Can you introduce us to your multidisciplinary practice as an artist, writer, editor, curator. How has your career evolved?
Roberto Alice (FROG): I do work that investigates blockchains and their histories, whatever the best means to do so — whether it’s making art, which is my main focus, or curating. I trained as an art historian, so I’ve always been interested in writing, and many of the works I make are text-based. Blockchains at their core are historical machines. In fact, Satoshi originally called them timechains. They are the biggest advance in publishing history since Gutenberg. Being part of a community that has truly exploded onto the global stage has sparked an interest in not just making work, but in telling the broader contextual story that I am fortunate to be a part of as an artist. It’s rare that you can establish a story as it’s being made.
image courtesy of Taschen
DB: With On NFTs, what led you to compile such a comprehensive exploration of the digital art medium and how do you aim to demystify all the various facets of the NFT ecosystem?
AIR: In NFTs it’s really a primary story. It is the first of its kind and joins an art history network that is now online at ever-increasing speed. NFTs are one of the most exciting areas of contemporary art today, they are a divisive, often misunderstood medium that carries a rich history that is largely unknown.
Publishing is the foundation of art history, and blockchain, while always the primary source, is limited only as an economic ledger. It tells you not just who (pseudonym), but what, at what time (down to the second) and at what price (down to the smallest unit of account). But in doing so, the all-important cultural and socio-political history, the context that gives art its soul – this is where books come in.
Publishing is also something that the public and art audiences are comfortable with. If you read it, you had that feeling of diving into a book. NFTs are a fast art and books slow you down. It’s easier to pick up a book and get involved in the subject, than to create a wallet address, buy Ethereum and transact with an NFT contract. Books are a good place to start.
Kevin McCoy, Quantum, 2014 — widely considered to be the first NFT ever created | Image courtesy of the artist
‘building bridges with history’
DB: In cataloging this rich network, On NFTs also traces unlikely connections throughout art history, placing works by artists like Rembrandt with CryptoPunk avatars. How do you see these connections contributing to the discourse around NFTs and their place in contemporary art?
AIR: With new technologies, there is always the initial instinct to see them as a radical break with the past. Today, it is a less conventional narrative to look for ties with the past in order to understand history as a continuum. A lot of time has been spent discussing blockchain and NFTs as a disruptive technology, but in many ways they are more of an old way of doing new things, resurrecting older models like the patron-artist relationship, the idea of the guild as a community structure. .
Building bridges with history helps us understand how NFTs fit into the larger narrative of art history and create surprising connections that reframe the context for a broader general audience.