CryptoArt on the ZKM Cube
April 7 – June 6, 2021, daily 9am-11pm
Since 2014, it has been possible to certify digital images with the help of blockchain technology and in this way produce unique items, so-called NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens). But only since this year, after a number of digitally certified images were sold for several million dollars, has a broader public taken notice of this development.
The ZKM already acquired a number of NFTs in 2018 and is now showing a selection of works from its own NFT collection as well as from private lenders on the cube screen.
View gallery HERE.
Blockchain technology – originally developed to create a digital equivalent to cash using cryptographic processes – is changing the economics of digital art. Digital works that can be copied infinitely at any time can now be transformed into unique pieces or limited series. The logic of scarcity and the rules of the traditional art market are transferred to the digital world. Beyond that, however, technology also opens up new possibilities. So-called »smart contracts« embedded in the blockchain can, for example, ensure that artists automatically receive a certain percentage of the sales price on their cryptocurrency account every time one of their works is resold. Because every piece of information in the blockchain is authenticated decentrally by thousands of computers, all transactions are transparent and unchangeable.
Source & Credits: https://zkm.de/en/exhibition/2021/04/cryptoart