{"id":751110,"date":"2025-11-27T13:07:00","date_gmt":"2025-11-27T10:07:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=751110"},"modified":"2025-11-27T13:07:00","modified_gmt":"2025-11-27T10:07:00","slug":"the-rise-and-fall-and-future-of-digital-art","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=751110","title":{"rendered":"The rise and fall (and future) of digital art"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n

On 11 March 2021, a mysterious buyer who went by the pseudonym Metakovan made history with the purchase of a digital artwork, by the American artist Beeple, for $69.3 million. Many regarded the sale \u2013 which took place at the esteemed Christie\u2019s auction house \u2013 as the high point in a craze for digital art in the first years of the 2020s, spurred on by the mainstreaming of NFTs<\/a>, plus Covid lockdowns and a culture of <\/span>reckless speculation<\/span><\/a>. However, the highs of the digital art market in 2021 only magnified the lows of the crash that followed. And the lows were<\/span> low<\/span><\/em>. Many collectors lost thousands, or even millions, as prices plummeted in 2022. Trades dried up. And by 2023, two years after the Beeple sale, it was <\/span>reported<\/span><\/a> that 95 per cent of NFT collectors were now holding \u201cworthless\u201d investments.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Can we really measure the value of art by sales figures and market activity, though? Should we write off a whole new artistic medium because of one failed experiment \u2013\u00a0even if that one experiment <\/span>was <\/span><\/em>valued at some $617 billion at its peak? Digital art\u2019s pioneers, and their most loyal supporters, aren\u2019t so sure. Take, for example, Vignesh Sundaresan, the technologist and art collector who revealed himself as the man behind the infamous Metakovan moniker. As far as he\u2019s concerned, the NFT bubble (and the damage it caused when it burst) was part of a natural boom and bust cycle that almost any new technology has to go through. \u201cThere is euphoria, then depression,\u201d he says. \u201cPersonally, I think the market crash is fine.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n
On NFTs<\/span><\/div>\n<\/header>\n
\n
\n
\"On<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n
\"On<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n
\"On<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n
\"On<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n
\"On<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n
\"On<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Gallery \/ 8 images<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n

Those who lost their life savings when the value of their cartoon animal jpegs sunk to zero might find fault with Sundaresan\u2019s blas\u00e9 outlook. Then again, it would take a very na\u00efve collector to plunge their funds into an emerging market like NFTs without understanding the risks. \u201cThe idea that somehow a whole new art movement was going to be created, and it wasn\u2019t going to be volatile… of <\/span>course<\/span><\/em> it is,\u201d says Robert Alice, artist and author of 2025\u2019s <\/span>On NFTs<\/span><\/em>. \u201cWe\u2019re still trying to figure this out, in real time. We\u2019re experimenting, and failing, in public, and I think there\u2019s something nice about that.\u201d Even Beeple himself warned about the risky nature of the market when the frenzy was at its highest in 2021, <\/span>telling<\/span><\/a> the <\/span>New York Times<\/span><\/em>: \u201c<\/span>This stuff will absolutely go to zero<\/span>.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n

We\u2019re still trying to figure this out, in real time. We\u2019re experimenting, and failing, in public<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

\n

On NFTs<\/span><\/em>, a 700-page tome published by Taschen,<\/span>is a deep and illuminating survey of the technology from its infancy to the current day, going far beyond viral profile picture (PFP) projects like <\/span>Bored Ape Yacht Club<\/span><\/em><\/a> or art world stunts like Damien Hirst\u2019s <\/span>The Currency<\/span><\/em><\/a>. But Alice\u2019s impact on the digital art world goes much further back, to 2020, when he became the first artist to sell an NFT at a major auction house. It\u2019s fair to say that this helped set the precedent for Sundaresan\u2019s purchase of Beeple\u2019s <\/span>Everydays: The First 5000 Days <\/span><\/em>a few months later, which Alice frames as a pivotal \u2013 and often misconstrued \u2013 moment in the history of digital art. \u201cFor $69 million, Metakovan basically established NFTs on the global stage,\u201d he says. Here, it should be noted that Sundaresan <\/span>has <\/span><\/em>collected at least one work by Alice. And many art critics do tell a different story, arguing that Sundaresan should have paid more attention to the <\/span>actual content<\/span><\/a> of the artwork, or that the sale <\/span>was simply a ruse<\/span><\/a> to pump up his investments in several other Beeple works (tokenised via his crypto fund Metapurse, in which Beeple also <\/span>reportedly<\/span><\/a> held a two per cent stake).<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\"On<\/span><\/span>
On NFTs<\/span>TASCHEN<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n

Sundaresan says he appreciates the scepticism of the digital art world, and he doesn\u2019t appear to be in a hurry to dispel the accusations. In fact, he\u2019s still coming to terms with his own reasons for buying <\/span>Everydays<\/span><\/em>, he tells Dazed in a back room at Padimai, his newly-formed art and tech studio in Singapore. \u201cI didn\u2019t understand art,\u201d he admits, but through his familiarity with blockchain technologies he sensed that the Christie\u2019s sale marked an important moment \u2013\u00a0something in which it was worth forking out an eye-watering sum of money just to be involved, if you take Sundaresan at his word. What he\u2019s done with the artwork since the sale has also been a case of trial-and-error: first, he encouraged anyone to download the image file to enjoy (or not) in the comfort of their own desktop, then he experimented with a virtual exhibition space in the <\/span>metaverse<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Notably, Sundaresan wasn\u2019t interested in hoarding <\/span>Everydays<\/span><\/em> for himself, as was often the case with buyers of NFTs like Bored Apes or Cryptopunks. Incidentally, Alice calls the latter \u201csome of the most important portraits of the 21st century\u201d (for better or for worse). \u201cThe PFP model has radically reengineered our concept of portraiture in art,\u201d he suggests. Sundaresan seems less convinced, saying: \u201cI never involved myself with PFPs, as they were called. Even back then, it didn\u2019t interest me at all.\u201d Instead, he was focused on how blockchain technologies \u2013 the digital infrastructure that NFTs are built upon \u2013 could be used as tools for a new kind of artistic patronage, or to build an archive that could contain the history of digital art. In the end, he says, the hype around <\/span>Everydays <\/span><\/em>became too much, and he decided to take a pause. \u201cIt became too big.\u201d It was also around this time that Sundaresan connected with the Icelandic-Danish artist Olafur Eliasson<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n
Olafur Eliasson, Your view matter, Padimai<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/header>\n
\n
\n
\"Olafur<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n
\"Olafur<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n
\"Olafur<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n
\"Olafur<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Gallery \/ 4 images<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n

At first glance, Sundaresan and Eliasson might seem like a strange pairing. One is seen to represent an art movement whose primary aim was (and still is) to reformulate the dynamics of the art world and do away with its traditional gatekeepers. The other is about as \u2018established\u2019 as it\u2019s possible to get, with his large-scale installation art gracing some of the world\u2019s biggest galleries and public spaces. However, this contrast is part of the appeal, according to Sundaresan. \u201cWe would meet at a point of not being able to understand,\u201d he explains \u2013\u00a0Eliasson was often mystified, by his own admission, by the emerging technologies of the digital art world, while Sundaresan was just beginning to explore the art world as it\u2019s existed for the last few hundred years, including its ideas about ownership and the value of the public commons. He describes their subsequent conversations as a \u201cjourney into the unknown\u201d that culminated in the commissioning of a new virtual reality artwork by Eliasson, <\/span>Your view matter<\/span><\/em>, in 2022.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n

I like paradox… it\u2019s an interesting door into something very curious<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

\n

In <\/span>Your view matter<\/span><\/em> (which also exists as an NFT, naturally) viewers navigate a series of overlaid geometric spaces whose walls shift and distort according to the angle they\u2019re viewed through a VR headset. The concept is based on <\/span>moir\u00e9 patterns \u2013\u00a0the same thing that causes a TV screen to glitch and wobble when viewed through a smartphone lens \u2013\u00a0and these mean that the visuals change upon every visit, with each viewer\u2019s experience proving impossible to repeat. Just like the patterns kicked up by the friction between a TV screen and a phone camera, Eliasson\u2019s virtual environment also changes depending on the hardware used by the viewer: at Padimai, this takes the form of high-tech VR headsets that dangle from the roof, but it\u2019s also <\/span>accessible at home<\/span><\/a> using any devices that you can get your hands on.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\"Olafur<\/span><\/span>
Olafur Eliasson, Your view matter, Padimai Art & Tech Studio<\/span><\/span>\u00a9 2025 Padimai Art & Tech Studio<\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n

\u201cInitially, I understood Olafur as being interested in architecture, and I wanted him to build something in the metaverse,\u201d says Sundaresan. So how did <\/span>Your view matter <\/span><\/em>end up being so dependent on physical space and hardware? Partly, the collector suggests, it\u2019s about preserving the idea of art and gallery-going as a shared \u201csocial ritual\u201d \u2013 Padimai also includes a space for screenings, talks, and discussions to help foster this collective approach to art. But it also stems from a wider sense of confusion about how digital art and NFTs are supposed to be experienced. \u201cDigital art… you don\u2019t know what to do with it,\u201d Sudaresan says. \u201cOK, do I print it out? I\u2019ve seen it, now what?\u201d This is where Eliasson came in. \u201cHe\u2019s empathetic,\u201d says Sundaresan. \u201cHe\u2019s always thinking about the visitor, how you can bring that person into the space and into the artwork.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\"On<\/span><\/span>
Larva Labs, CryptoPunks (06-23-2017 13:50:51)<\/span><\/span>Courtesy of Larva Labs<\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n

Still, doesn\u2019t it seem like a paradox to present digital art in a physical, mediated space? Wasn\u2019t the whole point of the NFT boom in the early 2020s to break down these kinds of barriers to viewing art? Sundaresan smiles. \u201cI like paradox,\u201d he says. Plus, the formula he\u2019s testing out at Padimai is far from the only way to interact with NFTs and the wider sphere of digital art; it\u2019s more of an experiment, he suggests, taking inspiration from the radical and relentless experimentation of the so-called <\/span>cypherpunks<\/span><\/a> who pioneered the private, decentralised internet that today\u2019s crypto enthusiasts hope to wrestle back from Big Tech. Following the lead of this early crypto movement, Sundaresan is also investing in blockchain technologies to run alongside the physical exhibition space, as a way for artists to store and date their archives outside of the privatised digital spaces owned by corporations like Google, Meta, or Microsoft.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n

When you start to understand blockchains more, you understand they\u2019re ultimately not about price mechanisms. They\u2019re basically clocks, timestamping thingss<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Archiving is a core application of blockchains that often goes overlooked in favour of the headline-grabbing \u201cprice goes up, price goes down\u201d narrative, suggests Alice. This might have something to do with the fact that the technology is complex and fairly impenetrable for outsiders, whereas money is relatable (we can all get outraged when tens of millions change hands for a pixellated zombie). But, says Alice, when you start to understand blockchains: \u201cYou understand they\u2019re ultimately not about price mechanisms. They\u2019re basically clocks, timestamping things.\u201d In theory, this means that an artist who works in a digital medium can assemble a dated, verifiable archive of their works in real time. This doesn\u2019t necessarily mean turning every work into an NFT, but that each work <\/span>can <\/span><\/em>be turned into a tradeable token if it proves worthwhile \u2013\u00a0like when a traditional curator finds a hidden gem in an artist\u2019s archive \u2013\u00a0and, because it was already logged on the blockchain, it will retain all of the information about how and when it was created.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If this process feels irrelevant in the wake of the NFT crash and \u201ccrypto winter\u201d of 2022, Alice argues that you\u2019ve got the framing of the technology all wrong. In fact, he doesn\u2019t like the idea of calling it a \u201crise and fall\u201d to begin with, pointing to the<\/span> \u201chuge, resilient community\u201d of collectors, critics, curators, and artists who were working with blockchain-based art years before the multibillion-dollar hype of 2021, and who remain active today, four years after that hype has died down again. \u201cIronically, it\u2019s everybody else that\u2019s interested in these crazy prices, not the people who are actually <\/span>in <\/span><\/em>the space,\u201d he says. And increasingly, that demographic collides with big, institutional art museums like the Pompidou, MoMA, LACMA, and the Whitney, which have all acquired blockchain-based artworks in recent years. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\"On<\/span><\/span>
Beeple, Screen captures documenting the process of REBIRTH, 04-27-2021 22:29:11 (Day #5097 of THE EVERYDAYS, 2007-ongoing) Cinema 4D, Octane Render, Adobe Photoshop Ethereum, 0xdd012153e008346591153fff28b0dd6724f0c256,
\n100030001<\/span><\/span>Courtesy of Beeple<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n

Alice doesn\u2019t see folding NFTs into the traditional art world as a bad thing, necessarily. \u201cOne downside of having a very open, democratic cultural layer is [that] it can quickly feel chaotic,\u201d he says, and there\u2019s an argument to be made in favour of some system for curating or canonising all the work that\u2019s shared via our new technological mediums. That is, the \u201ccultural weighing mechanism\u201d of the free market \u2013 whose main currencies are money and attention \u2013 is all good for deciding the favourite artworks of a given moment in time; it can even expand our sense of who gets <\/em>to call themselves art lovers or collectors. But it might prove less useful when it comes to selecting generationally important or influential artworks, especially if their value doesn\u2019t translate so easily to dollars, crypto, or clicks.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n

It\u2019s a good time to ask: <\/span>why<\/span><\/em> do you want to make NFTs?<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Going back to the Beeple sale, would giant, public-facing galleries be collecting blockchain-based works so enthusiastically if someone hadn\u2019t paid $69 million for his NFT in 2021 (regardless of their motives)? Maybe not, and as a result there might be much less energy \u2013 positive <\/span>or <\/span><\/em>negative \u2013 around these conversations about a different way to make, archive, collect and curate art. \u201cI think it created a continued, deep discourse,\u201d Sundaresan says, with plenty of room for diverse opinions and disagreements. And if the hype and crash carved out this space, he adds, its aftermath offers a more stable arena for deciding what the future of the movement might look like, where people\u2019s eyes are clouded by dollar signs. \u201cIt\u2019s a good time to ask: <\/span>why<\/span><\/em> do you want to make NFTs?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

This doesn\u2019t mean that today\u2019s digital art world is without significant risks. While speculation is still rife across some parts of the internet, there\u2019s also a very real concern that the solidification of the blockchain and other artistic tools only serves to establish a new hierarchy. How do we avoid the exploitation of artists, collectors, and art fans by those holding the reins to these new technologies, having learned the hard way that previous tech \u2013\u00a0like social media \u2013\u00a0wasn\u2019t quite as emancipatory as it first seemed? \u201cIt\u2019s a very important question,\u201d says Sundaresan. For him, it all goes back to the philosophy of the cypherpunk movement, which resisted the desire to make the most its \u2018first-mover advantage\u2019, capitalise on a gold rush, and use its gains to dictate what the future should look like. Instead, he suggests, the digital art world needs to stay on the attack. \u201cYou have to be constantly rebellious.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Your view matter<\/a> by Olafur Eliasson is presented at Padimai Art & Tech Studio from November 20 to the end of March 2026. Entry is free.<\/em><\/p>\n

On NFTs<\/a> is published by TASCHEN.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Source URL: https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/art-photography\/article\/69152\/1\/rise-fall-future-digital-art-metakovan-olafur-eliasson-robert-alice-nfts<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On 11 March 2021, a mysterious buyer who went by the pseudonym Metakovan made history with the purchase of a digital artwork, by the American artist Beeple, for $69.3 million. Many regarded the sale \u2013 which took place at the esteemed Christie\u2019s auction house \u2013 as the high point in a craze for digital art […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":751111,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[76],"class_list":["post-751110","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics","tag-dazeddigital-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/751110","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=751110"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/751110\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/751111"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=751110"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=751110"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=751110"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}