Although art is undoubtedly one of the most powerful use cases for NFT, given that traditional art institutions and even Wikipedia authorities are constantly weakening the connection between NFT and art, it is necessary for us to think carefully about the reasons behind it.
I'm not saying that the usual criticisms of NFTs have any merit - we all know the "right click to save" claim is bogus.
But there’s a lot more than “crypto art” we need to know about the emerging blockchain-based innovations in the NFT space.
Creators of all types are using NFTs to store, share and distribute their unique intellectual property (IP). In addition to artists, scientists, health care experts, game developers, etc. are also using NFT.
NFT is a technology, and art is a use case of NFT. Everyone must clarify the difference between them. Of course, this will also help the public to broaden the horizons of Web3 and allow more people from all walks of life to join the blockchain.
The difference between art and NFT
From our understanding, fine art, PFP, photography, and various other forms of visual NFTs are all "art" in the NFT field.
There is no doubt that "art" NFTs are the most popular and profitable in the NFT market, as art remains the NFT use case that garners media attention through staggering sales figures.
However, as mentioned earlier, art is just one use case for NFTs , and there is a fundamental misunderstanding about it.
Art exists independently of NFTs, whether or not artists mint their work as NFTs. If one day the art disappears entirely — which has happened before — the NFT will still be preserved intact on the blockchain.
Therefore, art and NFT are completely different. Even in terms of digital art, there is a distinction between tokens and media.
Therefore, we can think of NFT as a combination of tokens and media.
Simply put, NFT is a blockchain token that is presented in the form of an audition through media files. It can be a still image, a GIF, a video, a song, a PDF...
You must have heard of Boring Ape, right? It is actually a combination of a token and a picture of a cartoon ape. Although it may appear that the token and its media file are integrated, they are actually two completely different parts.
The tokens themselves live on the blockchain, while the media files live elsewhere. Media files are easily corrupted compared to tokens. This means that media files may disappear, leaving only the tokens.
The working principle of NFT is this: the token is stored on the blockchain and cannot be changed, but its digital image file is usually passed through a file system like the Interstellar File System (IPFS for short, IPFS is a peer-to-peer distributed file system, it tries to Connected to the same file system for all computing devices) such as distributed storage network storage (these systems are created for storing and accessing files, websites, applications and data).
The nature of file systems like IPFS is somewhere between centralized and peer-to-peer, and they allow users to easily access digitally stored files.
But file storage isn't free: if users don't pay, then someone else has to pay.
Just like webmasters have to pay to store websites and media files on their servers, NFT platforms have to pay to store jpeg files using IPFS.
This means that NFT collectors are actually relying on the marketplace to pay for storage — to ensure that media files don’t disappear.
All of which is to say that NFTs are fundamentally a token and a technology, and that art — and the expression of human creativity — exists independently of the technology. The same is true for game NFT, music NFT, literature NFT, etc.
Although blockchain technology continues to upgrade, at present, NFT tokens and its media files are two different things.
The importance of distinguishing between art and NFTs
Some people may say that there is only a semantic difference between art and NFT. Compared with the grand concept of encrypted art, the difference in storage method is actually not important.
But I have to say that unlike other forms of art, NFT has a fatal flaw-a famous painting or an outstanding digital artwork is difficult to destroy or steal, but NFT media files may cease to exist due to negligence .
Change is clearly necessary, as even NFT creators like Jason Bailey have been outspoken about the issue.
He once posted a tweet on February 22, 2022, saying, "I am afraid that off-chain assets (images, data, etc.) will disappear. To this end, I have established a company (ClubNFT) to help solve this problem."
In order to convince everyone that NFT is a trustworthy technology, or to make practitioners in the traditional art industry recognize NFT, NFT must achieve permanence in more ways than just providing a symbolic token ID.
We know that the NFT ecosystem is at the intersection of technology, finance and art.
Specifically, NFT is a product of blockchain technology. As blockchain-based assets, they are often represented through art (or games, movies, songs, etc.) and are valued for having financial (and cultural) value.
Because the artistic and economic value displayed by NFT is more attractive, many people ignore the importance of technology in it.
And it is technology that has allowed art titans like Damian Hirst and Tom Sachs, as well as market leaders like XCOPY and Beeple, to truly thrive.
Of course, NFTs as a whole are more than just money, art, and other traits and buzzwords that make them appear in mainstream media.
But for the continued development of the blockchain-powered Web3, it is necessary to correct the misconception that NFTs are confused with art.