NFT art offers new opportunities for creativity
The tradition paints the life of the artist as a story of obsessive creativity, challenge and fleeting success. Living week-to-week with a bootstrapping mentality can only take one so far, and with the specter of conformity looming large, many simply run out of steam.
However, in 2022 this seems to be changing and the possibilities for creatives are developing at a significant pace, according to crypto artist Trevor Jones. The digital art space captivates audiences, and the explosion of NFTs over the past two years means new avenues for creativity and potential revenue streams are emerging.
Talking to DIGITSsays Jones that he believes the NFT art space has the potential to be a “great equalizer” for a new wave of up-and-coming artists and creatives, and that the global NFT art community bears all the hallmarks of the thriving art ecosystems of old.
“To use an analogy, it’s like Paris in the late 19th century, where you had some of the greatest writers, poets, musicians and artists all interacting,” he says. “That melting pot of talent and ideas made it wonderful and exciting. And I’d say that’s almost what’s happening here.
“You have people from all kinds of backgrounds involved in the NFT art space. You have creatives, technologists, entrepreneurs and even athletes, influencers and celebrities. All kinds of people. It’s amazing.”
Down the crypto rabbit hole
Jones comes from an art background, having returned to education in his thirties to study at Edinburgh College of Art. Jones emerged into the art world full of ideas, and found himself struggling to make ends meet like many of his peers. But seeing the potential of combining technology and art led him down new paths of creative expression.
His 2015 project, #EdinburghHacked, saw him gain widespread attention by hijacking paintings in the National Gallery of Scotland using augmented reality. This kind of work, which sits at the increasingly blurred intersection between art and technology, is an area that Jones is extremely passionate about.
“I was constantly trying to find ways to incorporate technology into my art, but also raise awareness of how technology can impact, influence or even enhance art,” he says.
Jones admits that this project was a “last ditch effort” to try to draw attention to his work that combines technology and art. But it seems to have worked.
A later exhibition in 2016, entitled ‘Would I Lie to You: The Art of Politics and Propaganda‘ with portraits of world leaders using AR was a marked success. And it was from here that the journey to NFT art stardom began.
“After this exhibition, for the first time ever, I had some money to invest. Like most artists, I really lived week to week, but when I was looking at potential investments, I stumbled upon Bitcoin. And that’s when I fell down the rabbit hole.”
The world of crypto art
Investing in Bitcoin in 2017 and “getting destroyed” in 2018, as he puts it, was a difficult learning curve. But he quickly discovered that the crypto space was a dynamic, thriving ecosystem full of potential. Especially for artists like himself.
It was during a trip to Coinfest in Manchester in 2019 that his eyes were really opened to the possibilities that crypto and NFT art offered – even for someone with an art background. Engaging and collaborating with what he describes as a “transformative” community convinced him that NFTs could indeed usher in an exciting, revolutionary new era in the arts.
“At first I thought this was not for me. It makes no sense, he says. “I didn’t know how I would fit in as a traditional painter and couldn’t understand why anyone would want to buy a digital piece of my work when they could simply buy a physical painting.”
Jones admits that things “started to make more sense” after engaging with others who had entered the space from a similar background. And the financial element certainly added to the appeal.
Over the past two years there have been a number of high profile NFT art sales. Perhaps most notably, NFT artwork by Beeple has sold at auction for sensational sums, and the “Bored Apes” project remains a source of immense excitement among NFT collectors and enthusiasts.
Celebrities, influencers and all manner of public figures have unveiled their own NFTs or engaged in projects. Even football clubs in the UK have tried – and failed – to jump on the bandwagon.
Jones believes this influx of money into the space is a positive thing for creatives – reducing barriers to potentially lucrative sources of income and improving accessibility in the wider art world.
His’Art Angels‘ Twitter spacewhich brings together NFT artists, investors and collectors in a Dragon’s Den setup, recently enabled a Cuban artist to sell thousands of dollars worth of NFT art, the equivalent of several years’ wages in Cuba.
“It has completely changed her life,” he insists. “This space offers an opportunity for everyone no matter where they are in the world and removes barriers.”
Jones says the financial benefits of NFT art have also given him breathing space and room to experiment with future projects. And you can’t put a price on that kind of freedom, he believes.
“I am very fortunate and privileged to have been successful in this area, having started quite early and established myself,” Jones continues.
“The biggest part here is that it has given me financial stability. I don’t have to worry about whether I can pay the mortgage next month, so I can dedicate my time to art and explore any avenue because I have the resources. And that’s huge for all artists.”
A landscape in development
But even if this space offers new opportunities for artists, Jones warns that there is a small risk that the rapid growth of NFT’s art ecosystem could present challenges along the way.
Like any marketplace, the landscape gets a little saturated in the middle of a period of intense interest. And there is a risk that, in the long term, the NFT art ecosystem may begin to mirror the traditional art space.
“The NFT landscape has changed dramatically since 2018/19 when there were really only a handful of artists and a much smaller community,” he explains. “This means there is a lot more noise, so it becomes harder for artists – just like in the traditional world – to be noticed and seen.”
This does not necessarily mean that artists and creatives hoping to enter the NFT art space will be shunned or neglected, Jones insists. Instead, it can act as the driving force behind a new wave of creativity and innovation.
Future artists must “find a way to be unique” and stand out, he says, much like in the traditional art ecosystem.
Old dogs, new tricks
However, maintaining distance between these two contrasting worlds would be wise. He learns that there has been a lingering undercurrent of “snobbery” in the traditional art world, especially considering how the NFT art space is perceived in certain circles.
“I saw a lot of this during the transition from traditional to digital artist. You might think that artists are free-spirited freethinkers, but that hasn’t always been the case in my experience.”
Furthermore, Jones claims that there is a “huge technophobic mentality” in the traditional art world among those who may fear change and the influence of technology.
His first experience of this culture of technology-related fear came during a failed venture. Along with a business partner, Jones launched a startup that aimed to sell augmented reality technology to other artists.
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“We basically went out of business because no one was interested as an artist in using this technology or experiment,” he explains. “And a big part of that was the fear of technology and the fact that it took them out of their comfort zone.”
In the long term, the negative perception of NFT art among traditionalists will change, he believes. Not least because there is a steady stream of “very talented artists breaking out into the space” who help to challenge these views and bridge the divide between these worlds.
Education will also play a central role. The simple fact that a new generation of artists is growing up and learning in the midst of this period means that perceptions will eventually change.
“There’s going to be an evolution where NFTs and digital art concepts filter down into art schools and into new, up-and-coming creatives,” he says.
“I think it will be at least ten years before art colleges, for example, start offering guidance on this. But it is coming, and it is an exciting prospect.”
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