STOP THE WORLD I NEED TO GET OFF: A look at NFT

Steven’s Smith looks at NFT

“Stop the world I need to get off!” I hear many of you say that in this bizarre and often crazy time.

You could be forgiven for wondering if the great God (if you believe in such an entity) would reach down and reply “Sure will you be paying for that in crypto, bitcoins or the old-fashioned pound?”

He may even offer you one of his NFT signed art posters that he promises, once you re-join Earth, will have quadrupled in value making you arrive back with a bang and most certainly a millionaire…well in crypto land for sure just as Alice drops through a hole in search of it.

Well, I found myself asking what NFT is last year. I am hearing it mentioned all around at events and parties. A friend visiting LA called me and said, “Darling you are no one if you’re not doing NFT or Crypto here”. Then came the sinking feeling a bit like when someone’s trying to sell me a multi-level marketing scheme. “People felt the same about stamps when they started”, she went onto to add.

Well fair point. Great grans used to keep their money under the mattress after not trusting banks during the great depression back in 1929. Let’s not talk about Lehman Brothers, back in 2008, filing for bankruptcy leaving people penniless, robbed of their life savings. NFT (Non-Fungible Token) is a record on a blockchain which is associated with a particular digital or physical asset.

The ownership of an NFT is recorded in the blockchain, and can be transferred by the owner, allowing NFTs to be sold and traded. What is NFT in relation to art? An NFT is a digital asset that exists completely in the digital universe: you can’t touch it, but you can own it. An NFT can be any type of digital file, an artwork, an article, music or even a meme such as “Disaster Girl”, the original photo of which sold for $500k earlier this year. But is it the emperor’s new clothes? For every artist who champions NFT art equally there are those that just won’t touch the new way of trading. Boy George has opened his own digital platform

https://www.cryptoqueenznft.com

Though George has not sold at the auction houses such as Sotheby’s or Christies, his work has sold at charity events for large sums and he certainly has a talent.

Tracey Emin has joined the NFT arts champion digital platform as have several well-known artists, but many are totally against NFT. With Artists against NFT recently penned in Business of Business, Zilch, an Atlanta based artist is quoted as saying, “Personally, I’m against NFTs.

However we do have to acknowledge that it as a system does exist, and that system still requires regulation and is not a free-4-all, unmoderated system where all hell breaks loose. Systems get made, systems get abused then they get regulated.”

London has seen its first NFT Gallery opening early this year, the Quantus Gallery, and the star-studded opening saw the likes of Ant Middleton, model make-up artist Jodie Kidd and dashing Callum Best all mix with socialites, city boys and what looked like would-be Kray brothers. It was certainly an eclectic group and an exciting night, so, there is certainly great excitement around the concept.

Art is objective and we must remember where the words con artist came from. Get a brilliant salesman and he can sell snow to the Eskimo’s. It is the same with a painting; remember ART the award-winning play? Serge, indulging his penchant for modern art, buys a large, expensive, completely white painting.

Marc is horrified, and their relationship suffers considerable strain because of their differing opinions about what constitutes “art”. Yvan, caught in the middle of the conflict, tries to please, and mollify both. Art is what you decide it is.

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Every wise boy seems to be dipping into crypto. I am absolutely 100 percent convinced that, just like in multi-level marketing, there will be those that make a mint out of it and equally there will be those that end up burnt. There was a time when my inbox was full of get rich crypto or bitcoin invitations.

I considered joining one as the cream of business were involved. However, sitting in on the meeting it became clear people were investing in something that was not there. “We are looking for the likes of Adelle, Tom Cruise joining this”.

Apparently people will pay to sit in front of a computer with NFT sunglasses on, paying thousands for the pleasure. I guess people have spent fortunes on dressing characters up on virtual games for years. Certainly, it helped the Kardashian portfolio.

But on asking what these A listers agents felt about this, their answers were vague. It was clear it was a wish list. Following my instinct, it was “No from me.” Checking a year on despite the credentials of its founders it is no further along.

Certainly, there is a strong element of the hard sell when it comes to the NFT from those that champion it. For me, I would still go with my financial advisors and stay away from something that has element of gambling attached to it, particularly if you have an addictive personality and really can´t afford to lose.

Most serious investors in high end art use highly qualified ART advisors for advice and buy at reputable auction houses or gallery’s that mentor their artist. They ask if resold to get first refusal. NFT Art is certainly something worth keeping an eye on and if you have money to spare then, as they say, fill your boots.

But in a volatile market with bitcoins and crypto up and down, for me it is not something that would make me sleep well at night. I asked a woman who is very busy promoting NFT (and doing an amazing job) how she was paid.

As she knocked back a glass of champagne, she replied “God, money darling!” That said it all to me.