Artist and builder in the NFT space. Expanding the art practice through Our Coastline project
Artist and builder in the NFT space. Expanding the art practice through Our Coastline project
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Art was never meant to be an investment. Today the art market in truth is tiny.
I bring on some kinda depressy things to hopefully end it on a positive note. In this article I am mostly trying to make sense of the modern traditional art market, NFT involvement in it and best ways for an artist to remain sane in 2023.
$60 billion is not a big number in terms of a market within a year. For reference the freelance market is $450-ish billion yearly. The global market of tomatoes generates close to $200 billion yearly. The art market is extremely consolidated to US, UK and China. It is also a place ripe for exploitation and corruption. Be it a donation that results in a tax write-off, a joint social group that inflates prices of a certain artist, or just simple systematic opportunities that allow it.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CZrg3ooM6oY/
Well, its not so much the process itself, but what it enables. There are no official records of who owns what or how much they paid, so it’s nearly impossible to prove any malpractice in the market. That is all because art does not have intrinsic value but the value we put unto it. In the NFT world we do see VC funded companies and art galleries trying to gather the attention of artists and collectors alike. This is not a bad thing in itself. The marketing tactics sometimes employed and the artificial propulsion of projects with generating hype sometimes are. They are fundamentally a detriment to the artist and the collectors. NFTs are not immune to market and trend changes.
https://twitter.com/HashBastardsNFT/status/1628775875607945223?s=20
Certain actions held by influencers or market makers decide where the market will go. They do it with open events with high rewards, appealing to an established art entity, marketing, inflated price of certain artist piece and so on.
Rich people use artwork as an investment—elevating a select few for arbitrary reasons—which excludes those who are unable to persuade the gatekeepers—those who are not a marketable artist. Art is no longer an exercise of skill or communication, it’s of branding.
https://twitter.com/Austen/status/1566096206756859904?s=20
So why am I saying this and making your hectic afternoon even worse now? My advice is not to even play that game. Do you. Make art as a hobby and find a stable job. Build communities around the stuff you love creating. Lower your expectations. Much of it is a rigged game. You can be lucky and strike a chord and you might not.
Decide what you can change that is within your control. Improve your style? Meet people? Learn to animate? You will end up with a skillset worthy in multiple different markets and have met a few friends along the way.
https://twitter.com/thehienaart/status/1628416386677587969?s=20
I have positive news. NFTs do have power in my view. They have power to connect like minded individuals, to build small meaningful communities and help us grow as artists. If collectors fundamentally start buying what they enjoy, not as investment, but as support to an artist they admire- they did something more human.
Art is not meaningless. It changes and shapes society. That is why art is the first victim to propaganda ,corruption or manipulation. It is a tool employed daily that we are not aware of. If we can make it more human we have a chance of making positive changes to the future of our collective consciousness. Being honest with yourself and making what you love might net you a smaller crowd or not a big online presence - but it will make you a happier human. The biggest thing of all - you will proud of yourself in the most profound sense. Or.. we can always try to enter that tomato business :D
Art was never meant to be an investment. Today the art market in truth is tiny.
I bring on some kinda depressy things to hopefully end it on a positive note. In this article I am mostly trying to make sense of the modern traditional art market, NFT involvement in it and best ways for an artist to remain sane in 2023.
$60 billion is not a big number in terms of a market within a year. For reference the freelance market is $450-ish billion yearly. The global market of tomatoes generates close to $200 billion yearly. The art market is extremely consolidated to US, UK and China. It is also a place ripe for exploitation and corruption. Be it a donation that results in a tax write-off, a joint social group that inflates prices of a certain artist, or just simple systematic opportunities that allow it.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CZrg3ooM6oY/
Well, its not so much the process itself, but what it enables. There are no official records of who owns what or how much they paid, so it’s nearly impossible to prove any malpractice in the market. That is all because art does not have intrinsic value but the value we put unto it. In the NFT world we do see VC funded companies and art galleries trying to gather the attention of artists and collectors alike. This is not a bad thing in itself. The marketing tactics sometimes employed and the artificial propulsion of projects with generating hype sometimes are. They are fundamentally a detriment to the artist and the collectors. NFTs are not immune to market and trend changes.
https://twitter.com/HashBastardsNFT/status/1628775875607945223?s=20
Certain actions held by influencers or market makers decide where the market will go. They do it with open events with high rewards, appealing to an established art entity, marketing, inflated price of certain artist piece and so on.
Rich people use artwork as an investment—elevating a select few for arbitrary reasons—which excludes those who are unable to persuade the gatekeepers—those who are not a marketable artist. Art is no longer an exercise of skill or communication, it’s of branding.
https://twitter.com/Austen/status/1566096206756859904?s=20
So why am I saying this and making your hectic afternoon even worse now? My advice is not to even play that game. Do you. Make art as a hobby and find a stable job. Build communities around the stuff you love creating. Lower your expectations. Much of it is a rigged game. You can be lucky and strike a chord and you might not.
Decide what you can change that is within your control. Improve your style? Meet people? Learn to animate? You will end up with a skillset worthy in multiple different markets and have met a few friends along the way.
https://twitter.com/thehienaart/status/1628416386677587969?s=20
I have positive news. NFTs do have power in my view. They have power to connect like minded individuals, to build small meaningful communities and help us grow as artists. If collectors fundamentally start buying what they enjoy, not as investment, but as support to an artist they admire- they did something more human.
Art is not meaningless. It changes and shapes society. That is why art is the first victim to propaganda ,corruption or manipulation. It is a tool employed daily that we are not aware of. If we can make it more human we have a chance of making positive changes to the future of our collective consciousness. Being honest with yourself and making what you love might net you a smaller crowd or not a big online presence - but it will make you a happier human. The biggest thing of all - you will proud of yourself in the most profound sense. Or.. we can always try to enter that tomato business :D
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