"Why do the visual arts seem to have acquired such a central role in the crypto economy?"
Could it be that impenetrable financial technology needs an artistic fetish to conquer even more territory? Thus digital art, after playing with direct democracy for a few decades, has now returned to the time-honored role of decorator for the elites. In case it's not obvious to everyone, "verifiable digital scarcity" is the exact opposite of what tactical media set out to do. Hopefully all the get-rich-quick NFT-minters are going to set up commons-based infrastructure with their haul, I can respect that and will support it when the pump and dump is over. best, BH On Mon, May 9, 2022 at 8:08 AM Marcela Okretič <marc...@aksioma.org> wrote: > Dear friends, > > > > we are very happy to announce the launch of the English translation of > Domenico > Quaranta's book: > > > > *Surfing with Satoshi* > > *Art, Blockchain and NFTs* > > aksioma.org/surfing.with.satoshi > <http://www.aksioma.org/surfing.with.satoshi> > > > > Release date: 25 May 2022 > > > > *PREVIEW <https://aksioma.org/pdf/SurfingWithSatoshi_excerpt.pdf>* > > > > Limited edition of 300 copies > > *PREORDER **HERE <https://form.jotform.com/211172647049354>! * > > *Free shipping for pre-orders until 25 May 2022* > > > > > > The craze for Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) that erupted in early 2021 thrust > the art world into the debate on the blockchain, the decentralised public > ledger that holds these tokens, as well as cryptocurrencies, and promises > to make “verifiable digital scarcity” a reality. Born out of the 2008 > financial crisis and seen by many as the cornerstone of a new, more > private, more secure Web3, the blockchain has changed the global economy > and is now reshaping the digital environment in which art is increasingly > being created, distributed and exchanged. > > > > Written by art critic and curator *Domenico Quaranta* amidst an explosion > of technological hype and a speculative frenzy, and originally published in > Italian by Postmedia Books, *Surfing with Satoshi *sets the promise of > the NFT market in a historical context, investigating the technologies it > is based on, the role of certificates and contracts in contemporary art, > and the evolution of the media art market over the last thirty years. > > > > Riding the wave of the ongoing debate, the book tackles a series of as yet > open questions, including: > > > - What does art have to do with the blockchain? > - Does it make sense to talk about “Crypto Art”, and if so what can be > said to define it, apart from the way it is traded? > - Is speculation the be-all and end-all of this trend? > - How on earth can an infinitely reproducible digital file be deemed > “unique”? > - Will the blockchain’s promise of disintermediation destroy the art > world as we know it? > - How is the art world reacting to the situation? > - Are NFTs an opportunity for artists or a scam perpetrated against > them? > - Who are the collectors willing to pay millions for a certificate of > authenticity? Why are they doing it? > - Why do the visual arts seem to have acquired such a central role in > the crypto economy? > > > > > > Author: Domenico Quaranta > > Editor: Janez Fakin Janša > > Translator: Anna Carruthers > > Design and layout: Federico Antonini, Alessio D'Ellena > > Format: 10.5 x 16.7 cm > > Pages: 376 > > Colour and B/W images > > Language: EN > > > > ISBN: 978-961-7173-12-3 > > > > > > *Published by:* > > Aksioma – Institute for Contemporary Art, Ljubljana > > Represented by: Marcela Okretič > > www.aksioma.org > > aksi...@aksioma.org > > > > > > *Supported by:* > > The Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia, the City of Ljubljana > # distributed via <nettime>: no commercial use without permission > # <nettime> is a moderated mailing list for net criticism, > # collaborative text filtering and cultural politics of the nets > # more info: http://mx.kein.org/mailman/listinfo/nettime-l > # archive: http://www.nettime.org contact: nett...@kein.org > # @nettime_bot tweets mail w/ sender unless #ANON is in Subject:
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