A year ago, could any of us have imagined the sale of an artwork in JPEG format? A painting not on canvas; no oil, acrylic or water paints, but just the art on a pen drive or an email. And that too for millions of dollars! Have we now crossed over to the age of digital art?
Some may say we are getting excited a little too early, but looking at the high momentum in technology in the last two decades, nothing can be termed ‘too early’. Just a year ago, before the pandemic hit us, no one took digital art seriously. At best, it was good for merchandising or to be used only in animation or graphics. But today, it’s making ripples in the art world.
And along with this, even the mode of payment is changing. NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens) or crypto currency is the new money. Though the world is yet to completely acclamatise itself to NFTs, younger digital artists are already selling their creations like art, music and videos through this mode.
Till only a few months ago, many had doubts about this mode of trading. Then came the famous auction from Christie’s. Under their hammer went a digital art titled 'Everydays — the first 5,000 days’, as a NFT and within 19 minutes of bidding, it fetched the artist, Mike Winkleman, who is known as Beeple, a whopping $69.3 million with fees! And he sold his art work in, yes, JPEG format. That’s the first digital art to fetch millions and a bonafide historical moment.
Political commentary
Beeple is an American digital artist, graphic designer and animator. The 38-years-old artist is known for his political and social commentary using pop culture figures. His record-fetching art was started way back in 2007. He creates an art a day and the final work sold was a collage of 5,000 days’ worth of work. It’s an ongoing work. Today as I write, he is on his 5138th day of work or the 14th round (one year is one round). The sale of Beeple’s work has undoubtedly sensationalised digital art.
Admitting happily, Mumbai-based young concept artist, Medha Srivastava, known for her bold sketches on political and social issues says, "This is the best time for digital artists and art. Though I still haven’t used NFTs, which I hope to do soon, people have started accepting digital art." Her work on mental health issues, Bengal polls, female exploitation and the oxygen crisis in the current pandemic has got appreciation from all. In fact, MP Shashi Tharoor too shared her creations on social media.
"Yes, this will be an extremely popular method of owning art and digital goods. However, I don't think people will stop collecting physical art, but I think the two fields will be merged and there will be art that exists both digitally and physically," says Delhi-based 3D illustrator, visual and NFT artist Amrit Pal Singh.
Singh has recently jumped on the bandwagon of NFTs at the suggestion of his global clients. His 'Toy faces' series fetched him crypto currencies of 60 ETH (Ethereum). As I write, the value of an ETH today is Rs 2,00,000 plus; a month ago it had reached nearly Rs 3,50,000! His toy series is inspired by nostalgia, which according to him, resemble many characters that impressed him as a child — Sherlock Holmes, Daft Punk, The Godfather, The wizard and many more.
One look at the series of brilliant creations titled 'The are' by Mumbai-based visionary digital artist Aashit Singh, and you start wondering how he manages to create such minute details on such a small 'canvas'! 'The are' (acronym for om antahkaranam rtambaram ekakinam svaha) is layered with the complexity of structured geometry as well as abstract imagery extracted from both Eastern and Indian mythology. He admits that his exceptionally unique art takes anywhere from few weeks to few months to complete.
A post-graduate from J J School of Arts, Mumbai, the very unassuming and affable Aashit has created art for several psychedelic music records and exhibited his works at many Indian and international psychedelic festivals. He still hasn’t got on to the NFTs, but wants to join the bandwagon once he gets the hang of it.
Uncharted waters
Though digital art has been in existence since the 1960s, art galleries still hesitate to recognise it.
Dadiba Pundole of the famous Pundole Art Gallery and auction house of Mumbai says, "For any business to be relevant, it will have to change with the times. As of yet with digital art, we are in uncharted territories. For the moment, the physical practice of creating and viewing art remains very relevant."
He is wary of accepting a NFT transaction. Dadiba says, "A big concern of NFTs is the ecological impact. It is a bit early to understand how the market will respond."
The well-known watercolour artist, Sameer Mondal, isn’t skeptical of either digital art or NFTs. And he is 70 years old! He says, "During the pandemic, I was cooped up in Australia with my son for a year without my brushes or paints. Initially hesitant of using the iPad for painting, I started liking it soon. If I master it in the next decade, I wouldn’t mind holding my first digital art exhibition! Nothing is constant. So even the world of art can change and so can the mode of payment”.