A digital artwork by Mike Winklemann, who goes by the name of Beeple, is set to become the first NFT (non-fungible token) work to go on sale in a major auction house. Beeple’s Everydays – The First 5000 Days will be auctioned at Christie’s from 25 February to 11 March.
An Industry First for Crypto Art
The auction house wrote, “Marking two industry firsts, Christie’s will be the first major auction house to offer a purely digital work with a unique NFT (Non-fungible token) — effectively a guarantee of its authenticity — and to accept cryptocurrency, in this case, Ether, in addition to standard forms of payment for the singular lot.”
The sale of the crypto artwork at such a prestigious auction house is a sign of the growing acceptance of this art form into the mainstream of collecting. In a statement on Tuesday, Christie’s said the auction is “an important milestone in the development of the market for digital art.” Crypto art auctions normally take place exclusively on blockchain-based marketplaces like SuperRare and Nifty Gateway. As such, digital art has thus far remained relatively off the radar for the mainstream art audience.
Collecting digital art has boomed in the last couple of years, however, thanks to NFTs. These have been fundamental in the process of valuing crypto art. Digital images are reproduced and duplicated with complete ease. However, adding an NFT enables a digital artwork to become unique and authenticated.
Christie’s acceptance of cryptocurrency for payment is also noteworthy. It marks an important moment in merging art collecting and the digital world.
Beeple’s Monumental Digital Artwork
Beeple’s digital artwork is a monumental collage of 5000 different images. The images came from photos the artist had posted online every day for 13 and a half years. It is possible to zoom in on the artwork and see the individual pictures.
“The notable differences between the early and later pictures reveal Beeple’s enormous evolution as an artist,” explained Noah Davis, a specialist in post-war and contemporary art at Christie’s. “At the project’s inception, ‘everydays’ were basic drawings. When Beeple started working in 3D, however, they took on abstract themes, colour, form and repetition. Over the past five years, they have become increasingly timely, reacting to current events.” The topics of the images include wealth, technology crazes and political unrest.
Beeple’s crypto art frequently dialogues with the contemporary world around him. Talking to Christie’s, Beeple said of his artwork, “I almost look at it now as though I’m a political cartoonist. Except instead of doing sketches, I’m using the most advanced 3D tools to make comments on current events, almost in real-time.”
A Crypto Giant
Beeple is already a hugely successful digital artist. He boasts 1.9 million followers on Instagram and has collaborated with notable brands like Louis Vuitton, Apple and Nike. He has also created visuals for singers Ariana Grande and Katy Perry. Just last year, Beeple sold a collection of 20 artworks that managed to make him $3.5 million in one weekend.
The artist is keen to stress the importance of this auction in the rise of crypto art. Speaking to Bloomberg, he said, “The rabbit hole of possibilities that this is going to bring to the art world—I don’t think people are fully recognizing that this is going to be a massive, massive shift.”
