Contemporary Aesthetics of NFTs: The Biocentric Experience of Origin and Originality of an NFT
Contemporary Aesthetics of NFTs: The Biocentric Experience of Origin and Originality of an NFT

Summary/Abstract: This paper explores the contemporary aesthetics of one of the latest forms of digitalart known as non-fungible tokens, aka NFTs, and how and why they are affecting and shapingtoday’s society. Using Manovich’s theory of metamedium, Lanza’s theory of biocentrism,blockchain technology, and NFTs can be theorized as a form of medium which representsmany other media while augmenting them with many new properties. The main theoreticalproblem with NFTs in the domain of art theory is the question of their originality. When putto use through various digital art collections and online tech platforms, the backend sectionof the blockchain smart contract code also becomes part of art, hence it can sometimes bedifficult to define NFTs’ originality of the art itself. Due to the repetitive nature of NFTs, it canbe argued that the most unique component of the NFT metamedium is not art, or blockchainsmart contract, but the owner of the digital art piece. With the collection of 10,000 similarpieces of art, the originality of art is evolving through the ideology of cultural groups associatedwith desired collections. It is shifting from the art itself to the owner. Throughout theunification of technology, software, and art, artists have a new way to extend their creations,while actively participating in the shaping of the cultural landscape. This gives both creatorsand collectors of the NFT metamedium a brand-new transcending meta experience beyondthe art itself that gives a unique point to the originality of the art piece.

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