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Leaders in humanitarian aid, finance, technology and others have embraced the distributed ledger known as blockchain to bring transparency to their operations. The art world is also experiencing this, seeing technology as a way to revolutionize the way art is bought and sold, hindering fraud and tax evasion and reducing friction during the auction process. Here are the many ways that enterprising buyers, sellers and artists are embracing this new medium.
L & # 39; artist
Visual artists are increasingly creating digital material, which may never have a physical presence. Digital files, however, can be replicated and distributed without the artists' consent. By recording their work on the blockchain, artists can establish proof of ownership, and therefore a secondary market. Some even use blockchain technology as a canvas. Last February, the artist Kevin Abosch sold Forever Rose to a collective of investors for cryptocurrency worth $ 1 million. Each buyer received one-tenth of a virtual rose, basically a string of code, like a token on the blockchain, which he can store, sell or give away.
The collector
The fakes are still rampant in the art world. Collectors who are worried about the authenticity of a purchase can use the blockchain to track their ownership history. Several startups, including Codex and Verisart, offer registration and certification services for artists, collectors and galleries. When a piece is recorded, details of its physical characteristics and history are stored in a stamped entry on the blockchain that can be verified. "I think about [the blockchain] like LinkedIn, "says Robert Norton, CEO of Verisart." A single unverified complaint may seem suspicious, but one that other broadcasters can support may have more value and credibility. "
The Art Investor
The Singapore-based company Maecenas uses blockchain-based cryptocurrency to sell parts of art works. In July, the company collaborated with the Dadiani Syndicate gallery for its first sale, offering a 31.5% stake in Andy Warhol & # 39; s. 14 small electric chairs, worth $ 5.6 million. "We do not sell art, we are selling a financial product," says Kim Randall-Stevens, director of acquisitions and sales of Mecenate. "In the end, anyone who wants to liquidate a minimal part of their art works will be able to do it." In the coming months, the company will distribute a blockchain-based platform for trading these shares.
The auction house
Christie & # 39; s piloted a blockchain-based cryptography and registration service at the November Barney A. Ebsworth Collection in New York. The auction house worked with the Artory Artistic Register service to create a digital certificate for pieces in the estimated $ 300 million (which included works by Edward Hopper and Georgia O & Keeffe). The certificate records a description of the work and the price, and keeps track of the origin when it is purchased or sold. Richard Entrup, Christie's Chief Information Officer, says the benefits of the blockchain include "greater transparency and long-term data security for relevant information on artwork".
How Blockchain technology maintains transparent artistic property
1. An artist creates a new piece, or a collector or gallery makes a sale and certifies it with a token on a blockchain.
2. When the work is purchased by the artist, the token is transferred to the buyer.
3. Every time the piece is resold, the token moves with it.
4. Token transactions are publicly stored on a distributed ledger that anyone can edit or access, so buyers and sellers can easily follow the entire history of ownership. If the token does not originate from the cryptographic portfolio of the artist or from a known gallery or investor, its provenance could be questioned.
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