If you are curious about NFT art, you must go here... The exhibition 'KARTZ'

[Joongang Ilbo] [Minji Review] If you are curious about NFT art, you must go here... The exhibition 'Kartz'

Recently, interest in NFT art has been extremely high. Records of NFT artworks selling for various prices are pouring out daily. Globally, Grimes, Elon Musk's wife, created the digital art 'War Nymph' NFT, which became a topic of conversation after being auctioned for approximately 78.5 billion KRW at Christie's auction. Works by young Korean artists are also attracting great attention as they enter the NFT market. Jang Kwan's 'Mirage Cat3' NFT, which describes himself as an 'artist who draws girls,' started at an auction price of 2.5 million KRW but sold for over 200 million KRW. Last month, the digital work 'Suflex the Trophy' by hip-hop musician Mamihun sold for over 60 million KRW.

There is a reason for the high popularity. The digital world that emerged as a 'new world,' people who want to enjoy art, and investment opportunities. NFT art is the point where these three elements perfectly align. NFT (Non Fungible Token) was also selected as 'Word of the Year' by Colin Wells in the UK this year. This is proof of the intense global interest it is receiving. Especially, NFT art is growing faster than other fields because the general public can easily approach it. According to the NFT research organization Non-Fungible, NFT trading volume last year was approximately 250 million USD (approx. 295 billion KRW), but this year, it exploded to 2 billion USD (approx. 2.36 trillion KRW) in the first quarter alone, which is ten times the trading volume of 2020. Since collectibles (48%) and artworks (43%) accounted for the largest share of the transactions, we can easily predict how significant the influence of NFTs will be in the art market going forward.

NFT holds great significance in the art market. This is because it grants uniqueness to digital artwork by recording asset information and the creator using blockchain technology. Lee Jung-in, Director of ARTTOKEN, who is both a lawyer and art critic, states, 'NFT is most significant because it grants originality to infinitely reproducible digital works, giving them the value of a unique piece.' In fact, digital artworks can be infinitely copied and used by anyone, anywhere, merely by duplicating the file. This is highly unreasonable and frustrating for the creator or the person who owns it. However, when this is tokenized (NFT), it can be recognized as a unique asset through the token (cryptocurrency), making reproduction, forgery, or alteration impossible. This means giving the work a single owner. This is the main reason for the great interest in NFT art. If art were only limited to being art, no matter how many people wanted to enjoy it, it wouldn't have been this explosive. NFT works possess the value of an 'investment,' similar to physical art, through blockchain technology by granting a single ownership. Since they can be bought and sold on online platforms, the transaction itself is easier than with existing artworks. Furthermore, there is no effort required for storage or movement. To this is added the expectation that 'it might rise hundreds of times like a coin.' Moreover, unlike existing artworks, royalties are paid not only to the collector but also to the artist every time it is resold, which naturally increases the interest of creators in tokenizing their work.

However, NFT art is still a difficult field for the general public. If you are interested in this, you might take your first step by attending 'Kartz: Art Save the Future,' held at the 'Forest' multipurpose hall in Nodeul Island, Seoul. Kartz is a brand created by the NFT-based online and offline art platform 'ARTTOKEN' to promote and market K-art artists globally. This exhibition offers an opportunity to view both the real-world works of K-art artists and their NFT-converted digital artworks simultaneously. A total of 18 famous domestic artists, including △Gu Kwang-mo △Kwon Oh-sang △Kim Ki-ra △Kim Ji-hye △Kim Gwan-young △Mo Joon-seok △Shin Je-hyeon △Seong Byung-hee △Seong Tae-jin △Lee In △Lee Seong-geun △Jeon Ye-jin △Jo Hyun-seo △Ha Tae-im △Han Seong-jin △Han Ho △Hong Seong-yong △Choi Seung-yoon, participated in the exhibition. There are about 150 pieces of exhibited works.

The exhibition utilizes all possible media, including painting, video, installation, and sculpture. For example. The work of Ha Tae-im, famous for capturing vibrant color bands on canvas, shows a digital work alongside the painting, where the color bands fill the screen as if alive, moving up, down, and sideways.

Artist Seong Tae-jin's work 'My Crooked Hero,' which features the comic character Taekwon V, showcases both a piece engraved and colored on woodblock and an NFT piece of Taekwon V riding a small scooter. If you want to purchase this NFT work, you can scan the QR code inscribed right next to it with your phone. Then, you can go directly to the link of the artwork on NFT trading platforms like ARTTOKEN, OpenSea, and Foundation to purchase it. Transactions are conducted using cryptocurrency here, using Clay on ARTTOKEN, and Ethereum on OpenSea and Foundation. By simply viewing the exhibition, you can understand the artist's work, the digital art derived from it, and how it is traded as an NFT.

The artists participating in the exhibition are those who create works in the 'real world,' but ARTTOKEN played a major role in turning their works into digital art. While some artists create works that are inherently digital, others find it difficult to possess the technical capability to convert their works into digital format and tokenize them. Simply taking a photo of a painting or sculpture does not make it digital art. NFT artworks must also become artistic works with independent value, requiring collaboration with the artist to undertake new projects, and ARTTOKEN provided the necessary planning and technical support for this. This is why Hong Ji-sook, CEO of ARTTOKEN, planned the Kartz exhibition. CEO Hong stated, 'I wanted to present an experimental and future-oriented art ecosystem to MZ generation collectors and audiences of various ages,' adding, 'I wanted to provide a platform for capable rising artists to present their works, and to create a bridge and communication space between art consumers and the artwork.'

In conclusion, if you are curious about NFT art, this exhibition is worth visiting. By simply viewing the exhibition, you will get a sense of what NFT art is. Also, we highly recommend scanning the QR code attached to each work with your phone, instead of just appreciating the artwork. This allows you to understand how NFT art is circulated. The exhibition runs until the 19th (admission fee is 10,000 KRW).

Reporter Yoon Gyeong-hee annie@joongang.co.kr

Source: Korea JoongAng Daily ( https://www.joongang.co.kr ) https://www.joongang.co.kr/article/25031339#home