There were no $ 20 million Degas sculptures. It was just like that.
On Wednesday, a hologram of a ballet dancer’s statue slowly rotated at a storefront on Geary Street, and art lovers mysteriously stared at it. Christie’s, a historic auction house, fired a surreal hologram from its New York headquarters to San Francisco and held a gallery party to showcase items from the May auction.
This is considered to be the first wonderful work of art “holoported” from elsewhere.
Welcome to the digital world, Edgar Degas.
Holograms are part of a digital art strategy, and Christie’s was able to hold a live and on-screen auction of hybrids in 126 countries with 1.2 million viewers in November. Last year, Christie’s set a record for the most favorable selling price of a unique digital asset known as NFT, an irreplaceable token, at $ 69.3 million.
Christie’s believes that the NFT, other digital arts, and the online community known as Metasphere are about to break out of the “fog of doubt” and plunge into mainstream charm. Bringing great artwork to the digital world and allowing people to connect with them is one way to do that.
NFT Artwork has found a stable market for mostly male millennials involved in the cryptocurrency industry. In fact, NFTs based on blockchain technologies like cryptocurrencies are, in many respects, a visual representation of blockchain. There are practical applications such as contract authentication. Sports fans and other souvenir collectors collect digital souvenirs from their favorite teams and stars.
But Christie’s and others believe that art may be a mainstream surge. Verification from the world of art adds the gravity and permanence required by cryptocurrency turmoil. The art world of museums and galleries hurt by COVID also has a digital boost of capital and interest.
“People are eager to experience art in new ways,” said Elanol Notides, Christie’s West Coast Chairman.
Holograms were the most discussed artwork at a packed gallery party at Christie’s San Francisco headquarters. Party participants went downstairs and lined up on the chilly sidewalk to see the illusion of the storefront. The refrigerator-sized hardware used to project the hologram did not fit in the freight elevator to bring it to the gallery.
Information about the holographic box displaying the statue of Edgar Degas, a ballet dancer in San Francisco, Christie’s auction house. (Kevin N. Hume / Examiner)
The second floor is painted by world-renowned artists such as Picasso, Norman Rockwell and Wayne Thiebaud, not to mention free liquor and hors d’oeuvres. But what people most wanted to see was the hologram of the 1880 sculpture “Laptit Dancers”. Christie’s auctioned the statue in May, but it’s too fragile to ship to the art capital and isn’t visible to potential buyers. The holographic version cannot be destroyed.
The Los Angeles Proto, which manufactures $ 65,000 hardware for projecting holograms, said the Degas statue was the first great work of art projected this way.
“A lot of people were interested in seeing Proto’s work,” said party organizer Notides. “They were interested in the technique of the work. They were asking,” Is it really there? “” Is it an NFT? “
Holograms are not NFTs. However, the architectural NFT, estimated at $ 1 to $ 2 million, is auctioned off at the same show as Degas’s sculpture. Last year, Christie’s auctioned a $ 150 million NFT, including one that caught the eye.
In March 2021, Christie’s auctioned an NFT titled “Everydays: The First 5000 Days” by an artist known as Beeple for a record $ 69.3 million at the time. This sale set the highest level in the NFT art market. But it also raised questions about the spectacular price tags and the actual value of NFTs.
Christie’s Head of Digital Sales, Noah Davis, helped guide the record Beeple auction. Davis said the question is real, but things are changing. “There is a tremendous amount of scams out there. There are so many villains who exploit different people, not for the timid. So we need to create a safe space. It’s people It’s a transition to this new world for those who feel comfortable and don’t feel at risk. “
That’s where Degas’s hologram comes in. The combination of traditional art and new types of technology offers a transition that Christie’s and others believe the NFT will reach more people.
“Incorporating virtual experiences into real-life experiences is probably the path to a more durable and sticky Metaverse,” Davis said, citing names commonly used in the digital community. ..
San Francisco company MakersPlace “mint” (certified with its own blockchain computer code) $ 69.3 million Beeple artwork and introduced Christie’s to the artist. Craig Palmer, CEO of Makers Place, said his company hosting Leonardo da Vinci NFT holograms and Christie’s Degas holograms represents “a crossover of digital art to the world of traditional art and two blurs.” I said there is.
Another way for NFTs to break through to the mainstream audience is through renowned artists and investors, Davis said. “Moonbirds haven’t spawned randomly and have become the most popular project in NFT space,” says Davis. The famous name involved did to Moonbird what Christie’s did to Beeple’s work. Added a sense of security of legitimacy.
That sense of security may be a process, even for those who are tech savvy.
Artificial intelligence digital artist Jeremy Fortes came to Christie’s gallery party in a remote-controlled LED-studded suit with a battery pack. He is not sold at the value of NFT.
“I’m very honestly skeptical of the entire crypto market,” Fortes said. But holograms were another issue. “I liked it. When you marry the physical world and such a digital world, it carries people and moves them.”
Jeremy Fortes wore futuristic outfits at Christie’s gallery party in San Francisco. (Jeff Elder / Examiner)
