NFTs are revolutionizing the art world, opening doors to many artists and allowing them to explore a different dimension of art-making. As artworks, NFTs have made their way to the world’s most renowned auctions and even hit records in sales.
However, NFTs have been a controversial topic, and even the editors of Wikipedia – the largest online encyclopedia, are unsure whether non-fungible tokens can be considered art.
The discussion on Wikipedia started when editors began reviewing the list of most expensive artworks by living artists, which featured digital artist Beeple’s NFTs but excluded another successful artist and NFT seller Pak.
Beeple and Pak have made successful NFT sales, and their artworks are highlighted on the list of most expensive non-fungible tokens.
“I see that Pak's Merge has been removed but we are keeping Beeple's Everday Sale, should that not also be removed from this list? It is also an NFT sale so if Merge doesn't qualify then perhaps Beeple shouldn't qualify? The Beeple work also consists of a large number of works and is not a single work like say a Koons sculpture. It is a compilation of works - sold as one - but does that make it a single artwork? I would argue that if we accept Beeple's Everydays on this list than other NFT works become eligible,” one editor argued.
“It's generally not about Wikipedia editors or individuals deciding on what is or is not art but about consensus from third-party sources on the subject,” another editor stated.
The crypto community isn’t happy about the decision to exclude NFTs from art, with many tweets disagreeing with Wikipedia, and even asking the NFT community to “rally and let the Wikipedia editors know that NFTs are, in fact, art!”
On the Flipside
- NFTs are a broad medium. Some NFTs are artworks, some aren’t.
- It’s still not clear whether NFTs will be considered as art on Wikipedia or not. But the outcome is significant, as Wikipedia is the main global source of information.
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