SUBJECT OF CLASSES
The Introduction to Contemporary Art
TOPIC
NFT (Non-Fungible Token) Art
DURATION OF CLASSES
1,5 h
MODE
Online, synchronous
- to acquaint students with NFT art like new phenomenon in postodern culture;
- to develop a critical approach to new socio-cultural and socio-economic phenomena like NFT art arising from the increasingly virtual world;
- to form the ability to explain the reasons for the emergence and development perspectives of such new phenomena as NFT art.
- Students will be able to recognize a phenomenon of NFT art
- Students will develop skills in evaluating NFT art
- Students will understand the reasons for the emergence of NFT art
- Students will learn about the latest technology in contemporary art
- Students will learn about the latest business models in the contemporary art market
Google Classroom, Eduka, MS Teams, Zoom, Slack, Canvas or any other platform adapted for working in virtual groups; Kahoot (for using the exercise LET’S IMPROVE TOGETHER!)
NFT art is a very new but very rapidly spreading phenomenon around the world. It also functions as a new economic model for the art market.
The NFT movement began when Twitter founder and CEO Jack Dorsey had circulated the message. In it, he announced the sale of his first tweet. Yes, one of the first records in the history of a popular social network. It’s just a text that says “just setting up my twttr”. Mr Dorsey held a special auction during which potential buyers raised the price until it reached around 2.5 million. dollars. Someone paid two million and a half to become the owner of a post on Twitter. The field of digital assets and art, also known as NFTs, has been experiencing an unprecedented rise recently.
The goal of high school is to provide students with the ‘tools‘ to successfully manage their careers and personal lives and shape their own future. So it is necessary to acquaint them with the latest phenomena that are happening in the world.
Methodologically, the lecture is aimed at the students:
(1) form their own opinion about NFT art;
(2) understand the reasons for the emergence of NFT art;
(3) known examples of NFT art;
(4) familiarized with NFT development technologies.
Methodologically it is a cognitive lecture organized in such a way that students become acquainted with the phenomenon on their own (in part).
Students begin their acquaintance with NFT art by doing the exercise BAG OF KNOWLEDGE. During the exercise, four main groups of questions that will be related to NFT will emerge:
(1) the specifics of NFT art;
(2) NFT art creation technologies;
(3) cultural value of NFT art;
(4) economic value of NFT art.
All these issues are detailed by the students together with the lecturer in the form of a problem-based discussion. Finally, the Kahoot test (the exercise LET’S IMPROVE TOGETHER!) formed to consolidate the knowledge and impresions.
Blockchain
Non fungible tokens
Crypto art
Digital art
NFT market
STEP I
Intoduction.
The lecturer presents, that NFTs are unique cryptographic tokens that exist on a blockchain and cannot be replicated. NFTs can represent real-world items like artwork and real estate. NFTs are also significant in addressing the sensitive and long-standing problem of digital art. Because of the great culture of copying (and piracy) on the Internet, it has long been difficult for developers to obtain fair remuneration for their work. The painted picture is the only one like this. However, a graphic design work may be copied and distributed. NFTs no longer allow it to do so. It is no wonder that we have been able to observe a boom in such works in recent years. For example, in 2021 famous Christie’s auction hosted the event for the first time exclusively for the digital menu. The famous artist Beeple sold his works of the last 13 years during his time. The auction received a lot of attention, and the artist himself earned a total of 60 million. The teacher asks what students know about NFT art. In order for students to darken their knowledge and gather new knowledge from the Internet, the teatcher offers an exercise BAG OF KNOWLEDGE.
STEP II
‘Cognitive pump’.
The exercise is to arouse students’ interest and turn on the so-called ‘cognitive pump’. Methodology of the exercise: Output 2 → Toolkit → Exercises → GROUP WORK, Exercise BAG OF KNOWLEDGE.
STEP III
Main NFT issues.
Students present their results obtained from the exercise BAG OF KNOWLEDGE. A discussion is taking into account which is highlighting the main issues of the NFT art:
(1) exclusivity of NFT art;
(2) NFT technology;
(3) the value of NFT art;
(4) NFT art business model.
The teacher then briefly discusses each of them with the students.
Students are asked to mark important concepts. They are reminded that they will have to take Kahoot test at the end of the lecture.
STEP IV
Exclusivity of NFT art.
The lecturer briefly presents the reasons for the emergence of NFT (Annex I). It is possible to watch videos What are NFTs and Crypto Art? with students (Annex II). It can be concluded that NFT art is a phenomenon that will continue to evolve at a rapid pace. The teacher suggests discussing the differences between the term ‘crypto art’ and ‘digital art’.
STEP V
Technology.
The teacher briefly talks about NFT technology. NFT is encrypted as non-fungible tokens. The NFT acts as a certificate confirming that one or another digital item belongs to you and no one else. In other words, it is a smart contract for the protection of a artwork, made using pieces of open source. Once formed, it is encrypted and turned into a token. Students are invited to visit the NFT market(s) (Annex III).
STEP VI
The value of cryptoart.
Walking around the NFT markats naturally raises the question of what criteria are used to assess the artistic value of the NFT and / or whether NDP is art? In this part of the lecture it is suggested to have a free discussion with students. The organizer can provide a list of the most famous NFT artists (Annex IV).
STEP VII
Business model.
The NFT business model is briefly discussed (Annex V). Students can be offered to watch a video at home on how to create an nft object / crypto art piece (Annex VI).
STEP VIII
Conclusion.
The aim of this lecture is to learn about NFT art and its problemic areas. It therefore makes sense to end the lecture with an exercise LET’S IMPROVE TOGETHER!: Output 2 → Toolkit → Exercises → REFLECTION, Exercise LET’S IMPROVE TOGETHER!
The teacher can choose the questions / answers for this exercise from already created list of questions / answers about NFT (Annex VI).
Note: The teacher must prepare for the exercise LET’S IMPROVE TOGETHER! in advance: introduce the necessary questions into Kahoot and create a quiz that students will take to summarize the knowledge of the lecture.
ADDITIONAL MATERIALS (WORK CARDS, PICTURES, RECORDINGS)
Annex I. Khawaja, Arhum. (2021). NFT Research Essay. 10.13140/RG.2.2.24950.93761.
Annex II. What are NFTs and Crypto Art? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rztmblQAmjI&ab_channel=BradColbow
Annex III. Best NFT Art Marketplace Websites (Buy & Sell NFTs):
- OpenSea
- Foundation
- Rarible
- SuperRare
- Mintable
- Nifty Getaway
- MakersPlace
- BakerySwap
Annex IV. Top NFT artists.
Beeple, or Mike Winkelmann, is one of the most famous NFT artists today.
Pak is an anonymous artist formerly known as Murat Pak.
Justin Blau.
Mad Dog Jones.
All Seeing Seneca.
Annex V. Trevisi, Cecilia & Moro Visconti, Roberto & Cesaretti, Andrea. (2022). Non-Fungible Tokens (NFT): business models, legal aspects, and market valuation.
Annex VI. How to Make and Sell an NFT (Crypto Art Tutorial)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gjo1hlIey9g&ab_channel=Kapwing
Annex V. Quiz questions and answers