Art and NFTs: The Essential Primer

We are just completing a thirty- year arc of digitization. Now we are beginning a thirty-year arc of tokenization.
—Kevin McCoy, artist and Erst person to make an NFT
Since the NFT craze began in the art world, the information one can find for the art audience is either too reductive to be useful or repetitive. Artists, collectors, and arts professionals are still trying to understand what NFTs are, how to capitalize on them, and what they mean for the art world in the future. This book addresses precisely this audience. In this book, the authors take the reader through the basic concepts of NFTs, and the blockchain, their origins, their connections to art-making and art-collecting, and their potential to radically reshape the arts. The book s aim is to provide the reader with the information and tools that will enable them to engage with this new technology and understand its connections to the longer arc of art history. The volume will take shape with key chapters: Origin Stories, Artists + Making (how artists are currently using NFTs and practical information on how to make and distribute them), Collectors + Buying (what does it mean to collect an NFT and other advice for current and soon-to-be collectors), and Future States (how NFTs can democratize the art world).
In addition to the author s extensive knowledge, the book draws on a wide range of interviews with leading contributors.