Reeling from the pandemic, more artists turn to augmented reality NFTs


Augmented reality lets artists transform digital works into 3D objects, which can then be sold as NFTs for much-needed revenue

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Toronto-based luxury artist Max Jamali is always on the lookout for ways to innovate and evolve his brand as an artist, which is why he was hooked when the non-fungible token (NFT) trend took hold in late 2020.

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“I always wanted to be the first to do things within the art world,” Jamali said, adding that augmented reality took it a step further. “It’s not about someone just buying your art and putting it in the living room, it’s like you can actually create a whole experience in a hotel, in a restaurant — that’s the kind of stuff I’m really tapping into with my art right now.”

Augmented reality allows artists to transform their digital works into three-dimensional objects, which can then be sold as NFTs, units of data or assets stored on a decentralized digital ledger called a blockchain. The asset is completely unique and can’t be traded with something of equal value, making it “non-fungible.” In this sense, it’s as unique as a painting or a sculpture, though it exists digitally.

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For example, Jamali’s many butterfly-adorned Marilyn Monroe portraits — from an artwork called Bombshell — come to life using just an iPad or phone.

The collection, featuring vibrantly coloured insects slowly fluttering their wings over a picture of Monroe, was recently featured in the first private augmented reality (AR) NFT auction in Miami hosted by New World Inc., where Jamali is head of business development.

The financial potential (of AR NFTs) is incredible compared to anything I’ve done before

Max Jamali

“The financial potential (of AR NFTs) is incredible compared to anything I’ve done before … We tie (art) into experiences and partner up with the right team that can bring that to life,” he said.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the art community has been weighed down by declining foot traffic and battered revenues from sales that have largely shifted from galleries to the online space.

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Online art brokerage site Artsy crunched the data and found that gallery sales dropped an average of 36 per cent as the art market suffered from the pandemic-related lockdowns.

Museums felt the hit as well. A United Nations study showed that they lost up to 80 per cent of their pre-pandemic revenue. Roughly 43 per cent of museums were facing closures in the first half of 2021.

An employee walks inside the Musee du Louvre in Paris, while it was closed to the public during the first wave of COVID-19 on March 13, 2020.
An employee walks inside the Musee du Louvre in Paris, while it was closed to the public during the first wave of COVID-19 on March 13, 2020. Photo by Thomas Samson/AFP via Getty Images files

However, as Jamali and other artists know, the new technologies and trends that took hold during the pandemic show it’s not all doom and gloom in the art world.

Mark Concannon, founder and chief executive officer at extended reality consulting firm Concannon XR, said AR NFTs could bring some much-needed revenue sources for artists and museums to tap.

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“In the end, it’s not any different than a non-fungible token for any digital format, it’s just AR-specific,” he said. “What I’m seeing is artists combining the physical print with the NFT so that you end up with a combined asset.”

Concannon XR believes art enthusiasts can view pieces as they were meant to be viewed: in a realistic setting at scale rather than a flattened digital image on a screen, and, quite conveniently during a global pandemic, from the comfort of your own home.

NFTs have been gaining in popularity since the end of last year. The NFT market tripled in 2020 to US$250 million, according to a report by NonFungible.com (with help from emerging-tech consultant L’Atelier BNP Paribas), but sales have since exploded to US$2.5 billion in the first half of the year.

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The tokens have proven particularly popular in the art community, with NFT artist Beeple selling a collage called Everydays: The First 5000 Days for US$69 million in March.

There are also many NFT art fans rapidly buying and trading small avatar Cryptopunks featuring pixel art characters with their own unique accessories and quality, and Bored Ape avatars, which are part of the Bored Ape Yacht Club, an exclusive community with an expansive gallery of individually designed simians.

A cropped portion of a digital art collage by Beeple, sold at auction for US$69.3 million.
A cropped portion of a digital art collage by Beeple, sold at auction for US$69.3 million. Photo by Handout/Christie’s Auction House/AFP via Getty Images files

The sports world has also taken notice, selling NFT sport memorabilia and moments in sports history.

More recently, Fortune magazine managed to raise US$1.3 million during its first-ever NFT auction that featured a collection of 256 limited edition NFT assets of the publication’s latest cover art. The collection sold out in minutes.

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NFTs can become augmented reality assets by superimposing often interactive digital characters and images in a real-world environment, such as a phone’s camera.

Concannon said his company has been helping an increasing number of eager artists looking to break out into the space, teaching them how to use AR design software such as Blender and Adobe Aero.

“We walk them through the training process, we help them understand how to think what is going to be animated, when they add music to it, where there’s complementary components, and then help them implement the rendering, basically,” he said. “Then ultimately, (we) see the vision through the phones.”

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Concannon said artists tend to pick up this new technology in a few days to a week.

Jamali said one of the challenges in taking this route was educating clients quickly enough about NFTs, since they tend to favour physical assets. That said, he can’t see a future without this new technology in the art world.

“I definitely see this to be the future. A lot of people will look at it as a temporary thing,” he said. “But NFTs are really, in a way, changing the experiences around art. I don’t really see this going away, because it’s adding a lot of value to it.”

Financial Post

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In-depth reporting on the innovation economy from The Logic, brought to you in partnership with the Financial Post.

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