Democratising Art: From Photography to NFTs

Technology increases the accessibility and shareability of art. But it also makes it easy to lose the trail back to the original artist who made it. Now digital artists are using NFTs as a super tool to declare and verify the provenance of their work.

Art was historically regarded as a luxury; originally only ever available to the noble and wealthy.

However the development of technology along with changes in cultural attitudes has seen the democratisation of art and a shift away from this exclusivity. 

What does democratisation mean and how has it affected the art world?

Democratisation is the process of making something more accessible by increasing the ways in which you have access to it and by creating less discerning requirements for accessibility. In the same way the internet has democratised information by increasing circulation and simplifying the way one consumes it, technology has done so for art. 

One of the earliest examples of the democratisation of art was photography and the way it was perceived and utilised. During the 16th century photography was developed for practical reasons and used as a means of formal record. However its aesthetic capability (and the artistic license of the photographer) was greatly denied. It wasn’t until some 250 years later during the 19th century when the attitude towards photography as an art medium began to shift.

The developments in technology and rhetoric allowed artists to change the way the world viewed and valued photography. Photographers were able to distil the incredible realism photography had always been known for and to explore it even further; advising play with light, shadow, focus and colour.

Photography has become a well regarded art form and increased the accessibility of art for both creators and admirers

Moholy-Nagy Lazslo, Fotogramm, László Moholy-Nagy and Lucia Moholy 1922-1926

Suddenly there was a whole new medium to enjoy art through and with its highly reproducible nature came greater accessibility. Art was becoming more portable and much cheaper. Art was no longer just a privilege for the wealthy.

So how does this relate to NFTs?

Apes that sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars hardly democratise art…

Whilst it’s true that BoredApes are elitist and inflated, remember that this isn’t by virtue of being an NFT. The value accrued by the Bored Ape Yacht Club is better attributed to scarcity and the supply and demand model. What NFT’s really do for art is much simpler; it helps artists monetise and circulate their art. Even without the tangibility of a painting or a photograph NFTs enable artists to share their art digitally to millions of people whilst always being verified as the creator.

NFTs also allow art to be fractionalised. Fractionalisation allows the ownership of one NFT to be divided amongst multiple people (again, more on this soon). With the huge popularity of NFT’s inflating prices past the millions, owning just a single NFT can be an enormous expense. Fractional NFTs, however, allow people to join in on the bidding of an NFT without committing to full ownership and paying the full price.

NFTs democratise art by providing the means for practically anyone to compete for some ownership of art, helping facilitate the collection and purchase of art not only by wealthy crypto investors but the general public who wish to support their favourite artists.

Digital art has made great strides for the democratisation of art allowing artists to explore new ways to create, using tools such as NFTs artists can easily monetise their art practice

Joint Disconnection by Marcello Castellani, 1 of 22 editions

At Sugar Glider Digital we strive to bring quality art into more spaces and NFT democratisation helps us do that. We approach this intersection between art and technology with curiosity and intention and aim to build solutions that serve both our artists and our clients. With NFT technology our artists can expand their offering of digital art and always be verified as the creator. Our clients can rent authentic artworks that supports artists and explore what art can do for their business.