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Why a renowned artist is burning his own masterpieces

<p dir="ltr">Artist Damien Hirst has begun burning hundreds of his own artworks after his latest collection prompted the buyer to either choose the physical work or the NFT representing it. </p> <p dir="ltr">Those who chose to buy the NFT, or virtual version, of the artwork were told their corresponding physical piece would be destroyed. </p> <p dir="ltr">Asked how he felt about burning the works, Hirst said, "It feels good, better than I expected."</p> <p dir="ltr">The artist himself burned each work individually, with the estimated cost of the works being burned equated to almost $18 million (AUD). </p> <p dir="ltr">Live-streaming the event, the Turner Prize winner and assistants used tongs to deposit individual pieces stacked in piles into fireplaces in the gallery as onlookers watched.</p> <p dir="ltr">"A lot of people think I'm burning millions of dollars of art but I'm not," Hirst said. "I'm completing the transformation of these physical artworks into NFTs by burning the physical versions.</p> <p dir="ltr">"The value of art, digital or physical, which is hard to define at the best of times will not be lost; it will be transferred to the NFT as soon as they are burnt."</p> <p dir="ltr">Hirst launched his first NFT collection last year, called <em>The Currency</em>, which was made up of 10,000 NFTs, corresponding to 10,000 original pieces of art, forcing buyers to choose what medium they would receive. </p> <p dir="ltr">According to London’s Newport Street Gallery, 5,149 buyers opted for the physical works while 4,851 chose the NFTs. </p> <p dir="ltr">Hirst’s works will continue to be burned until <em>The Currency</em> exhibition closes on October 30th. </p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p>

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Madonna’s bizarre foray into the world of NFTs

<p dir="ltr">Madonna has made a foray into the digital art world, ruffling a few feathers with the nature of her NFT artworks. </p> <p dir="ltr">The pop superstar has collaborated with digital artist Beeple (whose real name is Mike Winkelmann) to produce three NFTs that depict Madonna as the mother of all creation.</p> <p dir="ltr">The NFTs — entitled <em>Mother of Nature</em>, <em>Mother of Evolution</em>, and <em>Mother of Technology</em> — are all quite graphic, 3D-rendered videos of Madonna.</p> <p dir="ltr">In the first, she is seen giving birth to a tree in a lab, before she is seen birthing various bugs and animals in the second and third images. </p> <p dir="ltr">Artist Winkelmann shot to international fame after his Everydays series, a collection of digital drawings he made each day from May 2007, sold for $69.3 million at a Christie’s auction in 2021. </p> <p dir="ltr">Proceeds from the auction of these Madonna NFTs will go to three different charities: The Voices of Children Foundation, a charity for women and children in Ukraine, The City of Joy, a leadership program for women of the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, and Black Mama’s Bail Out, which uses funds to bail out Black women and caregivers from the carceral system.</p> <p dir="ltr">“When Mike and I decided to collaborate on this project a year ago, I was excited to have the opportunity to share my vision of the world as a mother and an artist with Mike’s own unique point of view,” said Madonna in a press release. </p> <p dir="ltr">“I wanted to investigate the concept of creation, not only the way a child enters the world through a woman’s vagina, but also the way an artist gives birth to creativity.”</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image credits: Superare Auction House</em></p>

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Turning sporting heroes into NFTs? Here’s how it works

<div><p>Last week, to the likely chagrin of many an Aussie cricket fan, Steve Smith became the latest public figure to hop on the NFT gravy-train, joining <a href="https://www.glorious.digital/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Glorious Digital</a>, a Kiwi-owned NFT studio and marketplace launched by former All Blacks rugby great Dan Carter.</p><p>The deal will see Smith put his face and name up for sale as digital tokens, shilling this new form of online memorabilia for a hefty price tag. On Instagram Smith wrote, “I can’t wait to connect with you guys in new and innovative ways.” </p><p>But what does ownership of a Steve Smith NFT actually mean?</p><p><strong>What are NFTs?</strong></p><p>NFTs, short for Non-Fungible Tokens, are units of data stored on a <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/technology/explainer-cryptocurrency/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">blockchain</a>, which is a type of digital ledger that records ownership. </p><p>In blockchain technology, the information about each transaction is recorded in a “block” which is broadcast to every computer or network in the system. The block contains data about the transaction and the identity of the blocks before and after it, so that all the blocks can be linked in a chain. This makes them completely secure, because blockchains are replicated across every computer linked to the network. If one user’s copy of the blockchain differs from the rest, then it’s clearly a fraud. </p><p>“If nobody is in charge, then everyone is in charge,” said Mark Ferraretto, an IT legal specialist who spoke to Cosmos last year. “Blockchain reflects this by allowing anyone to become part of the blockchain.”</p><p>Blockchains are most famously used to record cryptocurrency, but NFTs aren’t actually a cryptocurrency, though they work in a similar way and are often purchased using cryptocurrencies like Etherium.</p><p><strong>So, what’s the point of an NFT?</strong></p><p>Generally speaking, an NFT is a token of ownership. It gives its owner rights to a piece of digital media, like an artwork, photograph, GIF or meme. That’s why it’s been leapt upon by digital creatives as a new way to market their work. </p><p>Some NFTs have famously made people absurdly rich. Last year, a piece of digital art by the artist Mike Winkelmann – professionally known as Beeple – <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2021/3/11/22325054/beeple-christies-nft-sale-cost-everydays-69-million" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">sold for US$69 million</a> through auction-house Christie’s. Paris Hilton, celebrity heiress, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2021/nov/06/how-nfts-non-fungible-tokens-are-shaking-up-the-art-world" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">owns more than 150 NFTs</a>, including a virtual Chihuahua preening on a marble pedestal designed as an ode to her deceased pet, and which she displays on screens around her house.</p><p>But ownership of an NFT is a tricky concept. <a href="https://studiolegal.com.au/blog/nft-ownership/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NFTs have in-built smart contracts that specify the owner’s rights</a>. In some cases, owning an NFT might grant you exclusive rights to the art or media it encodes, but in many cases owning an NFT of an artwork only gives you the rights to the NFT itself, while the original artwork may well be freely available elsewhere, on the internet or in the real world. </p><p>An artist can transfer the copyright of the work to the purchaser, but they may also retain the copyright. Which begs the question: what exactly is the point? Do NFTs have actual value? </p><p>Like many economic products, an NFT’s value is exclusively tied to the fact that people perceive it to be valuable. Whether the value of any or all NFTs will hold depends on the power of the market. The <a href="https://www.marketwatch.com/story/prices-for-nfts-have-plunged-but-that-doesnt-mean-they-will-disappear-11619465199" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">average price of an NFT sank by 70%</a> between February and April last year, but some commentators ascribed that to the weeding out of “gimmicky” tokens. </p><p>For some people, an NFT is a collectible, like an insanely expensive but less tangible football card. As for Steve Smith NFTs? Think of them as digital memorabilia, and play on.</p><p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p></div><div id="contributors"><p><em>This article was originally published on <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/people/society/turning-sporting-heroes-nfts/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cosmosmagazine.com</a> and was written by Amalyah Hart. </em></p></div>

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