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Thanks for doing some research! That's all I'd like to see people do. You misinterpret the practical workings there a little bit. The Tate will not need to buy

Thanks for doing some research! That's all I'd like to see people do. You misinterpret the practical workings there a little bit. The Tate will not need to buy another certificate if they choose to exhibit the drawing once again, by hiring draughtsman to paint it on a wall once more. It doesn't refer to a specific installation. The number of the wall drawing on the certificate refers to the design, not the physical object. Nevertheless, even with your interpretation, you could ask why a museum would want to pay for an artist to provide this kind of certification. I'm writing this from Frieze Art Fair. There are a number of video pieces here which you can buy. They'll give you a USB drive. They will pinky swear to only sell one of those, to you. And they'll give you a certificate of authenticity. Its supposed to certify that this isn't just a copy of the video that you made. Which isn't to say that you can't make a copy and give it to your friend. She will own the same bits. But only yours is authentic, because you have that certificate. That is what is meant by authenticity. It's a system the art world has experimented with for a while. These kinds of certificate-based works don't sell that easily either. Much easier to sell a painting. But it's the same system as an NFT and not more or less scammy than that.

lottin 5y ago
If the certificate does not refer to a specific installation it cannot perform its function as a certificate, which is to provide some sort of a proof that a particular installation is authentic. If the artist is indeed issuing and profiting from these certificates it could be considered fraud. A certificate of authenticity does make absolute sense in the case of physical art (provided that it actually certifies the authenticity of the work, of course), because physical copies are all slightly different. Therefore people may want to tell those that are original, i.e. made by the artist or under their supervision, apart from those that are not. By contrast, there is no such thing as an original copy of some digital information, because a piece of digital information isn't put together by any individual that could claim to be the author of the copy. Even if they could (which they definitely cannot), all copies are identical and impossible to tell apart one from another. Then, what would a certificate of authenticity be certifying exactly? Nothing. It's just a ploy.
- miracle2k 5y ago
  Yes, it's a ploy, to create a mechanism to sell digital conceptual and otherwise intangible art that cannot be owned in a physical way. A ploy that all actors willingly are signing on to - artists, galleries, and collectors. No one is misunderstanding what is going on. People are selling the certificate on the artificial assumption that it represents the art somehow, but you are buying the piece of paper. W
  - lottin 5y ago
    It's a ploy to trick unsophisticated investors into believing something infinitely abundant is actually scarce, through false advertising, deception and lies. The NFT industry must be called out for what it is—a rent-extracting industry that preys on the intellectually-challenged. Everybody would be better off if it went away.

lottin 5y ago

If the certificate does not refer to a specific installation it cannot perform its function as a certificate, which is to provide some sort of a proof that a particular installation is authentic. If the artist is indeed issuing and profiting from these certificates it could be considered fraud. A certificate of authenticity does make absolute sense in the case of physical art (provided that it actually certifies the authenticity of the work, of course), because physical copies are all slightly different. Therefore people may want to tell those that are original, i.e. made by the artist or under their supervision, apart from those that are not. By contrast, there is no such thing as an original copy of some digital information, because a piece of digital information isn't put together by any individual that could claim to be the author of the copy. Even if they could (which they definitely cannot), all copies are identical and impossible to tell apart one from another. Then, what would a certificate of authenticity be certifying exactly? Nothing. It's just a ploy.

miracle2k 5y ago
Yes, it's a ploy, to create a mechanism to sell digital conceptual and otherwise intangible art that cannot be owned in a physical way. A ploy that all actors willingly are signing on to - artists, galleries, and collectors. No one is misunderstanding what is going on. People are selling the certificate on the artificial assumption that it represents the art somehow, but you are buying the piece of paper. W
- lottin 5y ago
  It's a ploy to trick unsophisticated investors into believing something infinitely abundant is actually scarce, through false advertising, deception and lies. The NFT industry must be called out for what it is—a rent-extracting industry that preys on the intellectually-challenged. Everybody would be better off if it went away.