Summary
Beeple is an American graphic designer and world-renowned digital artist. He sold NFT works at a traditional art auction house and ranked among the top three most expensive living artists. Many people believe that Beeple proves that art can be digital and does not necessarily have to have physical properties. His works are aesthetically impressive, and various other developments in the NFT field and market structure have also boosted his popularity.
Introduction
Beeple has brought attention to non-fungible tokens (NFTs) through his digital artworks. Therefore, he can be considered an important figure in promoting and popularizing NFTs. In addition, his art is a living example of the use case of NFTs, inspiring other creative people to follow suit.
Who is Beeple?
Beeple, real name Mike Winkelmann, is an American graphic designer and digital artist who featured his work at concerts of celebrities like Justin Bieber, Nicki Minaj, and Childish Gambino before bursting onto the NFT art scene.
During his long career in traditional art galleries, even the exclusive field of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) was unknown. More and more people suggested that he try new ways to publish artistic works, and his exposure to NFT was more like an accidental attempt. Today, Beeple has over 2 million Instagram followers and ranks among the three most expensive living artists.
Beeple's NFT artworks often use politicians, pop culture icons, etc. to satirize the current situation and interpret modern politics and culture in a unique form. Interestingly, he has gained attention from the traditional art world through his original animation art NFT, and made political and social comments in a visual form.
What made Beeple famous overnight?
Beeple began selling NFTs in February 2020. His earliest works shocked the art and technology worlds when they were published, with digital artworks selling for tens of thousands of dollars. One of Beeple's first NFTs sold was called "Crossroad." The work was carefully designed to change depending on the results of the US presidential election in November 2020. The work, recorded in the blockchain, was sold for $66,666.66 and later resold for a high price of $6.7 million.
When the veteran auction house Christie's announced that Beeple's NFT art works would be auctioned, it was Beeple's most high-profile moment. This also made Christie's the first mainstream auction house to sell purely digital NFT art works. Additionally, this is the first time that Christie’s auction house has accepted Ethereum as a form of payment.
The artwork, titled "Everydays: The First 5000 Days," sold for more than $69 million. The piece looks like a colorful pixel mosaic, but is actually made up of 5,000 individual images. These 5,000 images are the work of Beeple's daily creation for more than 13 years.
Beeple's rise to fame may be timely. When he got involved in NFT, the field was gaining momentum. Another systemic reason is the huge socio-economic changes in the world caused by the spread of the new crown epidemic. People began to spend more time on digital devices and work from home, so they are more likely to be attracted to new digital applications.
Beeple's sale of "Every Day" NFT coincides with the peak of NFT. However, like all popular cycles, the NFT craze has gradually faded.
How Beeple changed the way people think about NFTs
Beeple has brought digital art into the mainstream through various successful NFT projects. For example, Christie's auction house publicly announced the sale of digital art, which shows that NFT has the potential to become part of elite culture. It also proves to the general public that art can be digitized without having physical properties. It also enhances the public's understanding of the combination of art and blockchain technology, and the various new possibilities that come with it.
The NFT form allows artists to create and make a living without going out. Therefore, during the COVID-19 epidemic, many artists began to consider NFT creation. In addition, NFT provides artists with a new way to display their creative pursuits. Not only niche independent artists, but also celebrities such as Paris Hilton, Edward Snowden and Eminem have begun issuing NFT projects.
For example, Snoop Dogg announced the launch of the first NFT collection series called "A Journey with the Dogg", showing his past glorious moments in the form of NFT artworks. In addition, Canadian musician Grimes created an NFT art collection series consisting of 10 works, with the theme of exploring the future world, and millions of them were collected in just a few seconds.
With so many celebrities jumping into the space, Beeple’s work is key to NFT’s mainstream adoption. First, he’s the highest-paid artist in the world, proving that creators can make money without relying on traditional publishers and media. Second, his debut work showcases an artistic style that can only be realized in digital form. And finally, he was creating art long before NFTs were a thing. Therefore, his digital masterpiece proves that this new field is not just about money, but also provides artists with a new way to display their work.
What are the development prospects of NFT?
Beeple is world-renowned for his NFT artworks. However, due to their scarcity and uniqueness, NFTs are also well suited for other rich use cases such as gaming, music, and finance. For example, users can use gaming NFTs to prove the authenticity and uniqueness of in-game items such as guns and plots of land. In addition, users can earn income by playing so-called "earn while playing" NFT games.
Similar to art paintings, audio can also be bound to NFT and become a collectible musical work. As we all know, there are only a minority of musicians who rely on music creation to support themselves, and NFT is expected to improve the fairness of the music industry business model. Through blockchain-based streaming platforms or blockchain copyright fee tracking, NFT can solve this problem.
NFTs can also be used as tickets to concerts and live events, creating a secondary market for NFTs based on the access they provide.
Although the NFT market and its accompanying boom will gradually slow down in 2022, the NFT field continues to develop and reinvent itself. We will also witness new iterations and rich use cases of NFT.
To be exact, everyone can become an NFT creator. Established artists or creators of some kind can earn royalties through NFTs without the need for an agency or broker. Additionally, unlike traditional art galleries, many NFT markets are open to everyone to participate. Blockchain technology gives NFT inclusiveness. Moreover, NFT is a digital form, and all creations can be displayed anywhere in the world. Anyone can be like Beeple and become famous and recognized overnight after releasing their artwork to the public.
Summarize
Beeple has proven that NFT is a viable medium for art dissemination and collection. In addition to digital artworks, NFTs also open up new ways to improve the current development of industries such as gaming, music, and finance. The NFT ecosystem will also welcome many new projects that can provide unique use cases and create value.