Bits and Bytes of Art
Would you please watch this short video before continuing? It’s a little over a minute and sets the stage for the rest of the story. Thanks.
I found this video on Twitter and I must tell you it blew my mind.
This is an example of digital art. Computers have been generating graphics for years and I guess we’ve all seen digital pictures without even thinking of it.
Digital art is new to me but it’s not new. I was surprised to learn that the first digital artist is considered to be Andy Warhol, the artist who painted the Campbell’s Soup Cans in 1962:
Warhol was first an artist in paint, most commonly painting celebrities, including Mick Jagger, Liza Minelli, John Lennon, Diana Ross and even the Shah of Iran.
In 1984 Warhol was introduced to Steve Jobs at the 9th birthday party of John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s son Sean. Jobs had gifted Sean an Apple Macintosh computer and while watching the child play with it, Warhol became intrigued. Jobs gave Warhol a brief tutorial, including the use of the mouse which Warhol had been waiving in the air. “Look!” Warhol said beaming. “I drew a circle!”
The problem Warhol had with the Macintosh was that it was only black and white.
Warhol became quite interested in digital technology and when Commodore International came out with its $3,000 ($8,200 today) Amiga, Warhol became brand ambassador for the company. Part of that gig was to create a digital painting live on the stage at the product’s launch in Lincoln Center. He chose Debbie Harry (lead singer of the group Blondie) as his subject:
He also created a self-portrait:
Even though these appear crude by today’s standards, their color and style are distinctly Warhol.
In 1985, Warhol used the Amiga to generate other images of Debbie Harry:
What the great Warhol did isn’t technically sophisticated today, but nearly 40 years ago it was groundbreaking. He shot a black and white photo using a digital camera (I didn’t even know there was such a thing in 1985!) and used a computer program called ProPaint to colorize the image.
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Since Warhol’s pioneering work, there have been many artists who have created digital art using various computers and software. Many computer games employ digital art to increase the desirability of the games.
Movies employ huge amounts of digital images, where it’s referred to as Computer-generated Imagery (CGI). Remember “Avatar”, the one with the blue people? That movie is comprised of about 70% CGI. It still ranks as one of the most expensive movies ever made and is regarded as one of the best uses of CGI in history — no matter what people say about the plot.
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Imagine you decide to become a digital artist. You master your trade over years of learning and practice. You start to digitally paint incredibly beautiful art and your talent becomes widely recognized.
How do you sell your art? It’s electronic and what’s to stop a buyer to use “save as” on his computer and make one or a thousand copies to resell? How do you protect yourself?
You use blockchain technology. Blockchain is the same digital security that is used in Bitcoin and other digital currencies. (See my article CryptoMania.) Blockchain employs a code called a Non-Fungible Token (NFT) to securely protect the digital file and to verify the ownership of a work of digital art. Basically, the NFT is the key that unlocks the file. Buyers typically get limited rights to display the digital artwork they purchase but often buyers are just buying an asset they may be able to resell later.
The use of NFT technology for digital art has absolutely exploded over the past few years. In fact, in March 2021 a work of digital art sold for $69 MILLION at Christie’s auction house. Incredible. I think somebody’s got too much free cash!
NFTs are the newest “thing”. Everyone’s getting into the act. Even Wawa created an NFT of its “Hogieman” pictured with a cheesesteak.
I think I’m gonna give the whole digital art thing a try. If some guy we never heard of can get $69 million, I might be able to get $6.90 so I can buy a Wawa cheesesteak. But don’t hold your breath.
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Our liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost.”
- Thomas Jefferson
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Two Short Yuks
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