GBA4 | GBAFOCUS Friday, May 7, 2021 HONG KONG EDITION | CHINA DAILY Although NFT-backed Art sales are gaining traction in the art world, questions about the viability of this new digital currency abound. Joyce Yip has some answers.

n the past six months, three major auction houses — Christie’s, Sotheby’s and Phil- lips — opened their NFT sales Iaccount. And all of them fetched at least seven digits. At Christie’s March 2021 sale Beeple’s (Mike Win- kelmann) EVERYDAYS: THE FIRST EVERYDAYS: THE FIRST 5000 DAYS went for a whopping 5000 DAYS (left), a collage $69.3 million — the third-highest of digital images created by price achieved by a living artist, top- Beeple, was the first piece ping Je™ Koons’ orange Balloon Dog of NFT-backed art offered ($58.4 million). at a Christie’s auction and An acronym for “non-fungible sold for $69.3 million. tokens”, NFTs are units of data stored PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY on the blockchain that cannot be changed or replaced. A 10 dollar bill, There are people in the crypto-world NFT developer William for example, can be traded for two with vested interests,” he said, going Entriken advises those fi vers, and hence is fungible, whereas on to list some of the theories about looking to invest in NFT an NFT is unique and conversion- Beeple’s success circulating in the art to stick to reputable resistant. Usually, NFTs are used to market. platforms. PROVIDED TO represent cyber fi les, including digi- “Theory one is that the auction CHINA DAILY tal art. Although an NFT holder does house and the buyer colluded to get not have exclusive right to the con- the prices as high as possible in order cerned artwork — meaning everyone to build the viability of the NFT mar- with access to the internet can still ketplace. Theory two is that Beeple obtain and copy the fi le — an NFT was involved, which is not very likely is proof of the item’s authenticity, because Beeple was already a promi- and purchasing one gives the buyer nent artist before becoming an NFT bragging rights, similar to owning person.” an original piece of art, signed by the artist. Mad Dog Jones’ (left) creation Is the art any good? ilar to an investment fund, subscribers REPLICATOR, Generation 1 Whether its success is organic have no say in the sale of these works Not so long ago… (above), will keep producing or not, increasingly NFT is making but will receive dividends as part of NFTs captured the art world’s new NFTs until Generation 7 is inroads into the traditional art spac- the purchasing agreement written attention in 2017 after two “creative reached. PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY es. House of Fine Art Gallery in Lon- directly into the relevant blockchain technologists” — John Watkinson don has launched its ARTCELS digi- code. ARTCELS releases new portfo- and Matt Hall — debuted 24-by-24 on a daily basis since May 2007 and worthy hammer prices fetched by tal investment platform where sub- lios annually and tours the art pieces pixel images of pipe-smoking heads collating them. It was the fi rst piece NFT-backed art, hinting at a possible scribers can buy shares in a portfolio around the world, giving subscribers that were soon being treated as one- of art up for an NFT-backed auction collusion between auction house and of blue-chip art by the likes of Kaws, a chance to see their investments in of-a-kind collectibles. More such art at Christie’s where cryptocurrency buyers, especially when the lat- Banksy, Damien Hirst, Je™ the physical space. Last year’s XXI surfaced in the market, some more was accepted as payment. However, ter remain anonymous. Koons and series went to London, Los Angeles gimmicky than others, such as the the auction house had dabbled in “I have no accusa- more. and Mykonos; and the Millennials googly-eyed CryptoKitties, which has blockchain technology earlier, in tions here, and Sim- portfolio, released in April, is expected accumulated a total trading volume 2018, by using a digital ledger to I have no evi- to reach Shanghai by the end of this of $39 million since its release in record the sales from its Barney A. dence, but year. 2017. As of last year, the NFT market Ebsworth Collection. some of the “We love NFT-backed digital art is worth about $250 million, thanks Sotheby’s now lists some of its lots hammer but it all must link to quality art with to “revenge spending” during COV- under The Fungible Collection. It is fees may a real process,” said HOFA founder ID-19 and the new-found enthusi- also applying NFT to tangible goods. go back Elio D’Anna. “The value isn’t just asm of Bitcoin millionaires. Its Important Watches Spring Sale to the in the digital fi le or the token. So Banksy’s Grin Reaper is part of While skeptics warn that the in Hong Kong in April saw limited- buy- many seem to think they can just HOFA’s just-launched Millennials exuberance currently seen around edition timepieces accompanied by er. release anything with NFT and it portfolio, which allows investors to NFT might be a passing fad, even an NFT record of provenance plus can sell for millions.” buy shares of blue-chip art using traditional brands dealing in tan- a video revealing the watchmaking “Earlier, NFTs were all about blockchain technology. gible products — like DC Comics process. numbers and profi ts. But we’re get- and Nike — have embraced this new Robert Sleigh, managing director ting to a point where we see really ibles), ... there’s a lot of FOMO (fear of digital currency format. And that of operations, Sotheby’s Asia, regards good work and realizing the impor- missing out) happening, he said, add- three of the world’s major auction NFT “as the glue between physical tance of selling NFT with something ing that speculators often “don’t even houses have jumped on to the NFT assets and digital ownership” and physical and making a connec- look at what they’re buying”. bandwagon has further legitimized adds that he’s keen to explore the tion between the two, rather than Aside from authentication, the use its growing infl uence. “tremendous crossover potential focusing on just the metaverse,” of NFT in art promises unprecedented NFTs are prized for the unique across a variety of luxury categories, he added. transparency, such as automating the stamp of authenticity they place on as well as traditional fi ne art.” Entriken, however, argues that the payment of resale royalties and creat- a work of art and also help trace all However, William Entriken, the NFT art buyer is far from what he ing new models of profi t distribution past transactions. Still, it’s not one- main author of the NFT standard calls an “entrepreneurial opportunist”. that ultimately give control back to size-fi ts-all. ERC-721, sounds skeptical when Aside from having a genuine apprecia- the artist. For instance, Mad Dog Jones’ REP- it comes to reports of front-page- tion for the artist and artwork, he said, Entriken, therefore, advises buy- LICATOR, sold recently by Phillips, the NFT art investor is looking for a ers to stick to reputable platforms, turns the idea of investing in art, foolproof stamp of authenticity. comparing buying from lesser-known i.e. buying an original work with no “With an NFT, there’s no confusion marketplaces to “randomly walking duplicates, on its head. Its Genera- that it is 100 percent real. It holds into a co™ ee shop and bidding $2 mil- tion 1 begins as an illustration of a the same importance as your (luxury lion on the art on its walls”. photocopy machine in an o¨ ce and designer) handbag’s hologram sticker, Despite the current confusions and will continue to produce new NFTs which is much easier to copy.” skepticism about the e¨ cacy and via- every 28 days for six months. Each HOFA founder “Some of the stu™ you see bility of the system, NFTs are the cur- subsequent generation will produce Elio D’Anna on Rarible (a block- rency of the future. As companies and one less artwork in its lifetime until (left) says it chain market- creators continue to explore its appli- Generation 7 emerges. The piece’s is increasingly place for cations, find correlation with other anonymous buyer possesses all the possible to collect- currencies and eliminate the loopholes NFT jams — the technology that connect NFTs with for illegal activities, the value of NFT could be applied to stop the process art in tangible form. in the areas of authentication, record- of replication. Observer (right), by keeping and giving artists another Vladinsky, is part of stage to shine on will likely be better HOFA’s May portfolio appreciated. Are record prices for real? of NFT art. Beeple created EVERYDAYS by In other words, watch this space: posting a new digital image online NFTs are staying.

Films Raise a glass to the worthies

By ELIZABETH KERR Vinterberg’s Oscar-winner for Best Inter- the world. They decide to give it a try. its ability to make the viewer feel the four national Film, Another Round, in which From there, Vinterberg chronicles the men’s feelings of overdue glee. That’s a tall Drinking is fun. It can relax inhibitions, four stagnating middle-aged school teach- quartet’s often uproarious adventures, order at a time when most of us will shrug at loosen the tongue and get a party started. ers undertake an alcohol experiment for in school and out of it, with a measured the “su™ ering” of aš uent men. But Vinter- Now, that’s not meant to be an encour- the pleasure of it. As in Trainspotting, the remove that frames them well within the berg, as he did in The Hunt and The Celebra- agement to go out and guzzle a fi fth of makers of Another Round — whose Danish context of their lives and the world around tion, digs the resonant humanity smother vodka. Still, the pleasures of drinking are title, Druk, literally means “binge drinking” them. Vinterberg and co-writer Tobias Lind- by social contract out of his characters. a 12,000-year-old fact of life and will likely — admit there is indeed a limit to that good holm dance on a fi ne line that somehow The bond that Larsen’s Tommy makes with remain that way for some time. feeling, and under the wrong circumstances brings us into the experiment and keeps Specs, the smallest kid on the school soc- Back in 1996, Danny Boyle had the it could tip over into self-destruction. us outside of it; finding the humor in a cer team, is beautifully rendered. It makes audacity to note that the junkies of The fi lm starts with history teacher Mar- soused supermarket visit but also spotting Tommy’s inability to drop the experiment all Trainspotting did heroin because it felt tin () celebrating a friend’s the tragedy in alienating spouses when the the more moving. good. So it is with Danish director Thomas birthday at the end of a long, terrible week. booze invariably gets out of control. Wheth- Mikkelsen is a gloriously icy actor. It’s He’s distanced from his wife and children, er Vinterberg intended to make a statement what has made him such a popular Holly- and his students have launched a formal about addiction is debatable, but he does wood villain (Casino Royale, Hannibal). But complaint about his lackluster teaching. At a masterful job of interrogating whether Martin is one of the warmest performances Another Round dinner, sociology teacher Nikolaj (Magnus assisted inspiration in the form of substance of his career. Without his fi nal, ambiguous, Directed by , writ- Millang) tells Martin, gym coach Tommy abuse is worth the cost while taking a swipe dance around the town courtyard, Another ten by Thomas Vinterberg and Tobias (Vinterberg regular ) at drinking culture. Round, would be just another movie about Lindholm. Starring Mads Mikkelsen and music instructor Peter () Shot in a loosely Dogme95 style (the middle-aged white ennui. Its inclusion and Thomas Bo Larsen. , 116 about an obscure theory that suggests a movement co-founded by Vinterberg and makes the fi lm an elegant examination of constant blood alcohol level of 0.05 percent Lars von Trier), all natural light and hand- desperation vanquished by hedonism in minutes, rated IIA. Opened Thursday. maximizes creativity and engagement with held camera, Another Round is e™ ortless in moderation.