In the summer of 2021 I purchased some DENKSTAHL artworks. In addition to the very beautiful artworks, I received a certificate signed by the artist for each piece, confirming the authenticity and uniqueness of these artworks. This additional certification is necessary because DENKSTAHL creates his art in digital form, and these digital originals can, in theory, be reproduced at will.

This example is an excellent illustration of the use of NFTs in the art world. Currently, the term NFT is used very broadly, especially in connection with digital art and collectibles; this goes so far that many types of digital art are currently referred to as NFTs. This mixes up different topics and neglects the fact that digital art has been around for decades and not just since the rise of NFTs in early 2021.

For better understanding and delineation, below is a brief definition, in the hope that this very clear and technical description does not take the magic out of the concept of NFTs:

 »NFT is the acronym for Non-Fungible Token. In a simplified view, NFTs are unique tokens that represent a digital or real-world object and whose ownership is accounted for in a special, secure database (the blockchain).«

On a side note: the name NFT or Non-Fungible Token was certainly not defined by a professional marketing team. Rarely, and this is the case here as well, is a technological description of an object’s properties a good product name.

However, due to the technological properties already described in the name, NFTs are ideally suited as proof of authenticity and ownership for a wide variety of types of objects, both in the real and digital world, for example works of art, real estate or admission tickets. This new technology has triggered a real hype in the field of purely digital art since the beginning of 2021, as NFTs can be used to confirm (certify) the authenticity and uniqueness of digital artworks (images, videos). Until now, this was not possible in such a form.

NFTs could thus serve as a certificate for the authenticity of the physical DENKSTAHL artworks that I purchased. This obvious use, however, exploits only a fraction of the potential that NFTs offer, especially for the art market.

Much more interesting, from my point of view, is the possibility of acquiring real and unique DENKSTAHL artworks in digital form. This enables the collection of digital artworks in their original form, i.e. the form in which they were edited and created by the artist (usually image files in high resolution). These can be displayed on special smart TVs or art screens, for example. I use different digital artworks on a large Smart TV to complement the physical artworks and adapt my living room to the mood of the moment.

Furthermore, as the digital and physical worlds continue to merge – which each of us experiences daily using a wide variety of apps on our smartphones, and which will receive a further boost in the coming years through augmented and virtual reality and the emergence of widespread virtual worlds known as metaverses – the importance and potential use cases of purely digital art increases exponentially. As a first step, NFTs will become widely used on social media apps, with Twitter and Instagram leading the way in this area.