Digital artist: Liu Chengjie, Dong Shihang interviewed on the value of NFT digital creations

After the NFT digital artwork by the American digital artist Beeple fetched a sky-high price of 690 million at Christie's, the reaction was not just limited to the cryptocurrency community's excitement but also sparked confusion and bewilderment among the general public.

"What is this? Why is it so expensive?"

"This is just a hype, far from being considered art."

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"Is NFT really valuable?"

Justine Lu, co-founder of the Taiwan NFT auction platform Lootex, shared:

I've had several opportunities to converse with professionals in the traditional art industry, and I could sense the discrimination and lack of understanding from collectors or gallery owners towards NFTs, while artists are eager to explore new technologies.

Exclusive interviews with two digital artists, Liu Chengjie and Dong Shihang, who have just released NFTs, discussing "Is digital creation considered art?" and "How do digital creators view NFTs?"

What do you think of NFT? Can it help digital creators?

Dong Shihang: "The development of NFT in the industry is a pattern that I believe will inevitably emerge with technological evolution."

He mentioned that he finds it difficult to criticize the pros and cons of NFT and initially found it hard to imagine applying the technology to art transactions. However, based on his experience in digital art creation and commercial collaborations, there are indeed pain points. Dong Shihang stated, "For a long time, digital works could only be used for self-promotion, and the process of commercialization was difficult to balance financially. Reproducible goods also blur the rarity and value of the artwork."

Dong Shihang mentioned that the Beeple case has indeed sparked interest in NFT in the art world. However, he believes that this market fluctuates, and not all time points yield the same results. Whether it can help digital art creators, in his opinion, depends on how the creators operate and perceive the situation.

He expressed, "Some people think this market will disrupt the art market or devalue the art, but I don't see it that way. In reality, art auctions and collections are full of unimaginable things. For example, video art is also collected, and modern art has become electronic. It's just that NFT transactions allow all data and prices to be viewed directly on the website, enabling people to collect from home at any time. In fact, Sotheby's auctions can also be live-streamed online or ordered online. The difference is that most of what they buy needs to be physically stored, but the act of collecting still comes back to the collector's perception of value. Just like some people would spend hundreds of thousands to buy virtual treasures in online games, as long as there is a stable and clearly certified way to possess something, I believe everyone has material and non-material items they want to collect. The emergence of NFT transactions just diversifies the collection mode."

As for whether NFT is a bubble, Beeple himself has said in interviews that he believes NFT is indeed a bubble phenomenon, but the early development of the Internet was also like this. Eventually, good things will remain.

Liu Chengjie agrees that NFT is a bubble, but he believes it has not reached the point of bursting. He stated, "In the short evolution of NFT, its original purpose was not for art but a new business transaction model. However, due to the characteristics of NFT and blockchain, digital art has generated unparalleled value."

Liu Chengjie believes that NFT has an encouraging effect on artists. He said, "Currently, stable sales of NFT by artists or works are usually based on their own traffic monetization or the quality of the work is already top-notch globally. Looking at it from this perspective, the current existence of NFT encourages those who persist. It is like investing a significant amount of time and passion into a field in return." He added:

The existence of NFT reminds society that design, art, or new media all have value, and this value is unimaginable with traditional thinking.

Is digital creation not considered art?

Liu Chengjie mentioned that he comes from a traditional fine arts background and has been holding a paintbrush since he was young.

I can understand the inevitable conflict between traditional and technology.

Liu Chengjie stated, "For me, digital creation is just a medium. To elaborate, there is a modeling process in the software, sculpting objects from scratch, which I consider as sketching in pixels. The next stage involves lighting, adding materials, rendering, etc., which I would explain as the base and shading in sketching, or coloring in watercolors. By thinking from this perspective, you will realize that art is not related to digital or physical; the focus is on the creative context and practical process."

Regarding the argument that digital creation is not considered art, Dong Shihang also disagreed.

He said, "If the term 'artistic output' is limited to physical objects to be considered art, I do not agree with this statement. This seems to ignore art history and technological development. A little research will show that art transactions have long involved not only traditional painting or sculpture but also photography and videos in the art market. Performance artists sometimes need photographic equipment for documentation, and these creations have gone through electronic processes. So, strictly speaking, this comment is not very logical." He added:

I believe that any form of art, as long as it can be collected, is considered art.

Is digital art easily replicable and still valuable?

Due to digitization, digital art is easily captured and downloaded on any device; it can be easily reproduced or stolen via the internet. Even NFT tokenized images can be easily captured. Does this raise concerns about the value of digital art?

Dong Shihang acknowledged that there are concerns about digital art being stolen and replicated, but the issue of collectible value involves authentication mechanisms. Counterfeits are also common in reality, as anything can be copied and stolen; even brand images and design systems can be plagiarized. When digital art is copied or stolen, copyright laws can be used to restrict and publicly declare our position and statement. Generally, people will be more cautious not to buy unauthorized products from artists, and even if someone intentionally buys pirated versions to show off online, they would likely be shunned and ridiculed by the community.

On the other hand, Liu Chengjie believes that the existence of NFT can perfectly solve this issue. He admitted that NFT cannot prevent digital works from being copied or downloaded, but NFT sells the certificate of the work, meaning that when you buy a piece, you are purchasing the authorization of the work. The buyer becomes a unique owner of the work, and this information is recorded on the blockchain, unchangeable and unforgeable. Therefore, when this technology is applied to digital works, it indeed resolves the value problem of being easily stolen.

The Common Point of Art and Blockchain: No Restrictions

Do you remember the feature that blockchain loves to emphasize? "Permissionless" no need for permission.

Perhaps digital creation NFT does not need validation to determine its value or whether it is considered art.

Lootex co-founder Lu Jijie said, "I personally appreciate the reflection and collision brought by this wave of NFT trends, which reminds me of the rise of cryptocurrencies in the past, even feeling that these behaviors are very much in line with the spirit of blockchain. Looking at the current popular styles of crypto art, they mostly consist of cyberpunk or satirical memes, expressing their views on current affairs through art. Perhaps these rebellious artists, despite being heavily criticized by traditional art world figures, still choose to NFT their works independently, which I find very rebellious and artistic (laughs)."