Digital art
What is digital art?
Digital art is a broad family of work made using digital technologies, software or algorithms (precisely written procedures by which a computer generates a result). It takes in digital graphics, video, art working with data and works created in collaboration with artificial intelligence. What they share is that the computer is not merely a tool for finishing the picture but often a co-author of the work itself. And it is precisely for that reason that it poses questions the art world is only beginning to learn how to answer.
When and how did digital art develop?
Its major expansion came from the 1990s with the arrival of personal computers and the internet, which gave artists a new canvas and a new audience. The real breakthrough on the market came only in 2021, though, when Christie's sold a digital work by the artist Beeple for a sum that shook received ideas about what could be auctioned at all. Digital art thereby called into question traditional notions of originality and ownership — a file can, after all, be copied endlessly. So where is the true original?
How are authenticity and ownership handled in digital art?
The key role here is played by blockchain (a shared, unalterable record of entries), which makes it possible to document authorship and ownership of a work that is otherwise easily copied. It is on blockchain that the NFT rests (a non-fungible token, a kind of digital certificate tied to a particular work), made famous by Beeple's breakthrough sale at Christie's, even if a deflated boom followed. With works made using artificial intelligence, authenticity is also verified with tools such as Art Recognition. Critics point to technological transience, as formats and storage media age faster than canvas.
How does digital art stand in the Czech context?
The Czech scene has always been close to experiment and technology. As early as the 1960s Zdeněk Sýkora was among the first in the world to use a computer in making his structures, so our domestic roots reach surprisingly deep. Later came artists combining video, data and installation, and digital art has become a full part of the institutional scene, collected by institutions such as the DOX centre and the National Gallery. The Czech market reacts more slowly than the West, but interest keeps growing.
How do digital art and AI do on the art market?
Artificial intelligence is now one of the key topics of the entire market, as the regular reports from the insurer Hiscox and the analysts at ArtTactic confirm. The actual figures are no small matter any more: a work by the humanoid robot Ai-Da was auctioned for more than a million dollars, and Refik Anadol, who has long worked with artificial intelligence, sold a work dedicated to one of Lionel Messi's goals for 1.87 million dollars in aid of a foundation. After the first flush of NFT enthusiasm, the market is looking for a soberer, more lasting position. And after all, isn't the whole thing only just beginning?
— Anna Pulkertová, founder of Art Part Club