Few days ago, I bumped into Foundation, the most elite, semi-exclusive NFT marketplace. As I scrolled down the website, a neatly organized grid of pixelated monkeys, 3D rendered avatars, morphing abstract objects filled up my screen. It almost felt almost like Instagram’s Explore tab except the strong presence of insane price tags. And as how most people use Instagram, I found myself mindlessly scrolling, feeling nothing. My attention on each art piece didn’t last more than couple seconds.
Marshall McLuhan famously quoted, “the medium is the message”, saying the form and methods used to communicate information have a signifiant impact on the messages they deliver. The same concept applies to art-viewing: The atmosphere that museums emanate is as important as the objects breathing within. What is at the root of exhibition experience, the sacredness of fathoming the mind of creators and artists, is not in the object per se, but the in-betweenness of objects and spaces. From the moment starting to plan out your visit, picking an outfit that would suit well, the faint scent of acrylic paint and plaster, the ample space between frames, the stark yet warm lightings, the still people fixated on objects, the soft voices of commenting — It is these little elements that complete the experience of enjoying art. With all of our senses being engaged, you can’t help but tie to the moment, the object, the space.
In contrast, scrolling through a grid of hundred images couldn’t be more casual. I was wearing my most comfortable sweat suit, holding a can of seltzer on my left hand as my right hand scrolled the mouse wheel. When my eyes were looking at one art piece, there was always another piece one scroll away. My desk was a little messy, half-scribbled post-it notes here and there. My browser 18 tabs open, ready to be switched anytime. This was also the same space where I work and do assignments, watch movies, check Twitter, send emails, and get on a Zoom call. I surely couldn’t be in the same mood as if I were at exhibition halls, concert halls, museums, or theaters.
I closed the Foundation tab after couple minutes because it seemed like no place for non-collectors and non-investors. In fact, the very design of the page was optimized for collectors and investors for bidding and trading purposes. It surely was efficient to see all available art for purchase in a feed sorted by its popularity, but that layout was exactly what got me less interested.
For digital art NFTs not be seen as mere speculation tools but more of a cultural movement, the consumption experience (not just the materiality of objects in display) needs an artificial structure that guides our interaction towards seriousness that can counter the inevitable casualness begotten from digital engagement. You see, Foundation may let me buy anything I would buy at an exhibition, but it doesn’t let me shop the way I could shop at an exhibition, or enjoy the way I would enjoy at an exhibition. What matters to digital-native consumers will no longer be the logistics (that I could buy NFTs here) but the experience (how I can consume NFTs here and potentially purchase).
