“Web3 extends the reach of arts institutions to audiences it previously couldn’t access,” it said Madeleine PierpontWeb3 Contributor for the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA). “Digital art is one of the most accessible art forms of any art form in existence because it can live in so many places in our lives.”
The insight was one of many that came from one panel discussion at the world’s largest art auction house, Christies, in New York City. These years Art + Tech summit program included a session entitled “AI, Digital Assets and the Future of Museums and Galleries.”
Much of the conversation revolved around the how Web3non-fungible tokens (NFTs) And AI influence the art landscape worldwide.
Digital art isn’t new to MoMA, Pierpont said, noting the institution’s involvement with space since 1960. The more recent emergence of block chain And NFTs prompted MoMA to create a multidisciplinary Web3 team.
Lukas Amacher, General Manager of 1OR1– a collectors club specializing in digital art – explained that the zeitgeist is “art in the digital age, rather than digital art.” According to him, NFTs are the ‘enabler’ that told them that ‘collecting digital objects now makes sense’.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency space is still in its infancy, a feeling that Anthony Troisi, Director of Finance & Operations for the Miami Institute of Contemporary Art echoes. “We recognize it’s very early days,” he said, adding that they’re working with the tech community to “create best practices” and explore what this new reality means.
Artificial intelligence (AI), which has gained momentum in recent months, was briefly discussed during the session. the moderator, New Museum Deputy Director Isolde Brielmaierasked about the threat it could pose to the artistic and curatorial process.
“I think AI is a tool,” Pierpoint said, adding that “I don’t see much legitimacy in the kind of threat AI poses to artistic production and curation.”
Anthony Troisi agreed, claiming that the “human curation aspect always comes first,” though he says AI can “facilitate some of the more labor-intensive research components of the curation task and potentially make connections that you otherwise wouldn’t have drawn individually.”
The Art + Tech conference continues until tomorrow.