Two art pieces by the famed painter and photographer David Hockney are to go on sale through blockchain in September 2019. The pieces, which are photographic drawings printed on paper, will be tokenized through Artbloc, a South Korean blockchain technology platform.
As reported by PYMNTS.com, the tokenization event is planned to take place on September 19. During the event, the ownership of the two artworks titled Focus Moving, and Picture Gathering with Mirror will be split into thousands of blockchains tokens, allowing more people to have a simultaneous stake in the legendary artist’s work.
What are the Terms of Artbloc’s Blockchain Tokens?
It was explained that Focus Moving would have 8,500 tokens issued; whereas, Picture Gathering with Mirror will be represented on the blockchain through 5,000 tokens. Whereas, each token will hold a value of 9,900 won or $8.18.
The transaction will take place over the Ethereum blockchain. The way to trade the tokens has not been finalized yet, with Artblock considering both private or public trading modes.
One idea that’s being analyzed is to list the tokens on a particular exchange platform initialized via Hong Kong in 2020. With that being said, it’s not confirmed whether this concept will come to fruition, or if the tokens will be sold through a location other than Hong Kong.
Why are Artbloc Tokens Important for David Hockney Pieces?
The artworks are being tokenized this way to give more people the opportunity to associate their investment portfolio with a Hockney. This increases the chances for art enthusiasts to own a part of Hockney’s body of work, which most recently fetched a record-breaking amount at an auction.
A Hockney piece was last sold in November 2018 for an astonishing $90 million, smashing previous auction records. Much of this is to do with the 82-year-old’s status. He’s known as one of the most influential artists of his generation.
Born in 1937, Hockney is known as being a pivotal figure in the 1960s pop art movement. From there, the artist went on to develop an interest in a variety of mediums and established his prowess as a prominent figure in the painting, photography, printmaking, and stage designing among other fields. Today, his work ranges across a variety of mediums, with his photographic drawing collection from 2018 being the talk of the town for art enthusiasts everywhere.
That is why owning a Hockney is a dream come true for any art collector. But even as one piece from the artist could go as close to a hundred million, ticking this item off of the to-do list is not easy for every art aficionado. Even when the Hockney pieces are low in value, they are priced at thousands of dollars — which is still an amount that’s out of reach for many people.
That is what Artbloc aspires to change through its tokenization initiative.
The Initiative Aims to Make High-End Art More Accessible
In the case of these two Hockney artworks, the token distribution puts the value of Focus Moving a little over $69,500, and the price of Picture Gathering with Mirror at $40,900. Since the rate is anything but affordable, buying the artwork in its entirety is not feasible for the average investor.
But distributing the artworks’ value into thousands of tokens makes it very affordable to own these pieces, while also making the ownership stake completely legitimate.
This feature opens doors for art collectors and investors with average income. The component offers those who cannot afford to spend thousands of dollars over a single art piece — no matter how much they appreciate it. With the highly affordable distribution mechanism, such art aficionados now have a way to own a legitimate stake in the work of one of the world’s most celebrated artists.
Starting from these two Hockney pieces, Artbloc intends to make even more high-end art available to the average art collector.
Since thousands of owners will own the two pieces at once, Artbloc will serve as a trusted intermediary. The company intends to house the pieces within art galleries in Seoul, so spectators and collectors could enjoy them in all their glory.
Such an Initiative Could Work Equally as Well for the Artist
The initiative holds clear advantages for the buyers. But in its widespread application, it also has the potential to provide more than a few benefits for the sellers or artists.
Normally, an artist’s work is sold for thousands or millions of dollars only after they have spent years or decades. It is after they have paid their dues that they achieve a certain level of fame and success. Any paintings sold before their acquired status go for a lower price, only to fetch an astoundingly high price later.
Given that the artist has already sold their rights along with their artwork, they cannot do anything but accept the fate of seeing their work benefiting others with millions in profit.
This mechanism could be judged by how the Hockney piece that sold for $90 million did not benefit the artist with the increased price. Having sold the painting for $18,000 in 1972, Hockney did not get a single dollar from the multi-million dollar sale.
Through blockchain technology’s immutable ledger, the chain of command could be tracked effectively. The artist could then not only be credited with the creation of the piece but also benefit from a set amount of profit no matter how many buyers their artwork goes through over the years.
While this is a concept use of the technology and currently being explored by Singapore based blockchain firm Maecenas, it is not an official part of the Artbloc platform.
Overall, the current initiative by Artbloc and the actions being proposed by Maecenas are opening new windows of opportunity for the world of art. It would be safe to say that combining technology in its everyday practices would benefit the art sector immensely.
The ZB Group’s Take
This story is another prime example of how the blockchain can add value to different sectors, and reward creators in a more substantial fashion. The ZB Group is invested in the blockchain for the long-term and views this as yet another example of how industries can utilize the blockchain to create further value.
About ZB Group
ZB Group was founded in 2012 with the goal of providing leadership to the blockchain development space and today manages a network that includes digital assets exchanges, wallets, capital ventures, research institutes, and media. The Group’s flagship platform is ZB.com, the industry leading digital asset exchange. The platform launched in early 2013 and boasts one of the world’s largest trading communities.
ZB Group also includes ZBG the innovative crypto trading platform, and BW.com, the world’s first mining-pool based exchange. Other holdings include wallet leader BitBank, as well as exchange brands ZBM, ZBX and Korea’s BitHi.
Industry intelligence and standards are headed by the recently launched ZB Nexus who embody the core values of ZB Group and open source their reports and analysis for the public.
Learn more about ZB Group by visiting www.zb.com.
