
Art Is Becoming a Financial Product, and Blockchain Is Making It Happen - patrickxb
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/08/arts/art-financialization-blockchain.html
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rahimnathwani
Misleading title. Doesn't cite any example of blockchain making anything
happen.

The article mentions blockchain tech only towards the end, and the specific
blockchain to which they refer hasn't even started operating yet.

~~~
joe_the_user
Indeed,

The one example is simply securitizing a work of art, "with the blockchain",
where naturally a blockchain is no more useful than a simple contract since
blockchains don't guarantee action in the real world.

Which is to say blockchains could never do what the article claims, _as you 'd
expect_. It reminds me of people selling digital paper-clips in the 1980's.

~~~
hammerbrostime
Digital paper-clips? Could you explain what that is? I didn't get any results
via Google.

~~~
tim333
Funnily enough I googled it too and Google now brings up your question about
digital paper-clips.

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raverbashing
Art is (kinda) already a financial product, since a long time ago, and it
never needed blockchain to do that.

> it envisioned how blockchain technology might “change the balance of
> economic power in the art market” and “integrate art into the financial
> sector.”

LOL

Typical blockchain specialist talking about stuff they know nothing about.

Here's the intelligence of your average "cryptogenius"
[https://www.wired.com/story/classic-scam-steals-bitcoin-
on-t...](https://www.wired.com/story/classic-scam-steals-bitcoin-on-twitter/)

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visarga
We aren't children, we all know that art is a way to park money. The title is
misleading and the subject clickbaity.

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awat
As someone who has loved mechanical watches <insert other qualitative hobbies
I’m sure> for years and seen them become a financial product over the last
decade or so. I’m not convinced making art a financial product is a net
positive.

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fermienrico
I think the difference is that traditional art, to which I mean paintings, are
impossible to recreate exactly. Especially, painters like Pollack and Bacon
who edited their work using chance/luck as a tool. You can’t do that with
watches. Paintings serve as a unique visual representation or a token that is
extremetely effective as a financial instrument. Paintings will always be on
the lead when it comes to a financial product.

Watches, even custom ones, serve a different purpose. They rarely show up on
Christie’s or Sotheby’s. Instead, they serve as a communication device. I am,
possibly incorrectly, conspiring that this is the reason for the death of
ultra high end pocket watches. They’re just not as visible.

~~~
awat
Good point, I agree on the uniqueness of traditional art being a big factor In
it’s ability to be used as an asset.

Watches are pretty common these days at the big auction houses and most if not
all have departments specializing in them now. Selling to many buyers who are
presumably speculators with little intention to no intention to wear the
watch.

[https://www.jckonline.com/editorial-article/sothebys-
beefs-u...](https://www.jckonline.com/editorial-article/sothebys-beefs-up-
watch-division-with-two-new-hires/)

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nazka
Art is already and has been for a long time a financial product. As well as
old cars, or some wine brands, or original draw of a page of a Marvel book,
and things we may not see as financial product.

For instance at a smaller scale I was into investing in perfect replica of
light sabers and limited editions of them. They cost around $1000 and I hope
to resell them in a few years for more. And if not I am still happy to have
them so it’s not that much a loss.

The biggest benefit is depending of your country you can have tax benefits
that you won’t have on profits with other more classic financial products.

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dandare
My gut tels me that modern art is a bubble with no objective way to measure
any aspect of it and the market price is artificially inflated by all sorts of
actors with conflicting interests.

Have you read a good critic of moder art that you could recommend?

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maleno
'Duty Free Art' by Hito Steyerl might be of interest to you. It's largely
about how artworks are used by the rich to store wealth in tax-free locations,
and how that affects and distorts the art market more generally. Steyerl is an
artist herself but her work is often critical of contemporary art practices
and institutions.

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SuperPaintMan
I knew I was on to something! [0]

[0]
[https://blackbox-1285.appspot.com/hn.html](https://blackbox-1285.appspot.com/hn.html)

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saagarjha
Wait, people invest in art?

