NFTs and the Electrification of the Arts and Architecture
In the information age, NFTs are accelerating the electrification of the arts and architecture. In 2021, I joined Opensea.io as an exploration into the new world of non-fungible tokens.
Introduction to Ethereum and Blockchain Technology
If you’re familiar with Ethereum (ETH), the operating system behind these so-called 3rd layer internet assets, you know that Opensea minting operates on this cryptocurrency. Since 2017, I’ve been interested in ETH, BTC, and the broader crypto space after reading Satoshi Nakamoto’s groundbreaking white paper on blockchain technology.
Connecting Finance, Architecture, and Fine Arts
Opensea.io was my way of merging finance, architectural drawing, fine arts, and advanced web technology into one project. These four elements had been long-time strangers, but NFTs married my interests with my investments under one website, for better or worse. Sadly, at the time, ETH was incredibly expensive, with gas fees for any smart contract update around $150 USD. I had to wait until spring 2022 for the price to come down, and for the innovative Polygon token to reduce the cost of creating NFTs. Now, I’ve created my site with almost 100 NFTs to date, most with 5 minted copies.
Exploring Artistic Expression through NFTs
All items are for sale, appealing to those who appreciate fine arts and architectural design. My first degree was in Fine Arts, specializing in figure arts and art history. As architecture—my main profession—is a demanding and jealous master, the only artwork I could maintain over the decades was the essential but archaic art of figure drawing. These drawings, which could be completed in 5 minutes to an hour in an inexpensive group studio like Toronto’s OCAD open classes, were sealed away in a box. I have a deep passion for it, believing that life drawing is about active seeing, an essential skill for artists and architects alike. I owe much to my drawing professor, Canadian sculptor Gunter Nolte, for his kind guidance when I was his student at 19, attending CEGEP in Montreal.
The Evolution of Architectural Drawings
Architectural drawings came later, built on the foundation of a fine art practice. What does a drawing of a thigh have to do with a building façade? In some Baroque churches, you might see them together on the ceiling. Yes, they are completely different things—one constructed and one directly perceived—but both are fused in one mind, the part that calculates graphic codes. The visionary sees contours and draws them. Today, that vision is replicated by AI, like GPT-3, which may one day replace us, though we still do the perceiving, for now.
The Importance of Copyright in the NFT Space
One important thing to know about Opensea.io is that the creator must fully own the copyright to the work for it to be transferred. Selling something that isn’t yours would be fraudulent, not that there aren’t art fakers out there—AI being the greatest faker. Opensea.io rightly emphasizes authenticity, so NFT buyers should beware. That’s one reason I’m writing this blog post: to back up my claim to my work, possibly the only surviving use case for NFTs.
My Journey with Large Architectural Firms
Most of my architectural drawings and designs to date have been created while employed by large architectural firms like HOK, SOM, and IBI. Under my employment contract, they own the copyright, not me. Therefore, I can’t use those decades of drawings. No matter—I’ll create more. If you’re curious, you can see all those earlier sketch architecture and planning works in the BEHANCE PORTFOLIO tab on my website https://ericksong.com. Essentially, those weren’t my ideas anyway. It was a service; I stole for corporations.
Owning My Work and the Future of Architectural NFTs
Today, I own a professional corporation, ERICKSONG ARCHITECTS INC., so I finally own the full copyright to my work. Now, NFT title transfers can happen.
As drawing technology has evolved from sketch boards to iPads and tablets, digital art has become a focal point within the NFT space. This shift allows for animations of drawings, executed with an Apple Pencil and Procreate, an iPad drawing application. Opensea.io supports the .mov format, so now you can see the development of a drawing line by line, color by color, sped up. An architectural idea can unfold logically on your screen, large or small, anywhere on the planet. A link can be shared on social media and tagged for distribution to a larger audience.
Reaching a Global Audience through NFTs
Fine art and architectural drawing are relatively obscure subjects, appealing only to the driven. Not many are interested, so finding a larger audience is crucial to reach those few souls on the planet who might care to view or purchase the rights to an image or animation of an expression or idea. As a boy, I visited museums and libraries in Montreal to view the originals and read the lore. Today, searchability and tags are essential.
The Future of NFTs in Art and Architecture
I appreciate the variety on Opensea.io, where obscure artists finally have a way of connecting with so many. Yes, the technical hurdle of ETH use is high, but not impossible. Soon, I hope it will be adopted widely, opening the showcase to many more artists, and even to the few architects who still draw, despite it being a dying art.
Hand-drawn design in architecture is often seen as a gentlemanly affectation, cute like a faded watercolor. Architectural ideas often exist as abstract concepts alone, words on a screen lost in a sea of language. Architects often hire artists like me to turn their ideas into images. These artists are called architectural illustrators, a real occupational category. However, with the advent of REVIT and other 3D CAD software, that step is often skipped in favor of cheaper, more flexible, immediate realism. That’s what my firm uses daily. It’s simply too efficient. We specialize in REVIT databases, drawing sets, and renderings, now enhanced with Unreal Engine Twinmotion, offering full animated views and walkthroughs. The impact is explosive.
Contemplating the Role of the Architect in the NFT Space
So, what is an Architect NFT? The visionary still sees contours and draws them. Inspiration often comes in multi-sensory packets. The concept of authorship is also a challenge in the arts, with so much ongoing stimulation and memeing. Between GPT-3 and soon GPT-4 from Microsoft, challenging the calculations of authenticity, the last vestige of humanity might lie in the mark of the drawing hand. Like cave paintings, such contours could be collected as NFTs in future online museums, a curiosity for still-curious humans, some of whom remain students of art and architecture.
See my NFT collection at https://opensea.io/ERICKSONG.
May 22, 2024. Toronto.