AR + NFT
Augmented Reality and NFTs are the perfect pairing.
Augmented Reality’s nature is inherently rare.
AR relies on reality and the physical world. Reality is live, and therefore, always shifting, changing, new. No moment is ever the same or fully replicable.
The virtual component of AR — a 3D model, animation, image, sound, etc. — is only one half of the equation. The final AR artwork or output is a unique conversation between reality and the virtual object(s) marked in space and time. The relationship is alive because it is happening in ‘real-time,’ in communion with its physical surroundings.
I minted my first Augmented Reality NFT on Foundation. It’s fresh new work purposefully designed as my genesis piece. In addition to the high resolution video of the artwork, the winning collector receives the AR experience to try themselves, not available anywhere else publicly. (More on how that is a living extension of the artwork in a moment.)
The NFT is the video documentation of the AR experience, intended as an artwork in itself. That hybrid moment will never exist again: the light, the position of the virtual object, a bird flying by, the beach detritus, the colour of the sky and water, etc. is all captured as a cinematic vignette. AR is a ghost, a dream; it was never REALLY there. It’s not tangible (yet, read my book “Augmented Human” for more). All furthering it’s scarcity. The video is proof of its momentary existence in reality. That unique relationship and interaction between these virtual and physical worlds is now forever preserved as a NFT in the AR artwork’s lineage.
Once the virtual assets are created, the artist then acts as a conductor, orchestrating the piece in reality with careful placement and consideration of context. The NFT documents that relationship and genesis of the artwork in physical reality (in the form of a video).
The collector of the AR artwork enters this relationship with the artist, with the possibility to further extend the work. By having access to the AR experience with a link to place the artwork in their own physical surroundings, the collector now potentially serves as an additional director of the work, continuing the legacy of the piece. The work lives on with important shifts: the virtual elements remain the same and fixed, however the physical surroundings are entirely new.
NFT Culture recently interviewed me about my AR NFT work (excerpts above with full interview here). It’s been 15+ years now that I’ve been working with AR as an artist and designer. I’m incredibly excited by the possibilities for AR and NFTs and I can’t wait to share more.
A special thanks to the one and only MC Hammer for sharing my AR NFT genesis piece on Twitter, I’m super grateful <3
*UPDATE: My genesis piece found it’s home in Trevor Jones’s collection — I couldn’t be more excited and grateful!!
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