NFTs on Cardano (or CNFT) have gained a lot of traction over the past year, also reaching important institutions such as the University of Oxford.
We invited Eva of the GINGR poolwho previously was a guest in the Cardano SPO sectionfor talk about the thesis for his Master in History of Art he is doing in the UK.
NFT on Cardano at the University of Oxford
Hi Eva, welcome back to The Cryptonomist. Let’s start with Project Catalyst, what is it and how can it help your research?
Hi Patryk and thank you for inviting me again, a lot has changed since the last time!
Project Catalyst is the largest Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) in the world. It is also the tool through which holders of ADA (Cardano’s crypto) can be actively part of the governance and direct what is being built in the next future. Anyone with a registered wallet (containing a minimum of 500 ADAs) can use his voting power to vote for or against the proposals.
For Fund 7, I submitted a Catalyst proposal call “Researching CNFTs at Uni of Oxford“(Miscellaneous Challenge). As the title implies, I’m working on one thesis on NFT on Cardano at the University of Oxford. Getting funding for research is very difficult and important at the same time. In this case, it would allow me to devote even more time to this and other Cardano-related projects.
What is this research focused on and what do you hope to achieve with it?
The core of my research is to study the blockchain as a new artistic medium. Looking at the art that is produced on it, the NFTs, allows me to draw conclusions about the medium as well. I will use unsigned.algorithms as a case study to describe how art is intertwined with the blockchain as a medium. My main interest is in projects that are created completely on-chain – Blockchain Native Art. The aim is also to place NFTs in the broader context of art history; I am looking at the art movements of the last 70 years (such as abstract art, digital art, but also performance art) and will analyze their influence on Blockchain Native Art.
In the end, I will argue that blockchain as an artistic medium is restructuring the ways in which art is conceptualized, made and consumed. This is relevant because this shift in art making represents the fundamental change that blockchain technology can bring to our social structure in general.
While Cardano is research-based, the humanities have mostly been neglected thus far – leaving me in a very fortunate position to represent Cardano in humanities research, particularly in the field of art history. The University of Oxford has an excellent reputation and my aim is to establish a new field of research.
More information about my research can be found on mine website.
There are so many blockchains to choose from to create NFTs, why does Cardano stand out in your eyes?
There are various aspects, but the main reason for me is ideological. Cardano uses the Ouroboros protocol which is based on peer-reviewed research. Having been in academia for so long, Cardano was very attractive to me from the very beginning, even when there was no NFT space yet. This thorough research is the reason why it is possible for Cardano to offer the most sustainable infrastructure and it is also what I wish to support.
Although only involved in the CNFT space, I think NFT art has immense artistic potential in general and Quality art can also be found on other chains. However, the lack of gas fees and a high volume of transactions are undoubtedly advantages that Cardano has to offerespecially compared to the more mature Ethereum space.
Besides the usual JPEGs, what other use cases are there for NFTs? Can you give some examples?
There is an incredibly wide range of use cases that are based on NFTs and I will dwell on a few that are related to art. In the traditional art market, tracing the chain of ownership (provenance), and therefore having a guarantee of authenticity is very important. NFTs inherently cover this use case. There are some platforms that offer to link physical works of art with NFTs.
Yifu Pedersenas mentioned above, use NFTs as proof of ownership for their Cardano-themed jewelry collection. OriginThread has a similar concept. They are building a men’s fashion brand with the aim of connecting people with the entire history of their garments. The fashion industry has been the subject of criticism for some time due to unclear production conditions and unfair pricing policies. Connecting the garments with the NFTs allows you to have all the information transparently on the chain and trace the piece back to its origin.
As a final example, I would like to talk about the Non-Fungible Visualization (NFV) which are the second case study of my research. I am working with Patrick from programmable.art on this new type of NFT on Cardano, which consists of a data source dynamic (can be blockchain data but also external data such as weather or health data) and their visualization. In short words, an NFT that changes every time the data source changes. On the one hand, it is possible to view information in a way that is much more understandable and tangible; data that are telling a story (theEpoch Clock is displaying the time of the epochs for example). On the other hand, these visualizations can be turned into abstract art; information that is translated into pure aesthetic expression. The possibilities are (almost) endless! This means that the NFVs are the combination of property, information and aesthetics – the art of data.
Thanks for your time, do you have any final thoughts to share? Where can I find you and see the Catalyst proposal?
Anyone who wants to contact me can find me on Twitter or Discord, I am always happy to hear the stories of others! Researching CNFT, building new things on Cardano and exploring this space together with other people are incredibly powerful tools for me to do something meaningful. We are building our future – which is great.
I am grateful for all the support on my path. Staking with the GINGR pool or vote for mine Catalyst proposal it’s the easiest way to help me 🙂
Thank you!
