I’ve been interested in Blochain and Cryptocurrencies for quite a while. The majority of my intrigue has just surrounded it as an alternative currency and the effect it is having on the global economy at the moment. Recently I have thought more about what it could be used for from an art perspective and to be honest I’m not entirely sure what is possible. This is also a cool spot to be in because it basically means anything is possible!
First, it’s important to understand the Blockchain, which is a “decentralized and distributed digital ledger that is used to record transactions across many computers so that the record cannot be altered retroactively without the alteration of all subsequent blocks and the collusion of the network.”
The decentralization of the Blockchain is very interesting because it makes unauthorized edits nearly impossible and requires collaboration from all parties, or a least a majority in the instance of a fork, to make a change.
From an artistic perspective the first idea I’ve had has just been to use some Bitcoin data to be the generative element of a piece. To use a constantly updated feed of information to visualize this new currency in a new and beautiful way. As I understand more and more about Blockchain technology as a whole I think there is a possibility to use it and its Triple Ledger Accounting concept to create a collaborative piece of art that cannot change unless a majority of the people on the network agree. Or in an example similar to the forks that are currently happening, maybe the artwork gets forked many times and then there are all these similar yet difference versions of the original art piece on the network. I don’t know! Anything is possible and it will take some serious investigation to find out what can really be done 🙂
On the other hand the triple ledger is already being used to help prevent art fraud. Companies like Verisart are on the cutting edge and they have some pretty cool ideas in this respect.