Firstly; What is NFT?
NFT stands for Non-Fungible Token. NFT, a special type of cryptographic token, cannot be copied and is the only one of its kind. The fact that NFT is unique and unique causes it not to be exchanged with another token of its kind. In this case, the originality of an artwork transferred to NFT can be easily verified and copying of the works is prevented.
Why is NFT needed?
For centuries, artworks have been bought and sold by collectors at exorbitant prices. However, the originality of the works can only be proven with different techniques for the last 10 years. These techniques include the list of past buyers of the work, scrolling through documents such as sales letters that came with the work, or looking at factors such as the age of the canvas, the type of paintwork, brush strokes, and remains on the work.
However, these techniques are sometimes insufficient to prove the originality of the work. In a market of millions of dollars, being swindled by counterfeiting is very common. So much so that the most important museums of the world such as the Louvre and Mets can buy imitation works. How the Knoedler gallery in the US was defrauded was even the subject of a Netflix documentary. One of New York's most established galleries, Knoedler received over 60 fake artworks in the late 1990s. These paintings were sold by Knoedler for a total of $ 80 million.
It is useful to mention profit margins here. Knoedler, who bought a Pollock imitation from Glafira Rosales, which sells counterfeit art, for $ 750,000, sold it for $ 5.5 million.
The fact that the works of the artists did not pay much money while they were alive changes the situation after their deaths. Many artists sell their works at cheap prices to make a living, or in some cases use them to pay off debts to local shopkeepers. In this case, people who own original works have doubled their profit margin by 5 or 10.
NFT offers artists a way out. Blockchain, with its decentralized structure, ensures that the works are accessible to everyone, while NFT preserves the originality of the works.