What Does The Future Look Like?

This phrase is something I scrawled in black marker capitals across a page of my pocketbook while I was on a flight earlier this year: what does the future look like? Every time I ask myself this, it’s a string that I could pull on forever. I decided to compile a list of things I’ve seen ripple across my various spheres of interest. Here are my four prophecies predictions.

Photograph NFTs by non-established artists won’t go anywhere.

While it may be an interesting move as far as optics go (appearing cutting-edge, being an early adopter), it won’t be the next big break for unknown artists trying to monetize work. I see NFTs making a ton of noise, and while established artists may be able to reel in a few big sales using the NFT format, others won’t be so fortunate. Here’s why. Established artists have the advantage of having a lot of eyes on their work. The concept of limited ownership, especially across a new and experimental forum, will initially bode well for artists whose iconic nature is already one of their unique selling propositions. For artists who don’t yet have the built equity in their personal brand, why on earth would someone pay 1ETH for a digital photograph ($4000 at the time I’m writing this) if they can’t even sell a physical print for a tenth of the price?

However…

I do see crypto payments for art becoming far more mainstream. Online sales of art have increased substantially each year since 2013 (via Statista) not including 2021, which hasn’t yet reached a full year of tracking. With artists being more political than ever— which is saying something— concepts of decentralization are surging. There’s a massive disillusionment with the elite, government corruption, and the system. Aided by the 2020 pandemic, this fire is more stoked than ever. Artists with a pulse on innovation who also have motives to support a new unexplored system will have a hard time ignoring it. Another thought experiment to consider: most artwork appreciates at a yearly rate of around 3%. What if the artist could also continue to profit off of past artwork as the decentralized currency earnings from work sold grow in value year to year?

Contextual anti-art will surge

I mentioned Cabaret Voltaire in my earlier article The Culture That Never Happened. This small collective of artists quietly influenced art for years to come, yet slip under the radar when it comes to artistic figures discussed by name. It can be considered the birthplace of anti-art (specifically the Dada movement) and embraced artistic entropy. These events would lay the groundwork for those who produce art with a stronger level of backstory and communication.

Consider Banksy. He’s a master communicator, yet there’s a certain body of knowledge required to fully understand his work. It begs the viewer for analysis— often political. While older art focused largely on recording history, this new wave of art explores nuance and has more lanes of thought to explore beyond the work itself. It’s also increased media coverage for theatrical art— namely the work that sold $1.3 million which had a built-in shredder, turning it to ribbons before everyone’s eyes. It gained massive amounts of press and has increased in value by over 700%.

Another example is Jens Haaning, who was commissioned $84,000 by a Danish museum to come up with a new piece for display. He delivered two blank canvases named “Take The Money and Run”. It was ironic and incredibly obnoxious. He later said in an interview, "It is a breach of contract, and breach of contract is part of the work.” These two blank canvases make no sense without context, and perhaps are the best version of the ever-so-used “I could’ve done that” comment.

This type of art will surge, forcing viewers to dive deeper into the artist’s artwork or be left behind.

Private art collections will face harsh social pressures

Social movements are popping up faster than ever because of the rapid-fire communication available via social media. For example, the phrase used during the Black Lives Matter protest during the summer of 2020: “This has always been happening, the difference is that now we have phones”.

These social movements have lit up the internet at lightning speed. Minority rights. Climate change activism. Big pharma. Big data and big tech. College campus sexual assault. School-to-prison pipeline. Legalization of marijuana. Animal testing involving cosmetics. Wealth inequality. These are the tip of the iceberg. Agree with the ideas or not, it’s inarguable that these discussions are seeping into the fabric of our culture to unprecedented extents.

According to Quartz, 44% of art by well-known artists is off display. I’m predicting that the privatization of art will come under fire. As the masses become increasingly disillusioned with ways of the past and are moving toward equal accessibility for all in virtually every facet of life. Conversations about expansive private collections will start at a university level and spread from there.

Why aren’t museums and art institutions pushing for this? The last thing they’d do is fall out of the good graces of donors and lenders. A recent New York Times report estimates that 90% of art in museums is donated from private collections. These institutions have way more skin in the game, and will never start that conversation.

While the social changes outlined above will create an optimal environment for this sentiment to be held, the idea that will kick off the moment will be the idea that the general public is being robbed of history by the super-rich. Art has always been a key influencer in culture, and a huge tool in preserving historical events and ideas of the times. While I’m still undecided on the scale of this movement, the conversation will be increasingly prevalent.

In closing…

As I’ve noticed vibrations of these ideas quietly humming through culture, I’ve begun preparing how to evolve to function in a world playing by the rules above. While it’s impossible to know for sure what the complex domino effects of the shifting environments will bring, thinkers who know how to prepare for radical (yet unknown) social change will adapt faster, and with less turbulence.