Art Basel… or Tech Basel?

The Art Basel Miami Beach event took place this past weekend, opening the doors to the concept of “art-tech”, a hybrid of traditional art and technology.

Image via Artnew News

Hide and Seek NFTs.

Where were they? Surprisingly, most of the NFT showings and events were held off-site of the Art Basel fair. There is a lot of speculation as to why the NFT events and auctions were held privately (the infamous Faena Hotel being one location) with some believing this is a telling gap that exists between what is considered “art”, and what is not. The ironic part is, that some of the NFTs sold at these private affairs were more expensive than any other art form sold at the actual Art Basel site.

Image via Aorist

Art and Technology at a Crossroads.

Art Basel served as an “inauguration” for a new art-tech company called “Aorist”. Aorist’s mission is to strategically combine the technology and art realms, mixing the beauty of the nature around us with tech. How will they do this? The company announced it will be launching the “Crossroads” endeavor, a decentralized experience consisting of physical art installations all around Miami, Augmented Reality experiences, and immersive art events. Aorist explains this by stating, “Cryptographic acupuncture and creative place-making helped us select artists and artworks that can act as catalysts and mile-markers; guides and way-finders along the roads that connect the digital realm and our vernacular, every day, landscapes.”

Image via Business Wire

Humans + Machines.

Tezos used Art Basel to debut a new exhibition, “Humans + Machines: NFTs and the Ever-Evolving World of Art.” This event invites attendees to create and mint their own self-portrait NFT with an algorithm given at the location. Hello, new screen saver.