American Book Review

In The Story of NFTs: Artists, Technology, and Democracy, Amy Whitaker and Nora Burnett Abrams provide a thoughtful and well-designed overview of the role of NFTs (non-fungible tokens) in the art world as well as the relationships between NFTs and art history. The authors acknowledge often that NFTs are relatively new and that therefore the book can offer little in terms of future predictions or assertions about the long-term effects of NFTs on artists and art markets. Instead, Whitaker and Abrams seek to engage with numerous questions about blockchain technologies—including NFTs and DAOs (decentralized autonomous organizations). To address such questions, some definitions are necessary; Whitaker and Abrams cover key concepts and terms early in the book, and they also provide an appendix that walks the reader through the process of minting an NFT. The appendix defines and explains platforms, protocols, wallets, keys, and smart contracts—all concepts that are mentioned earlier in the book, but with which some readers may prefer to spend additional time. The Story of NFTs is not exhaustively entry-level; readers who are already familiar with the basics of NFTs and block-chain technology will still find much to learn, and less familiar readers will get quick, direct definitions that allow them to move on to the more interesting, though less technical, aspects of the topic. The Story of NFTs is predominantly interested in the relationship between NFTs, blockchain technology, and visual arts, and so the technological elements—though important and duly attended to—do not take over the book.

The book's introduction calls attention to two key moments in recent art history—the Association of Art Museum Directors COVID-19-related decision to loosen sales restrictions on museums for two years and the March 2021 sale of Beeple's NFT Everydays: The First 5000 Days for over $69 million. These two events serve to characterize recent disruption within the art world, [End Page 17] but they are not the source of the disruption. Whitaker and Abrams point to these moments to illustrate how NFTs moved to the forefront of art discussions in the past few years, then trace the history from which these moments grew. They set out to "understand NFTs not as an alien landing but instead as part of the history of art." When considered in this light, NFTs appear as a development in the art world rather than an incursion by finance or technology outsiders.

The authors' positioning of NFTs within the larger scope of art history is particularly effective when they connect older art practices and concepts with the capabilities of NFTs. For example, "the Artist's Reserved Rights Transfer and Sale Agreement, a 1971 document created by Seth Siegelaub and Robert Projansky and commonly referred to as the Artist's Contract or the Siegelaub-Projansky Agreement," provides artists with resale royalties along with options for control of future exhibitions. Historically, though, most artists have not been able to secure such extensive control over their work. With smart contracts, on the other hand, NFTs can automate resale royalties for artists, and the intellectual property parameters associated with a particular platform or NFT may limit how a purchaser can use the artwork. Furthermore, artists could use DAOs to pool their resources, and "it would be possible to create a retirement investment trust using fractional shares or resale royalties." Such innovations have the potential to "automate processes that were previously too cumbersome bureaucratically." The possibilities certainly sound promising, but it seems we will have to wait and see whether they are effective in practice.

Another particularly interesting example of a connection between NFTs and earlier art practice is the concept of a certificate of authenticity traced back to Sol LeWitt's wall drawings. Rather than prioritizing the paintings themselves, LeWitt's certificates supply instructions for the artwork, and the holder of the certificate is the owner of the artwork. This...