By Miguel Lo Bianco
BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) – Argentine artist Leandro Granato, known for his ‘eye painting’ technique, has destroyed five of his works to create art that now exists only in the digital world.
Using homemade explosive devices, Granato blew up five of his works that he valued at $70,000 to create non-fungible token (NFT) artworks https://www.reuters.com/article/us-crypto-currency-nft-explainer/explainer-nfts-are-hot-so-what-are-they-idUSKBN2B92MA.
“Two out of these five works are already sold, two are booked, and there’s only one left to sell. This means that I have to start working on a second piece and also think of how I am going to destroy them,” said Granato.
On a video, Granato can be seen picking up the remains of canvases, which will be delivered to each buyer as proof of its destruction.
Years ago, Granato surprised the world by introducing paint through his nostrils and expelling it through his tear ducts https://www.reuters.com/news/picture/painting-with-tears-idUSRTX146UC.
After having sold many of his pieces abroad and seeing the insecurity of the art market, he decided to explore crypto art. Bought and sold with cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin and ethereum, NFTs limit forgery by using blockchain technology.
The market for NFTs https://www.reuters.com/article/us-fintech-nft-data-idCAKCN2EB1I8 has been surging, though skeptics have warned of a bubble https://www.reuters.com/news/picture/nft-sales-surge-as-speculators-pile-in-s-idUSKBN2FQ0QA, and many people are confused as to why so much money is being spent on items that do not physically exist.
(Reporting by Miguel Lo Bianco; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
