For all of the memes circulating about NFTs, of which there are and should be several, one of the funniest claims is that a screenshot of the art unravels the entire concept. "If someone snaps a photo of your precious NFT," critics will say, "then you essentially paid thousands for nothing."
The sentence is obviously uttered in jest and carries an intentionally sardonic edge, but it speaks to the fundamental misapprehension many people seem to have about how art functions in the digital world. Art backed blockchain, no matter how silly it may seem, is exactly like traditional paintings. Anyone can take a picture of Guernica, but there's no value in the copy of the painting, irrespective of the duplicate's quality. When it comes to art, you either have the goods, or you don't. Take the 25 paintings attributed to Basquiat that the FBI confiscated from the Orlando Museum of Art, for example.
Late last week, FBI agents entered the Orlando Museum of Art (OMA) and removed 25 paintings attributed to Jean-Michel Basquiat, which were on display as part of a new exhibition of the late artist's work.
The FBI is investigating two potential crimes: conspiracy and wire fraud, according to the Times. The warrant said that the FBI's efforts have revealed "false information related to the alleged prior ownership of the paintings" and "attempts to sell the paintings using false provenance," among other things.
