Proof of Art

OÖ Landes-Kultur GmbH presents Proof of Art, the world’s first museum exhibition on the history of NFTs and digital art. Congruously to the topic the show is viewed offline at the Francisco Carolinum but also online in Cryptovoxels, a blockchain-based virtual world. In light of the developments surrounding NFTs in art and the art market, a retrospective of their history—and why they are suddenly on everyone’s lips—becomes compelling.

The exhibition is giving an overview of the origins of NFTs and their development: from first formative attempts with digital technologies, through first artistic experiments with the blockchain, to current crypto art. Both off- and online, the multimedia exhibition presents around 25 positions by artists who deal with the new system of meaning and values, examines the role of artists in their high-tech environment and discusses the effects of virtual spaces on our everyday life.

The main question the exhibition investigates is rather simple: what is the development’s basis? Which artists have been working with record-based art before the NFTs turned the world upside down? What were their expectations from decentralization before there was even a hint of monetary output? What does it mean to determine the worth of oneself or one’s art? Could technological automation lead to a positive systemic change?

Beside the exhibition the OÖLKG acquired an NFT property in Metaverse Cryptovoxels on April 24, 2021 where it opened the digital offshoot of its museum for photo and media art: the “DFC Francisco Carolinum” located at 17 Clarion Alley on the island of San Francisco. In addition to various exhibitions, there will also be a space for discussing the legal questions that arise around NFTs for artists, museums and collectors. 

Participating artists at Francisco Carolinum Linz: !Mediengruppe Bitnik, Kevin Abosch, Ai Wei Wei, Refik Anadol, Nancy Baker Cahill, Blake Kathryn, Cryptowiener, Simon Denny, Harm van den Dorpel, Constant Dullaart, Primavera de Filippi,  Finest Rares