By Kate Irwin
3 min read
The David Bowie estate is launching NFTs with OpenSea next week, but many Bowie fans aren't impressed.
Nine different visual artists have created Bowie-inspired NFTs as a part of the “Bowie on the Blockchain” NFT launch, with 100% of the proceeds to be donated to CARE, a nonprofit organization focused on fighting world hunger and global poverty.
Before his passing in 2016, Bowie was married to the supermodel Iman, who is a global advocate for CARE.
Artist manager Andrew D. Keller’s new firm We Love the Arts also worked on the “Bowie on the Blockchain” project, along with filmmaker Joaquin Acrich.
“On September 13th, David Bowie’s undying influence will impact yet another new frontier as nine of the world’s leading crypto-artists come together to celebrate his legacy and put #BowieOnTheBlockchain,” OpenSea wrote on Twitter Tuesday.
“This incredible collection brings together some of the most groundbreaking NFT artists with Bowie artifacts to bring a new generation of fans together in Web3,” OpenSea vice president of business development Ryan Foutty said in a statement.
NFTs are unique blockchain tokens which signify ownership over an asset—typically, that asset is digital art. But a number of pop culture NFT releases, like Netflix’s ‘Stranger Things’ NFTs earlier this summer, have caused a stir among fans who dislike the technology.
In the case of the Bowie NFTs, manu users on social media aren’t happy to see the legendary star’s likeness associated with the blockchain tokens. While a few expressed support for NFT technology, others told the Bowie estate, “Don’t do this.”
“How about we just don’t with the NFT guff,” one critic wrote.
Perhaps ironically, Bowie’s son, filmmaker Duncan Jones, is also a critic of NFTs, calling them a “fad.”
Jones has previously poked fun at the idea of sharing someone’s NFT, joking that because he was able to save and repost the image of Beeple’s “The First 5000 Days,” it had become “lost.” Jones also previously called the Christie's auction—where the NFT sold for a staggering $69.3 million—“suspicious.”
“Do you think the guy who bought it has lost it?” Jones asked of the NFT he right-click saved. “I feel kind of guilty and like I should probably return it to them.”
Skeptics aside, artists like 19-year-old Fewocious are thrilled to be working on Bowie-inspired NFT art for charity.
“I can’t wait to show you the rest of the piece when it reveals this Thursday,” Fewocious said of his Bowie sculpture.
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