A Spanish writer tokenized a novel, thus joining the trend of decentralization of the arts. A Venezuelan chef tokenized an ice cream-based dessert that will remain forever on the Ethereum network.
Many projects are now experimenting with NFTs for different uses, including artwork and other creations. These non-replaceable assets are a new formula for monetizing those works, both in the short and long term.
A Unesco report indicates that the COVID-19 pandemic has seriously affected the creative economy. However, artists seem to have found in NFTs a new way to sell and exchange their work.
After writing her first novel, titled “Donde el Viento Da la Vuelta” (“Where the wind turns around”), Spanish novelist Prats went to various publishers in Spain. She soon discovered that few receive manuscripts or are not interested in the genre of narrative fiction that her work addresses. One of them agreed to consider the publication of the text, but she has not yet received a response after eight months.
Fortunately, the digital world has been more accommodating with her aspirations, since they tokenized her novel in the blink of an eye. Whoever buys her NFT, which is on the Rarible market, will also receive the physical version of the work.
“By turning your work into an NFT, you enter a world where there is a way to decentralize the literature industry. Unfortunately, this is a field that has remained a bit at the mercy of publishers,” said Prats.
A New Generation of Creators Has Emerged
When creators tokenize their work, they can interact directly with an audience that knows the cryptocurrency ecosystem. That is the vision of Venezuelan chef Vanessa González, who coined NFTs of the dishes that she serves at her restaurant, Garrido’s Bistro, in Michigan.
The name of the establishment’s first collectible token is Crypto Shake, an over-the-top shake or freakshake. This dessert consists of candies, ice cream sandwiches, whipped cream, donuts, and brownies, stacked in a giant tower of sweets.
For some time now, cryptocurrencies have captivated the chef’s husband, leading him to also join the NFT mania. As the combination of elements seemed very interesting to them, they did not miss the opportunity.
About 300 photos were needed to digitize the ice cream product, which melts in a few minutes. By getting the image that showed the product in all its glory, came three-dimensional modeling and subsequent tokenization. For this, they used a token of the ERC-721 standard, which has the characteristic of being unique and, therefore, collectible.
For now, the company seeks to use NFTs to face the temporary closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Their next challenge will be to tokenize the arepa, Venezuela’s typical dish, among others that have popularized the place since 2015.
The Culture of Courage vs. the Fair Value of Culture
The fact of depositing a work on the blockchain has great value, especially for the time spent learning. However, Vanessa González believes that it is a contribution to people as many are unaware of NFTs. Now, the latter can learn what they are because the restaurant has published details of its token.
For her part, Ana Prats also highlights the fact of having fun and a good time in this new digital world. Her way of doing it is around the kind of club that she has created together with her friends. There used to be reading groups, but they now meet to talk about cryptocurrencies.
By Alexander Salazar
