Towards a Borderless Model: Making Digital Art Seen with Blockchain1 min read

Elia Vargas

Signals Podcast 2: A conversation with Christina Steinbrecher-Pfandt, co-founder and CEO of blockchain.art

  • How does blockchain technology impact art?
  • What are NFTs and crypto art?
  • How can blockchain networks transform the movement of art across national borders?

Episode 2 of the Signals Podcast features a very special conversation with blockchain.art (BCA) CEO and co-founder, Christina Steinbrecher-Pfandt. BCA is “a blockchain-supported marketplace and e-commerce solution for galleries, museums, and artists.” In short, BCA mints, archives, and sells crypto-art or NFTs. After its founding in May 2019, digital art and NFTs exploded in popularity, creating and destroying immense wealth in a very short period of time, and introducing the world to a new technological art practice. Early blockchain networks such as Ethereum, and its energy intensive proof-of-work protocol also mobilized intense debates on the ethics of the medium. Steinbrecher-Pfandt points to Casey Reas, artist and creator of the programing language Processing, who says: “The blockchain is the key to moving away from licenses toward property for digital media…” 

The Signals conversation with Steinbrecher-Pfandt is far reaching in its discussion of the past three years of blockchain from a fine art perspective. Steinbrecher-Pfandt reflects a nuance and thoughtfulness to her particular context of the crypto art world. Listen to the podcast for a rich engagement on the relations of crypto art, digital infrastructure, national borders, and digital ownership.

“Current III 02” by Banz & Bowinkel, from blockchain.art

Podcast Music Credits: systemritual (Elia Vargas and Nathan Blaz)

Portrait Credit: Samantha Casolari

Dr. Elia Vargas is an artist and scholar working across multiple mediums, ranging from video and sound to writing and performance. His work is critical, speculative, ecological, energetic, and technocultural. It is engaged in an interdisciplinary approach with contemporary and historical experimental media, digital cultural, and feminist science studies. Vargas collaborates widely with artists, musicians, and institutions. He holds a PhD from UC Santa Cruz. He is currently a lecturer at CSU Monterey Bay and is co-founder of the SF Bay Area art and technology organization, the Living Room Light Exchange.