There are two original glass plate negatives of a photo of the artist Charles Goldie, but Webb's auction house is not selling them - it's selling the NFT of each photo, a unique digital code.<\/p>\n
\"But here's the interesting thing, if you buy the NFT, you get the plate with it,\" head of art at Webb's auction house Charles Ninow says.<\/p>\n
\"We are taking something made on a specific day and specific time and is really important to New Zealand's history and in a way we are making it immortal.\"<\/p>\n
Webb's is New Zealand's first major auction house to do this, but it's nothing compared to the NFT craze sweeping the virtual world.<\/p>\n
Last year, digital artist Beeple could not believe the price an NFT went for.<\/p>\n
\"$69 million - I think it means digital art is here to stay;\" he said.<\/p>\n
Unique digital avatars are also fetching huge sums, with a Cryptopunk selling for US$10 million.<\/p>\n
There's celebrity endorsement with Paris Hilton and Jimmy Fallon using Bored Ape avatars, while All Blacks Ardie and Julian Savea have Party Bears.<\/p>\n
\"Yes, there is an incredible amount of money being thrown around in the industry and it's definitely in a bubble of sorts,\" co-founder of New Zealand NFT maker Fluf World Alex Smeele says.<\/p>\n
If someone buys a bunny avatar they can get access to a metaverse, or virtual world, where you can perhaps socialise with rapper Snoop Dogg.<\/p>\n
\"When it comes to NFT digital art and the metaverse as well, there is a lot of opportunities to actually redefine yourself and really express yourself as you feel and that's a really empowering experience,\" Smeele says.<\/p>\n
That's a real-world away from when Goldie was snapped in his studio.<\/p>\n
A price guide for this Friday's auction is $5000 to $8000 per NFT and there's a twist involving<\/p>\n
the glass negative and a hammer.<\/p>\n
\"Perhaps you might want to make it permanently digital. Smash it? Smash it,\" Ninow says.<\/p>\n
Welcome to a world where the digital means more than the physical.<\/p>\n
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See more here: <\/p>\n
New Zealand auction house becomes the first to auction NFTs - Newshub<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" There are two original glass plate negatives of a photo of the artist Charles Goldie, but Webb's auction house is not selling them - it's selling the NFT of each photo, a unique digital code. Continue reading