World's first digital (virtual) house has been sold for $500,000
What's the story
Not long after NFT or Non-Fungible Tokens took the art world by storm with the sale of a JPG file for $69 million, now someone has sold a virtual house for half a million dollars. The digital art piece boasts of being the first 3D rendered home in the NFT format. It was sold for 288 Ether, which is Ethereum network's digital token.
Virtual estate
House was created by digital artist Krista Kim
The digital house was created by digital artist Krista Kim, who is credited with the 2014 "art movement" dubbed Techism, which blends software and digital media with art. The house is a rather spartan 3D model mimicking the floorplan of a real house replete with furniture and swimming pool. The new owner will receive 3D files of the house to use as they please.
Unusual art style
Dubbed as Mars House, the model has lit-up walls
Kim calls her creation the Mars House, presumably due to the skybox and terrain surrounding the house resembling the red planet. The artist has modelled the walls and structures to be comprised "entirely of light" in order to emit a "zen, healing atmosphere". An unintended consequence of this art style makes it look like a mid-90s amateur 3D Studio Max rendition.
Light and sound
She partnered with Smashing Pumpkins for musical accompaniment
Kim also partnered with Jeff Schroeder of the American alternative rock band Smashing Pumpkins to add a "calming musical accompaniment" to the Mars House. The artist contends that her digital house can be replicated in real life by glass furniture makers in Italy. She also suggests a relatively saner alternative of having the 3D rendition of the house displayed using a TV.
Digital art collection
What is NFT? Why it shouldn't be confused with Bitcoin?
The digital house has been sold as an NFT, which is blockchain-driven digital entity whose ownership is tracked using Ethereum infrastructure. NFTs shouldn't be confused with Bitcoins because of their non-fungible nature. That means there is only one instance of an NFT that cannot be duplicated or split into parts. This makes them ideal for trading and collecting art, memes, and media.