“Phygital art” may not be the most elegant phrase in the English language, but it is generating a buzz in certain circles.
“Phygital” is a portmanteau of physical and digital – describing artworks that bring together the best of both worlds to create something entirely new.
Interest in digital art has grown since NFTs exploded into the mainstream in 2021, making headlines when artist Beeple sold one for $69 million at auction. But since then, enthusiasm for NFTs has cooled. Some see phygital as a way to ground digital works in more trusted, traditional forms, while others see them as a way of familiarizing the public with the idea of digital art.
Phygital works have started appearing at forward-looking galleries around the world, and with an exciting spate of recent initiatives, Dubai is seemingly determined to put this artform on the map.
The Art Dubai international fair has a digital component exploring new media and technology trends, including phygital works. In 2021 the Firetti Contemporary gallery held an exhibition called “NFT/ IRL” (in real life), displaying physical artworks next to their digital counterparts; The Mondoir Gallery recently opened in downtown Dubai, specializing in NFTs and embracing phygital, while the Theatre of Digital Art features phygital in its high-tech multisensory exhibitions.
<div data-uri=”cms.cnn.com/_components/video-resource/instances/h_97bf29f516c369fe36fc12467bc079a1-h_2a3debb374cc9c1c22f275609ada1997-paragraph_7F6C2701-2463-D981-A2DE-66C6137243FE@published” data-component-name=”video-resource” data-editable=”settings” class=”video-resource” data-video-id=”tech/2022/09/27/theatre-of-digital-art-dubai-metaverse-nft-spc-intl.cnn” data-live data-analytics-aggregate-events=”true” data-custom-experience data-asset-type data-medium-env=”prod” data-autostart=”false” data-show-ads=”true” data-source=”CNN” data-featured-video=”true” data-headline=”Immersive NFTs are on display at this Dubai art space” data-description=”Featuring 360-degree immersive experiences, Dubai’s Theatre of Digital Art is giving tech-driven artists a place to showcase their work.” data-duration=”01:55″ data-source-html=” – Source: CNN ” data-fave-thumbnails=””big”: “uri”: “https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/220926144014-theatre-of-digital-art-video-card.jpg?c=16×9&q=h_540,w_960,c_fill” , “small”: “uri”: “https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/220926144014-theatre-of-digital-art-video-card.jpg?c=16×9&q=h_540,w_960,c_fill” ” data-vr-video data-show-html=”” data-check-event-based-preview data-network-id data-details>
Immersive NFTs are on display at this Dubai art space
CNN asked some of Dubai’s most progressive art institutions why the city is among the vanguard of this innovative format, and whether phygital is a significant new movement in art, or just an unwelcome addition to our vocabulary.
The following responses have been edited for length and clarity.
How would you describe phygital art?
Mara Firetti, founder and managing partner, Firetti Contemporary: Phygital art aims to bridge the gap between the digital and physical world, often blurring the boundaries between them. It can take various forms, including interactive sculptures, mixed-media installations, digital paintings, and performances that combine live elements with digital projections or effects.
Pablo del Val, artistic director, Art Dubai: Phygital has elements that we consider traditional, such as an architectural space, a three-dimensional structure (like a sculpture) or a physical structure that you can touch, combined with digital elements such as 3D-printing technology, blockchain technology, augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR) … and/or artificial intelligence (AI) elements.
Could you give an example?
Pablo del Val: One famous example would be Beeple’s “Human One.” The work is sort of a kinetic video sculpture – four video screens, polished aluminum metal, mahogany wood frame, dual media servers, endless video with a corresponding dynamic NFT. It shows an astronaut walking in a universe of waste and leftovers. Well-known artists such as Jeff Koons and Frank Stella have also produced phygital works where their collectors can 3D-print their sculptures.
“Human One,” by artist Beetle was sold at auction by Christie’s in 2021. Separately, Christie’s hosted its Art + Tech Summit at Art Dubai this year.
CHRISTIE’S IMAGES LTD. 2021
How does phygital art differ from NFTs? Is there overlap between the two?
Pablo del Val: Phygital works of art can also be NFTs, but a phygital work of art doesn’t necessarily need to be an NFT.
Amir “Mondoir” Soleymani, founder, Mondoir Art Gallery: Technically, all assets held on the blockchain are NFTs. Digital art stored on the blockchain as a non-fungible token can be experienced physically through digital displays that allow viewers to observe or interact with the digital creations in the case of installations. Phygital is a method of connecting the digital and physical dimensions. This can be used for off-chain NFTs or assets.
Where does AI art fit into this?
Pablo del Val: AI is one of the elements that allow a work of art to be described as phygital. Artists working with artificial intelligence programs, neural networks, code, and algorithms are creating bodies of work that take the viewer to a level of reality that mixes what is true and what is not. Images, situations, actions and characters can be manipulated, creating situations and actions that never existed … Artists who have pioneered this approach include Refik Anadol, who launched a new project at Art Dubai in March.
Artist Refik Anadol launched the immersive installation “Glacier Dreams” at Art Dubai 2023 in March.
Cedric Ribeiro/Getty Images Europe/Getty Images for Art Dubai
Why is phygital art important to you?
Amir “Mondoir” Soleymani: As we move toward digitally created and stored artworks, we must bridge the two realms in order to create the experience for viewers in the real world. Phygitals alleviate the burden of comprehension for those who are not yet immersed in the digital world by providing them with a tangible object that corresponds to a digital asset. They will be crucial in promoting the adoption of digital art.
Mara Firetti: Phygital art offers new opportunities for audience engagement and participation. Viewers can often interact with the artwork through touch, movement, or even through their smartphones or other devices. This interactive and immersive nature of phygital art can create unique and dynamic experiences, blurring the boundaries between the observer and the artwork itself.
An animated NFT of “Virtually Fragile,” by British artist Josh Rowell, on display at the “Breaking Boundaries” exhibition at Firetti Contemporary in 2022.
Firetti Contemporary
What barriers are there to phygital art becoming more mainstream?
Pablo del Val: The speed at which technology is advancing means the devices you need to visualize it become obsolete very quickly. Updating the device, and the costs of doing this, has been one of the main barriers to more mainstream adoption.
Mara Firetti: Physical art holds a unique and enduring place in human culture and will continue to be cherished for its tangible qualities and the emotional connection it can evoke, while phygital art may require a level of familiarity and comfort with technology. Not all viewers may be accustomed to interacting with digital elements or understand the underlying concepts, which can affect their engagement and appreciation of phygital art.
Amir “Mondoir” Soleymani, with NFT works on display at the Mondoir Art Gallery.
Mondoir Gallery
Do you think phygital is the future of art?
Amir “Mondoir” Soleymani: No. Phygital is here to create an experience. It makes it easier to understand and interact. The future is digital art.
Mara Firetti: The rise of technology and the development of sophisticated methods in phygital art will undoubtedly expand the horizons of artistic expression and create new possibilities for artists and audiences alike but it will never replace physical art entirely.
Pablo del Val: Personally, I’m quite old school – and my view is that nothing will substitute what humans create with their hands … but we can’t deny that technology is advancing so fast that sooner or later it will become the main tool for artists. As long as it comes from the mind and the soul of humanity, anything is possible and we should not be closed to it.
LONDON (AP) — With a few daubs of a paintbrush, the Brontë sisters have got their dots back.
More than eight decades after it was installed, a memorial to the three 19th-century sibling novelists in London’s Westminster Abbey was amended Thursday to restore the diaereses – the two dots over the e in their surname.
The dots — which indicate that the name is pronounced “brontay” rather than “bront” — were omitted when the stone tablet commemorating Charlotte, Emily and Anne was erected in the abbey’s Poets’ Corner in October 1939, just after the outbreak of World War II.
They were restored after Brontë historian Sharon Wright, editor of the Brontë Society Gazette, raised the issue with Dean of Westminster David Hoyle. The abbey asked its stonemason to tap in the dots and its conservator to paint them.
“There’s no paper record for anyone complaining about this or mentioning this, so I just wanted to put it right, really,” Wright said. “These three Yorkshire women deserve their place here, but they also deserve to have their name spelled correctly.”
It’s believed the writers’ Irish father Patrick changed the spelling of his surname from Brunty or Prunty when he went to university in England.
Raised on the wild Yorkshire moors, all three sisters died before they were 40, leaving enduring novels including Charlotte’s “Jane Eyre,” Emily’s “Wuthering Heights” and Anne’s “The Tenant of Wildfell Hall.”
Rebecca Yorke, director of the Brontë Society, welcomed the restoration.
“As the Brontës and their work are loved and respected all over the world, it’s entirely appropriate that their name is spelled correctly on their memorial,” she said.
In a case that has sent shockwaves through the Vancouver Island art community, a local art dealer has been charged with one count of fraud over $5,000. Calvin Lucyshyn, the former operator of the now-closed Winchester Galleries in Oak Bay, faces the charge after police seized hundreds of artworks, valued in the tens of millions of dollars, from various storage sites in the Greater Victoria area.
Alleged Fraud Scheme
Police allege that Lucyshyn had been taking valuable art from members of the public under the guise of appraising or consigning the pieces for sale, only to cut off all communication with the owners. This investigation began in April 2022, when police received a complaint from an individual who had provided four paintings to Lucyshyn, including three works by renowned British Columbia artist Emily Carr, and had not received any updates on their sale.
Further investigation by the Saanich Police Department revealed that this was not an isolated incident. Detectives found other alleged victims who had similar experiences with Winchester Galleries, leading police to execute search warrants at three separate storage locations across Greater Victoria.
Massive Seizure of Artworks
In what has become one of the largest art fraud investigations in recent Canadian history, authorities seized approximately 1,100 pieces of art, including more than 600 pieces from a storage site in Saanich, over 300 in Langford, and more than 100 in Oak Bay. Some of the more valuable pieces, according to police, were estimated to be worth $85,000 each.
Lucyshyn was arrested on April 21, 2022, but was later released from custody. In May 2024, a fraud charge was formally laid against him.
Artwork Returned, but Some Remain Unclaimed
In a statement released on Monday, the Saanich Police Department confirmed that 1,050 of the seized artworks have been returned to their rightful owners. However, several pieces remain unclaimed, and police continue their efforts to track down the owners of these works.
Court Proceedings Ongoing
The criminal charge against Lucyshyn has not yet been tested in court, and he has publicly stated his intention to defend himself against any pending allegations. His next court appearance is scheduled for September 10, 2024.
Impact on the Local Art Community
The news of Lucyshyn’s alleged fraud has deeply affected Vancouver Island’s art community, particularly collectors, galleries, and artists who may have been impacted by the gallery’s operations. With high-value pieces from artists like Emily Carr involved, the case underscores the vulnerabilities that can exist in art transactions.
For many art collectors, the investigation has raised concerns about the potential for fraud in the art world, particularly when it comes to dealing with private galleries and dealers. The seizure of such a vast collection of artworks has also led to questions about the management and oversight of valuable art pieces, as well as the importance of transparency and trust in the industry.
As the case continues to unfold in court, it will likely serve as a cautionary tale for collectors and galleries alike, highlighting the need for due diligence in the sale and appraisal of high-value artworks.
While much of the seized artwork has been returned, the full scale of the alleged fraud is still being unraveled. Lucyshyn’s upcoming court appearances will be closely watched, not only by the legal community but also by the wider art world, as it navigates the fallout from one of Canada’s most significant art fraud cases in recent memory.
Art collectors and individuals who believe they may have been affected by this case are encouraged to contact the Saanich Police Department to inquire about any unclaimed pieces. Additionally, the case serves as a reminder for anyone involved in high-value art transactions to work with reputable dealers and to keep thorough documentation of all transactions.
As with any investment, whether in art or other ventures, it is crucial to be cautious and informed. Art fraud can devastate personal collections and finances, but by taking steps to verify authenticity, provenance, and the reputation of dealers, collectors can help safeguard their valuable pieces.
