Kutcher’s “Eye of the Beholder”, a minimalistic sketch, is currently on auction to support ecological charities
Ashton Kutcher’s infamous doodle artwork has been digitised and will be auctioned on Cryptograph — the new non-fungible token (NFT) and digital art marketplace.
The goal of the auction is to raise money for the Global Wildlife Conservation and Oxygen Seven Reforestation; two ecological conservation non profit organisations. The bidding is set to commence on August 25, from 10am Pacific Time, and will remain open for three days.
Kutcher set the original artwork on fire after he digitised the drawing.
The artwork, entitled “Eye of the Beholder,” is displayed on the Cryptograph site, with the marketplace describing its immolation as “turning it from the temporary physical world into the immortal digital world”.
“His idea here is to show that his physical creation is fully transcending into the digital realm, where its authenticity and immortality is absolute. This action is deeply symbolic and provokes one to think more on how the physical and digital realms can be combined in new and interesting ways,” the site reads.
Critics of Kutcher’s piece are concerned that his pen and paper scribble is not fit to be immortalised on the blockchain. However, Cryptograph reiterates that art is subjective and highlights that “Ashton here is probably playing on the idea that all art is subjective and that art wholly exists in the eye of its beholder”.
“Perhaps he has created a minimal artwork to symbolise the subjective nature of art and to provoke the viewer into deriving their own meaning from his piece.”
As of writing, the highest bid runs at 9.8 Ethereum, which is just shy of $4,000.
The Cryptograph platform was launched in July of this year, and is looking to position itself as the leading marketplace for original collectibles that have been created by high profile artists and public figures.
It alleges that the NFTs sold on the platform are for supporting charitable causes, with the use of smart contracts. These will ensure that a portion of all proceeds on future purchases on secondary markets are always donated to non profit organisations.
The platform’s launch has happened at a strategic point in time, as NFT marketplaces are growing in popularity. The Nifty gateway marketplace, backed by the Winklevoss twins, recently hosted an auction where an original artwork sold for more than $55,000.
In June of this year, high profile crypto enthusiast, Tim Draper, also discussed how distributed ledger technology can revolutionise the art industry for the better.