The transition to the so-called ‘digital age’, the beginning of which has been marked by the spread of the Internet on a global scale, is changing the rules of the game in all sectors. In particular, some technologies – such as artificial intelligence, big data and machine learning – can help us to simplify the processes through which our markets are based, making them more transparent and efficient. As a consequence, almost all sectors are investing ever-increasing amounts of money in digital research and innovation, hoping to revolutionise the market with cutting-edge solutions.
At the top of the list of technologies that give more hope is Blockchain, the system that underlies the digital currency ‘Bitcoin’, created in 2009 by an anonymous inventor who goes by the pseudonym ‘Satoshi Nakamoto’. Blockchain is, in short, a sort of block register, each of which contains a set of unmodifiable information. This system, which is based on transparency, security and the immutability of the data entered, allows you to make secure and fast transactions virtually in any sector. It’s not difficult to imagine that the scope of its application could be revolutionary.
As for the art market, a system based on a blockchain would bring more transparency – as reported in the 2017 Deloitte Art and Finance Report. Through this technology, for example, every work could bring with it precious historical data. Each block would contain all the information regarding its transactions: the object, the value, the collection from which it comes, the authenticity. Each change from one owner to another would constitute a new ‘block’ added in sequence to the previous ones. The chain cannot be broken or modified: this means that all data entered previously, and validated by several parties (for example, the owner who sells the lot, the expert who authenticated it, the auction house that puts it into sale, etc.) cannot be changed.
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The introduction of a similar system would have great advantages. First of all, it would be much easier to trace the provenance and authenticity of a work, and it would also make sure that the institution from which it was purchased is reliable. This is no insignificant component for auction houses and galleries, which, in recent years, have discovered how the internet can increase visibility and expand the public’s knowledge, but at the same time make the process of verifying the reliability of sellers and buyers more complex. The fact that this technology is so recent and still under development does not help to understand if it actually can be as revolutionary as many claim.
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What is certain is that the main players in the sector are playing in advance. Above all is Christie's, which in July 2018 gathered the most important representatives of the market in a conference entitled ‘Art + Tech Summit – Is the Art World Ready for Consensus?’. On this occasion, the discussion highlighted the need to be cautious and to reflect on the problems that this transformation could bring with it, especially regarding the security of user data.
The auction house also announced that in the sale ‘An American Place: The Barney A. Ebsworth Collection’ of 20 November 2018, blockchain would be used to digitally record the data of all the works that will be auctioned.
And this is only the beginning.