In a fascinating blend of history and modernity, the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford has given the final word to cryptocurrency and NFTs in its latest exhibition, *Money Talks: Art, Society and Power*. As Britain’s first public museum, founded in the 1670s, the Ashmolean’s exhibition explores the complex relationship between art, money, and society, culminating in a bold showcase of how digital assets are reshaping this intersection.
Curator Dr. Shailendra Bhandare describes the exhibition as an exploration of “using art as a lens for the social history of money, but also how art and money come together in different ways.” It’s a narrative that naturally leads to the rise of NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens) and their role in the financialization of art, a concept that Bhandare believes is a crucial part of the current dialogue surrounding money and art.
The exhibition concludes with a dedicated section on NFTs, featuring iconic digital artworks like CryptoPunks and Rare Pepes. Bhandare emphasizes that omitting NFTs would have been a significant oversight, given their growing importance in discussions about how art and money intersect in the digital age.
Bhandare acknowledges that venturing into the NFT space was challenging. After spending an hour talking with these artists, his head was spinning. He needed a coffee afterward because it was really tough to disconnect from our usual reality and constantly immerse myself in this meta world, he humorously admitted. To address this challenge, he chose César Escudero Andaluz and Martín Nadal’s “Economy, Knowledge and Surveillance in the Age of the Cryptocene,” a complex, text-heavy artwork that delves into the privatization of information in the digital era, referencing significant figures and concepts like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Satoshi Nakamoto, and Vitalik Buterin.
The exhibition also acknowledges the skepticism surrounding NFTs. Alexander C. Cornelius’ “In Cryptography We Trust” provides a satirical take on Bitcoin, featuring Monopoly’s Rich Uncle Pennybags, symbolizing the critique from artists who oppose the crypto movement.
As *Money Talks* illustrates, the conversation between art and money is far from static. The inclusion of NFTs not only reflects the evolving nature of this relationship but also sparks dialogue about the future of art in an increasingly digital and decentralized world.