The David Bowie estate is partnering with OpenSea to launch NFTs next week, but many Bowie fans aren’t impressed.
As part of the “Bowie on the Blockchain” NFT launch, nine different visual artists have created Bowie-inspired NFTs, with 100% of the proceeds going to CARE, a nonprofit organization dedicated to fighting world hunger and poverty.
Before his death in 2016, Bowie was married to supermodel Iman, a global CARE advocate
Along with filmmaker Joaquin Acrich, artist manager Andrew D. Keller’s new firm We Love the Arts collaborated on the “Bowie on the Blockchain” project.
“On September 13th, David Bowie’s undying influence will impact yet another new frontier as nine of the world’s leading crypto-artists join forces to celebrate his legacy and put #BowieOnTheBlockchain,” OpenSea tweeted Tuesday.
“This incredible collection combines some of the most groundbreaking NFT artists with Bowie artifacts to bring a new generation of fans together in Web3,” said Ryan Foutty, vice president of business development at OpenSea.
NFTs are one-of-a-kind blockchain tokens representing an asset’s ownership, most commonly digital art. However, several pop culture NFT releases, such as Netflix’s ‘Stranger Things’ NFTs earlier this summer, have riled up fans who despise the technology.
Backlash from fans of the music star
In the case of the Bowie NFTs, many social media users are upset that the legendary star’s likeness is associated with the blockchain tokens. While some backed NFT technology, others warned the Bowie estate, “Don’t do this.”
Ironically, Bowie’s son, filmmaker Duncan Jones, is a critic of NFTs, labeling them a “fad.”
Jones has previously mocked sharing someone’s NFT, joking that the image of Beeple’s “The First 5000 Days” had become “lost” because he could save and repost it. In addition, Jones previously described the Christie’s auction, where the NFT sold for a staggering $69.3 million, as “suspicious.”
Skeptics notwithstanding, artists such as 19-year-old Fewocious are ecstatic to be working on Bowie-inspired NFT art for charity.
“I can’t wait to show you the rest of the piece when it’s revealed this Thursday,” said Fewocious of his Bowie sculpture.
