The German philosopher and sociologist Georg Simmel wrote as early as 1902: “What the frame does to the work of art is that it symbolizes and reinforces this dual function of its border. He excludes all surroundings and therefore also the viewer from the work of art and thus helps to place it at the distance in which alone it can be aesthetically enjoyed.
For the art historian Dr. Susanne Rennert NFTs and picture frames do not go together, they seem to be a kind of paradox. She said to BTC-ECHO: “The framing of NFTs seems to pursue, among other things, to additionally auratize the work, to define it as art, so to speak.”
But what framework does the NFT need to be considered art? Is a simple iPad, a digital picture frame enough or does it have to be a special NFT picture frame? For the two founders of the Darmstadt start-up Future Frames UG it is perfectly clear that there should be special picture frames and that NFTs are works of art even without frames.
Company founder Jan Peter Macedo Aldick on BTC-ECHO: “You buy works of art to look at them, and for that they currently have to be exhibited in the physical world. So far we still lack technologies to be completely in virtual space. It is therefore an almost logical step that the owners want to anchor their works in the physical world.” His partner Leon Ehmann: “In addition, the works are often too expensive to disappear in your pocket.” The entrepreneurs: “More and more galleries are curating digital artworks and this requires a professional representation.”
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But isn’t an iPad enough for that?
The technically complex graphics of this “new” art are difficult to show on conventional displays for such purposes. Even the largest and newest iPad from Apple “only” has a resolution of 2,732 x 2,048 pixels. However, as Aldick and Ehmann from Future Frames UG explain, the standard resolution for NFT frames should be 3,840 x 2,160 pixels. This could guarantee that the partly video and partly image-based NFTs can be adequately displayed. In addition, many artists add music or 3D elements to their digital works, which often cannot be reproduced by conventional digital frames.
However, the most important advantage of the products designed as NFT picture frames could be that they have software that guarantees that the displayed NFT actually belongs to the person. As Ehmann says, “The frame’s software also connects to its own wallet, authenticating ownership of the purchased NFTs.” This means that it is not even possible to show pictures or NFTs that you have not paid for. Advantages that the entrepreneurs can also pay dearly for. Its smallest frame of 24 inches (approx. 61 cm) currently costs 1,349.90 euros. All NFTs stored in the own WalletConnect-enabled digital exchange could be displayed on this frame via app control.
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NFT picture frames are a niche product
In addition to Future Frames UG, there are a few providers of picture frames for NFTs worldwide. For example, Infinite Objects. This company’s approach is to store mostly video NFTs immutably onto the different sized frames. Even NBA Top Shot cooperates with Infinite Objects. This allows fans to purchase their favorite basketball moments as an NFT and then have them fed into the transparent frames. The “infinite” also means that the video loops run constantly – unless you remove the battery. The cost of such a frame is between 70 and 400 euros.
Another frame is the Meural Frame from Netgear. However, the resolution of the devices there is still lower than that of the latest iPads. Meural also uses an app to select the NFTs to be displayed. In addition, you have a library in the background, which you can use to acquire new works of art. In addition, the frame adapts to the light conditions in the room in order to guarantee the best picture experience.
NFT picture frames – yes or no?
Whether it has to be the latest picture frame technology for the NFTs, just an iPad or a standard digital picture frame is a question of the wallet, but also of one’s own standards. One thing is certain: NFTs are and will remain different from anything that the art world has so far packed in picture frames.
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