Pre-Framed NFTs Aim to Make Crypto Art More Approachable

You might be interested in NFTs. They can be quite enjoyable. You might have felt the urge to buy a piece of digital art, only to give it up after all the talk of wallet, gas fees, and digital ownership restrictions. The NFT world is not easy to navigate. It's for non-technical people. Some companies are trying to make the acquisition process easier by selling NFT videos in digital photo frames that you can buy, have shipped to you, and then display on your desk or wall.

Lauren is going into the world of framed NFTs and the marketplaces that power them. She tells us about the video of Curry.

There are show notes.

Lauren wrote a story about framed art. Last year, we had an episode on the show. If you can stomach it, you will be able to take it.

There are recommendations.

Lauren recommends protection from the sun. The game Holedown is recommended by Mike.

The person can be found on the social networking site. The person is Michael Calore. The main hotline should be blinged out. The show is produced by a man. Solar Keys is our theme song.

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There is a transcript.

Lauren was Michael Calore's daughter.

The person is Mike.

How many NFTs do you own?

Lauren said zero. I don't own a single NFT. I don't own an NFT so I made the whole thing more complicated.

Michael Calore said yes. I don't know what to think. You might be able to help me understand it.

I think I have a better way to tell you about it.

Michael Calore is very happy. I can't wait to hear all about it.

TheGadget Lab Theme Music plays.

Hello, everyone. Welcome to the lab. My name is Michael Calore. I work at WIRED.

Lauren Goode is a person. I work at WIRED.

Fancy digital photo frames are used to house NFTs. You might have heard of NFTs.

Lauren Goode asked if we had.

We have. In the journalism business, they're called non-fungible token.

The correct name is Lauren Goode. I agree.

NFTs are a way for artists and art lovers to buy and sell digital art online and have had a rise and fall over the past year. NFTs used to be the domain of the crypt elite. If you wanted to trade your NFTs or to show them off, you needed to have some understanding of the technology and know how to use it. Some companies are trying to make it easier to buy, own, and show off digital artworks by bringing NFTs into the mainstream. A physical photo frame is one of the ways they're doing that. You wrote about some of the NFT-specific frames this week. I want you to frame-splain this to me.

Lauren Goode said it was frame-splained. I think that's nice. I wrote about this for WIRED this week, but I have been experimenting with these frames since February, when the NFT market went through a lot of ups and downs.

The story was run this week. One of the companies that I focus on a lot is called Infinite Objects, and their idea is to turn digital video loops into something that is frameable and collectible. I think we're going to talk later on about how people can store and display their actual photos, because it's so important to so many people, but this particular company is focused on video loops.

Michael Calore is sure You purchase something at Infinite Objects. What are you planning on buying?

The thing that's been getting buzz recently is that they don't just sell NFT frames. They also sell just art, digital art, graphic art, video art, framed, and it's like non-NFT art because it's on a loop that isn't on the block. They have a whole business just for selling these goods, like Spencer Gifts goods from 1994. Those of you who are older, like me and Mike, and spent some time in the mall in the '90s, you likely saw Spencer Gifts, and you would see novelty things and lava lamps. Some of the Infinite Objects frames that are not NFTs feel like that, but in other instances, they're allowing you to take an NFT piece of art that you bought on one of the NFT marketplaces out there, and have that displayed in. The frame is playing on an endless loop after you put it on your counter.

I've seen the frame that you have in your house.

Lauren, yes.

There is a picture of a sports personality on a loop.

Lauren, yes.

Michael Calore was asked to describe it.

Lauren said she would take any chance she could to describe Curry. For those of you who don't know, the NBA's Most Valuable Player, the Golden State Warriors' incredible shooter, also has broken tons of records. My friends and I joke that he breaks the record for stealing hearts when he breaks the record forSteals.

Michael Calore is correct in saying that he does.

Thank you for allowing me to take a little detour. I sit in the nosebleeds and his shooting is still amazing from that distance.

Excellent, Michael Calore.

Lauren Goode said yes. NBA Top Shot is the official marketplace for digital collectibles of the NBA. Over the last year, they've gotten into NFTs. You could purchase an NFT that is like a highlight reel of a basketball player, and then you own it. Then you would get that framed and sent to you, and you would have toauthenticate that on Infinite Objects' website.

I don't own the Steph Curry NFT because I've been talking with other frame makers and trying to figure out what the story is here. Sometimes companies will ask, "Do you want to try this product for a while?" We give the money from the sale of loaners to a food bank. That is how we maintain our ethics.

I was offered an IO frame that had a picture of Stephen Curry in it. I don't own that one, but if I go to the back of the frame, there's a code that I can use, and it will take me to the store. The data trail is interesting.

How much is this video loop worth?

It's difficult to get your head around that. Let's say there's a Picasso or van Gogh, and that's the original, but then in college dorm rooms and West elm living rooms across the country, you might see some kind of re-enactment of that art. It is a re-enactment of it. It's not the only one in existence if you buy a NFT that shows that you own a piece of the original art.

There's a first, a second, and a third owner of this Curry video print. It's possible to go down the chain and down the block. Because it's digital, there can be replicas of it, even if it decreases in value. I think there are over a thousand NBA Top Shot listings out there, and it's a little bit confusing because the top sale that I saw indicated that someone paid as much as $6,000, more than $6,000, for it.

It has been selling for as little as $4.75 in the past, but that's not the first or the second or the third. The value is lessened due to the fact that it could be hundreds or thousands of dollars down the line. The NFT market has been in decline in recent months. If I wanted the video print to be printed, I would have to pay somewhere between $6,000 and $4 for it, but it would be free on the IO website.

Michael Calore sees. Okay, let's get on with it.

Lauren, yeah. It's like the frame that is sitting on my kitchen counter that you have seen, and this is where the whole NFT art world gets really heady, because it's the first instance of it, and they were the ones who bought it. If you go on the Top Shot site right now, you can buy the same Curry video print for less than a latte in San Francisco, have it printed, and have a similar thing on your counter. Even though we're having the same sort of display experience, we have to do a little bit of forensics on the ledger to figure out who is worth more.

The person who paid $6,000 for this loop of Stephen Curry shooting a three-pointer and then shimmying his shoulders and playing it up for the crowd can probably still get $6,000 for that. It would be difficult for them to sell it for $6,000. Even though the interest in NFTs has fallen off a cliff, people are still bullish on it.

Lauren, my gosh. They are so excited about it.

Michael Calore said yes.

Lauren, yeah. Depending on who you talk to. The data points show that the NFT market has cratered in the last few months. The JPG NFT Index, which is an index that tracks the NFT market, was down more than 30 percent in June. People in this community use the phrase "open sea" a lot. The world's largest marketplace for NFTs is there. The volume of sales has fallen.

The number of individual NFT sales, like unit sales, the actual sales in US dollars, and sales in the secondary market, so people resell their NFT art, were all shown on the market tracker. There was a lot of hype from celebrities back in February and March, but now they have stopped talking. They have either gone back to promoting their shows on Apple TV+ or they have lost interest in the NFT market.

The NFT market has changed a lot, but when you talk to people like Joe Saavedra, who is the CEO of Infinite Objects, and Damian Medina, who is a buyer and investor, you can see that the market has changed a lot. They're still very happy. They don't believe that the market is stable. There are people in that market. They say that they're riding the wave, that there's still going to be an upswing, and that NFTs will survive whatever the current downturn is.

Michael Calore is okay. When we return, we will continue the conversation.

Sounds like it's going well.

There is a break.

What do you think, Mike? Is it possible that you got an NFT frame?

When NFTs first came out, it was great. I just bought a picture or a Gif. I don't know what to do with it. I don't know how to show it off. Buying something to display and then hanging it on your wall seems like a nice way to show it off. For people who have been collecting art for a long time, the idea of a digital representation of a non-physical object is hard to wrap your brain around.

Lauren, yes.

Being able to own a piece of hardware that displays a digital object is something that makes it a lot easier to steal.

Lauren, right. Think of the frames as a physical twin of the virtual original according to Saavedra. I was really happy. My mind exploded, but it is a good way to think about it, and aside from the monetary value or the resale value, part of the value of the experience is showing it to the people around you.

If I wanted to, I could purchase a copy of the same loop that you have in your NFT frame. I could buy a copy of that for under $5, and then I could go to Target and buy a digital photo frame for $20, and then set it up in my home. There is something preventing me from doing that.

If we're going to get really technical on the Gadget Lab, we're going to have to discuss file formats and how you're going to display a video on a standard frame. The answer to the question that you are asking is yes, you could do that. Let's say you had a Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT, and you were using it as your official account on the social networking site. You have to connect your account to your wallet and ether in order to have that be youravatar. There is a world in which you can take your own asset and turn it into a JPEG and share it anywhere you want.

Correct, Michael Calore.

Lauren Goode said yes. Purchase a frame at Target and do that. The Aura frame is one of the frames that you and I have talked about and we have written about inWIRED.

Michael Calore said yes. The Aura frame is great, but it costs a lot.

Short video loops are also shown.

You can load whatever you want on it and it will show it.

Lauren, right. If you want to buy one of these frames that require you to use your wallet and load the NFT in order to do so, then yes, that's right. The Aura frame looks similar to the end result.

Correct, Michael Calore.

What is the value of the art that you are seeing? When people see photos on your Aura frame, what are they getting out of it?

Michael Calore said yes. I think it's priceless.

Lauren Goode said "Mm-hmm"

Michael Calore said it was sentimental. It's something that's special to you. I think it's a reflection of my life. I believe it's different than art. It's a lot of things if you buy a piece of art and hang it on the wall. It's similar to your support for the artist and the NFTs as a whole. You want to prop up the market by buying an NFT. It is a reflection of who you are and what you like. It makes your home feel different when you hang art on the wall.

That's correct.

Some of the discussions about NFTs can be more about speculation and people talking about scamming.

They are hypey.

Michael Calore said yes. There are people in the art world who think that value and attaching value to objects is not what art is about. It's more about patronage than it is about market speculation if you're talking about value and assigning value to art. You purchase art because you want to see the artist continue to produce art, right?

Lauren Goode said "Mm-hmm"

Michael Calore is giving them money to show them that he likes what they are doing. I can hang this thing in my house if I keep doing it.

Lauren Goode said "Mm-hmm" Yeah, which is a very different value proposition than just, here are the cute photos of my cat flashing on my Aura frame or my friends and I going for a hike.

Michael Calore said yes.

It has its own value. It's not the same as before.

Michael Calore said yes. If I collect NFTs, and I want to show them off in my house, I can just get an Aura frame and load all of the files onto it, and then just show them.

You would have your photos with your art.

Michael Calore said no. I would not do that.

We're going to ride this wave, that's what Joe Saavedra said when I asked him about the cratering NFT market. We're looking forward to it. The entire world of NFTs is still in its infancy. He said that Top Shots is trying to appeal to fans. They're not selling that kind of thing to speculators. There's always going to be people speculating. Even if you only spend $5 on Top Shots, there is something about it that makes you want to invest in it.

Correct, Michael Calore. It's the same with people who buy NFTs from their favorite artists. They have been following visual artists for a decade. They said, "Hey, I'm making NFTs now, and you can buy one for 400 bucks or something." A lot of people buy one because they collect the art that the person makes. Maybe they put it on their digital photo frame and hang it on their wall.

They support the artist if they buy it through a marketplace.

Michael Calore said yes. Unlike a painting that an artist makes, I don't own a physical object until I frame it. I can resell that painting for a lot more money than I can sell an NFT in a frame because it's the only version of it that exists in the world. It doesn't feel like it's special because there is a way to verify it.

If you have the physical art, you have to care for it and keep it cool. You have to send it when you sell it. There are both positive and negative aspects to it.

Correct, Michael Calore. It's right. It's right.

Lauren Goode is not sure. I feel like my head hurts from all of this. The idea of NFT frame makers trying to assign more value to NFTs by shipping them in physical frames is kind of weird.

Michael Calore said it was serious.

It's like exploding-head. Did I tell you about the art of the exploding head?

You need to discuss this.

Lauren Goode: Good lord.

This is one of the things that is for sale at the moment.

Lauren, right. Infinite objects frames are relatively cheap compared to some of the others that I looked at, like LAGO Frames. You display the NFT that you've purchased after you've paid for the frames. I went to their website and saw that there was a frame listed on the site. I went to the most expensive place and found a $600 frame that contained a video art of Musk, a baby, and a woman.

Michael Calore: Yes, X 25A.

Lauren, yes.

Michael Calore said yes.

Is that what I said?

I believe you did. It's true.

Lauren, thank you. It's the baby and it's really interesting. These cartoonish characters are half-human and half-avatars. Both of them have babies in their bellies or outside of their bodies. They've got chips in their brains, because there are these flashing words across the video, and they've got a knife that's green blood, and they've got chips in their brains. The most expensive item on Infinite Objects' website was this one.

Also the most interesting thing I've seen.

Lauren is talking about it.

Michael Calore said yes. It is one of the most interesting things I have seen in the art world.

Do you want to? Are you interested in one?

Michael Calore continues to come back to this. It makes NFTs more appealing to me than just the fact that I own it, and there is a record of it on the block.

That's a great point.

Michael Calore thought it made it tangible.

Lauren, right.

Michael Calore said to put it on a piece of furniture. It becomes art when you place it on a piece of furniture.

Lauren, yeah. It is so fascinating. People are taking forged copies of things in the NFT space.

Michael Calore said yes.

Proponents of NFT art are saying that it is less likely to be forged because of the fact that the property is digital and we have some kind of certification for the fact that you own this. We have nothing to stop us. Can I just load this thing up on my Aura frame, there's nothing we can't do?

Correct, Michael Calore.

When I say this is the art that I own, there is no link to it on the chain.

Michael Calore is okay. I have a question for you before we go to recommendations.

Lauren, okay.

Where will this all be in a year?

Lauren Goode is not a person.

Because a year ago, we could not have predicted that NFTs were going to be like hot shit, and then all of a sudden total shit, and now are occupying this fun space between the art world and the technology world where people are still excited about them It feels like it has its own sort of environment that is cruising along. Do you think we'll see anything over the next year?

We talked to our colleague Kate Knibbs about this topic on the WIRED Gadget Lab and I think that episode really holds up. In our feed, you can find an explainer on NFTs. I have differing ideas on this. The thing that is new is not the art, that's what I wrote in the story. The exchange is new.

There's a part of me that believes that in a year's time, we won't be talking about NFT art, but about the way that people are buying things and exchanging things or paying creators in a way that is distributed ledger technology. I don't know if that's the underlying technology that persists as we enter this Web3 world, and all of this stuff is shaking out, or if it's something else.

I mean, people buy art because it makes them feel like they're going to live forever, right? That is the reason why people create art. Digital art is more valuable in some cases than tangible art. The crazy, hypey, buzzy NFT market will go away because it doesn't make sense to the average consumer. Attaching your wallet and having the fluctuations of ether and all that are done through a wallet.

I'm not sure which of those will be true. I don't know what that is, but I don't know how to say it. I don't have any of those things. I don't know if I have any. I think I have a small amount of it through the Robinhood app, or something I bought once to try it out.

Michael Calore said yes. Every technology journalist has at least $10 worth of the virtual currency.

For the last decade.

Whatever we can afford as journalists. This is not something I have an interest in, but I'm curious to see how it turns out. I don't know what it will look like in a year.

Michael Calore is okay. Well, that's right.

What do you have to say?

Michael Calore asked what he thought. I think it's a lot.

Lauren Goode is okay. You want to win it. You like the ride.

I think it's important for artists to have a new way of selling their work, but at the same time, I think the traditional artists who have gotten into NFTs might have done the same. I think it's an experiment for them, and then there are people who are native digital artists or native cryptographers who are creating and trading NFTs, for whom this is just the new reality, but it's just another part of the art market. I'm looking forward to seeing how that progresses. I don't think it will go away, but it is definitely going to change.

I look forward to coming to your house and seeing what you've bought.

Michael Calore is okay. The shirt is an NFT.

Lauren, wow.

Michael Calore said yes. I purchased it on the internet.

What is that thing called?

The shirt is called Shirt 1.0.

It's so deep.

When we return, we will do our recommendations.

Lauren Goode didn't have any recommendations about theBlockchain.

There is a break.

Michael Calore is okay. The last part of the show is where we talk about things that the audience might like. You go first. What do you think is the best thing to do?

Lauren, okay. I'm reading two books, but I'm not done with them. I don't try to recommend things before they're done.

Michael Calore is sure

Lauren is reading a biography.

Michael Calore is happy.

She is our boss by the way.

She's similar to our boss's boss's boss.

She is like our boss. It's true.

She works at Condé Nast.

Which is our parent company?

Michael Calore said yes.

Lauren, yes. I got an email from her once.

Michael Calore is happy.

Lauren, thank you.

Is this a biography or an autobiography?

It is a biography.

Michael Calore is okay.

Lauren is enjoying it for what it is. The book is called Normal Family and it tells the story of how she met her 35 siblings.

Michael Calore said wow.

Lauren, yeah. There is a story about sperm donors. It may be more than 35 siblings. It is interesting. I will return to those once I finish those books. Something very basic is what I suggest. It's made of minerals. I agree. Mineral sunscreen is different from chemical sunscreen because chemical sunscreens use specific chemicals to stop the UV rays from penetrating.

Mineral sunscreen is a type of physical sunscreen that uses zinc oxide and titanium dioxide to protect you from the sun. Mineral sunscreen is better for you than chemical sunscreen because it is not filled with chemicals, which makes sense. A lot of people don't like mineral sunscreen because it makes their face. You're wearing it.

I don't care if I have a cast on my face because I'm a surfer. I'm not so vain that I don't look pale because I'm wearing mineral sunscreen. It is worth it to have the additional protection.

Correct, Michael Calore.

Some people are a little more cautious about that. It's okay.

It doesn't matter because when they take a picture of you on the giant wave, you'll be small in the picture.

That's correct. That is correct.

People will not see your face.

It's true, Lauren Goode. No one pays attention to my mineral sunscreen when I'm on the 70 foot wave in Nazare, Portugal.

Pinch zooming in.

Lauren, right.

You have a face that looks funny.

If you want to protect yourself from the sun this summer, I recommend checking out mineral sunscreens. I use one from Cerave. I don't know if I'm saying that right.

Michael Calore is okay.

Cerave is a French brand and can be found at most pharmacies. SPF 50 is a good choice. You are supposed to apply once every three hours. You don't have to do that.

Calore never reapplys.

It is easy to forget to apply. The end of my tour is when to check out mineral sunscreens.

Excellent, Michael Calore.

Do you have a recommendation?

I'm going to suggest a game.

Lauren, okay.

The game is a mobile game. I get completely addicted to a game, and then I don't play it for a year, and then one day I'm bored, and I'm like, "Oh yeah, that game seemed like it was." One of those is this game. Holedown is the name of the thing. H-O-L-E-D-O-W I recommend this again because I rediscovered it and am completely addicted to it. I played around to remind myself of how great it was when I decided to record this show.

Lauren, all for research.

It is a game where you shoot balls at blocks to break them and each block has a number on it. The number on the block is how many times you have to hit it. You shoot 12 balls at it if it has a 12 on it. You have a finite amount of balls. You can hit one block and it will bounce off and hit another block. It's the goal to find crystals. The game is called Holedown because the game goes down the screen and you have to hit the blocks with balls. It's really enjoyable. It's funny. There is a game. You can do it while you wait in line at the post office.

Is it still possible for people to do that? Do you want to wait in the post office?

No, but that's the thing every single time.

It's right, Lauren. It's true.

When they're advertising casual games, that's the type of thing they use.

The person is waiting in line at the grocery store.

Michael Calore said yes.

You have previously recommended this.

Michael Calore said yes.

There is a demo of the game on the Holedown.com website, and it looks very addictive.

Michael Calore said it is. The object is to clean the board in this game. If you have any obsessive tendencies about cleaning or completing things, then it's worth a lot of attention.

What does this cost?

Michael Calore said it was four dollars on the phone. You can get it on mobile devices.

They have recommendations from a number of websites. They're going to say WIRED's Gadget Lab. This is the game for people who have a problem with Compulsive Disorders.

You will love Holedown if your brain is broken.

Holedown is a great place to clean your screen. That is wonderful. I would like to thank you. I've noticed that you've been reading on Goodreads.

Michael Calore said yes. It's right. Next week, I will have to recommend one of those books.

I follow Mike's Goodreads for people who haven't been listening to us before. He is my only friend on the site.

Michael Calore said yes. You are my only friend on the professional networking site.

Lauren Goode is not sure if she really is.

Michael Calore is just joking. It's alright. This week's show is called that. I would like to thank you all for listening. Thank you for coming with us.

You're welcomed.

If you have any feedback, you can follow us on social media. Check the show notes to make sure. The producer is always the same as always.

There is a non-fungible person.

He's going to be hung on the wall. Next week we will be back. Thank you until then.

TheGadget Lab theme music is playing.