Wikipedia\’s first edit sells as NFT, bacteria make a Van Gogh, and meet… Pigcasso!

A SUMMARY OF THE MOST EXCITING ART NEWS FROM AROUND THE GLOBE

While we focus on Indian art, we can’t obviously function in a vacuum. It’s a small world and everything is connected, especially on the web. So, let’s train our spotlight across the world map to see what’s going on — from art trends to socio-political issues to everything that affects the great aesthetic global consciousness. Or, let’s just travel the world and have some fun!

First Wikipedia edit NFT sells at Christie’s for $750K

After celebrating its 20th anniversary in January, the free internet encyclopedia Wikipedia continues making history by selling its first nonfungible token (NFT) via auction giant Christie’s. On Wednesday, Christie’s completed an auction of two Wikipedia-related objects directly from Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales. Titled “The Birth of Wikipedia,” the online sale included two lots, an NFT of Wikipedia’s first edit, which sold for $750,000, and a Strawberry iMac used by Wales to create Wikipedia, which sold for $187,500. The NFT lot features the first message posted on Wikipedia by the site’s co-founder back in 2001, marking a unique moment in the history of the internet: Wales typed the words “Hello, World!” after launching the site on Jan. 15, 2001. The Coin Telegraph reports.

Swarms of mutant bacteria form Van Gogh\’s \’Starry Night\’

A group of swarming bacteria just created strikingly artistic (and swirly) \”paintings\” that are reminiscent of the masterpieces by iconic Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh. Microbiologists noticed the similarities while studying the social cooperation of predatory bacteria called Myxococcus xanthus. Individuals in this species are known to form cooperative swarms, in which they share resources to help overwhelm their prey. The discovery highlights how studying social bacteria may reveal \”behaviors that also exhibit artistic beauty,\” study co-author Daniel Wall, a molecular biologist at the University of Wyoming, said in a statement. Live Science explains the development.

Sotheby’s sells record $7.3bn in art this year — with $100mn in NFTs

Sotheby’s enjoyed a record year in 2021, helped by its foray into nonfungible tokens. The almost 300-year-old auction house reported $100 million in sales off its new NFT category, with first-time bidders flocking to its virtual Decentraland gallery and seeking out Bored Ape Yacht Club and CryptoPunk collectibles, according to a year-in-review report published Wednesday. The launch of Sotheby’s Metaverse — a web3-enabled NFT marketplace — helped draw a wider audience this year with 78% of NFT bidders at auction being new to Sotheby’s and more than half under 40 years of age, its report showed. The sales helped contribute to the company’s $7.3 billion in consolidated sales. Al Jazeera tells you more.

Pigcasso the piggy painter sells artwork for £20,000

A painting pig named Pigcasso who was saved from slaughter at the 11th hour before becoming a world-renowned artist has sold an abstract work for a record breaking £20,000. The painting, Wild and Free, was bought on Monday hours after it came up for sale by a German buyer named Peter Esser. It trumps the previous record of £14,000 for an animal\’s artwork, set by a chimp named Congo in 2005. The painting is a large canvas featuring blue, green and white acrylic streaks which took Pigcasso several weeks to complete. The animal artist has created hundreds of paintings over the last five years after being saved from the slaughterhouse as a piglet by owner, Joanne Lefson. The Daily Mail tells the story.