In the ever-changing landscape of technology and culture, art and media have followed a recurring cycle: from exclusivity and wealth to democratization and mass accessibility, and now back to a new form of elitism. This timeline reflects the paradox of how "poor media"—simple, accessible, and widely shared—transform into "rich media," defined by exclusivity and monetary value. Web3 and blockchain, while promising decentralization, have resurrected hierarchies and scarcity in digital art. Drawing on Hito Steyerl's In Defense of the Poor Image, Maarten Walraven's In Defence of Music as Poor Media, and examples like Metallica and Jean-Michel Basquiat, this essay explores the paradox of art in the Web3 era.
From Rich to Poor: The Democratization of Art
Historically, art was synonymous with wealth, exclusivity, and rarity. Masterpieces were reserved for the elite, inaccessible to the general public. Hito Steyerl, in her essay In Defense of the Poor Image, describes "poor images" as the opposite: degraded, low-resolution, and infinitely shareable. Poor images abandon their aura of exclusivity in exchange for velocity and reach, becoming accessible to anyone with a digital device.
Music underwent a similar transformation. Maarten Walraven highlights how the rise of MP3s and platforms like Napster turned music into a "poor medium," shedding its physical form and becoming a widely shareable digital commodity. While piracy democratized music, it also sparked backlash from traditional gatekeepers. Metallica's legal battle against Napster in 2000 exemplifies this. The band fought to preserve their exclusive rights and financial interests. However, this resistance to democratization revealed a paradox: Napster’s mass accessibility laid the groundwork for the new digital economy that Web3 now seeks to monetize.
Imagine an alternate history: Metallica could have partnered with Napster, offering exclusive high-quality FLAC files or discounted albums to its users. Instead of battling their fans, they could have embraced accessibility, transforming piracy into collaboration. This highlights a key theme: the democratization of art often challenges traditional systems of value, but it also creates opportunities for reinvention.
Poor Media as a Gateway to the Elite
While democratization lowers barriers, it also serves as a springboard for some creators to enter artistic elites. Jean-Michel Basquiat’s story exemplifies this paradox. As a street artist in New York, Basquiat’s work was raw, immediate, and made with found materials—epitomizing "poor art." Yet, his authenticity and audacity gained him entry into the elite art world, collaborating with figures like Andy Warhol. His "poor" art became highly sought-after, commanding millions in auctions.
Basquiat’s journey mirrors the transformation of poor media in Web3. What starts as accessible and democratic often becomes exclusive and elite when it gains cultural cachet. This paradox reveals a cycle: democratized art disrupts hierarchies but is eventually absorbed into the systems it initially challenged.
The Web3 Revolution: From Poor to Rich Again
Web3 and blockchain technologies promised to decentralize art, enabling anyone to mint NFTs, sell music, or create AI-driven works. These tools lowered the barriers to entry, echoing the accessibility of Napster and Basquiat’s early graffiti. However, as with previous cycles, these "poor" creations quickly became absorbed into systems of exclusivity and profit.
NFTs are a stark example. They transform infinitely replicable digital files into rare, tokenized assets. Beeple’s $69 million NFT sale exemplifies how digital art, once accessible to all, has been redefined as scarce and elite. Blockchain ensures ownership, creating artificial scarcity and mimicking traditional art markets.
Music in Web3 is undergoing a similar shift. Platforms like Sound.xyz allow artists to mint limited-edition music NFTs, returning to a model of exclusivity. While this democratizes creation, it also commodifies it, as artists and platforms chase exponential profits. The paradox is clear: Web3 offers accessibility but often replicates the very hierarchies it promised to dismantle.
This cycle mirrors the California Gold Rush. Artists today are like miners, producing vast quantities of content in hopes of striking digital gold. However, as with the Gold Rush, the true winners are often the suppliers. Platforms minting NFTs, AI art generators, and blockchain infrastructure providers profit regardless of who succeeds creatively.
Like Levi Strauss, who sold durable jeans to miners, Web3 platforms profit by equipping artists with the tools of creation and distribution. The miners—artists—take the risks, often finding themselves buried under the weight of oversaturation and competition.
The Eternal Question of Value
In this evolving landscape, the value of art is shifting. Poor media thrive on accessibility, speed, and social impact, while rich media draw their value from rarity and exclusivity. But in the sea of AI-generated works and tokenized assets, what truly endures?
Steyerl argues that poor images have value beyond their materiality—through their intensity, spread, and cultural resonance. Similarly, the future of art may lie not in exclusivity, but in its ability to build connections and foster communities. Yet, as history shows, the cycle of poor-to-rich media is inevitable. Web3 is simply the latest iteration.
Conclusion: Miner or Supplier?
The story of art and media is one of transformation: from rich to poor, and back again. Web3 exemplifies this paradox, offering tools for democratization while recreating systems of exclusivity. As we navigate this new era, we must ask ourselves: are we miners, endlessly creating in the hope of striking gold? Or are we suppliers, profiting by equipping others for the digital gold rush? This choice defines not only our success but also the legacy we leave in the cultural landscape of Web3.
