Asher Emanuel Hoffman
Art History
Asher Hoffman is an artist and student at the University of Colorado Denver, completing a BA in Art History. Asher has worked as a consultant for animators and artists in the WEB3 realm and is currently a gallery associate at K Contemporary Art in Denver, Colorado.
Thesis Title:
Blockchain-based Performance Art
Abstract:
In 2024, major museums such as MoMA and Tate Modern held dedicated digital art exhibitions. Although these exhibitions brought new attention to digital art history, there is still a lack of research on the intersection of blockchain-based digital art and performance art. Skirting the traditional pathways of selling and exhibiting art, the blockchain allows for decentralized and open access to artists, artworks, and the collector network for anyone with internet access. Scholars like Christiane Paul, Amy Whitaker, and Tina Rivers Ryan have led the recent scholarly research into blockchain-based digital art. Still, the intersection of blockchain-based digital art and performance art remains understudied, leaving a critical gap in understanding their implications for performance art and the digital art landscape. This thesis addresses that gap by analyzing how blockchain’s decentralized nature reinvigorates old modes and facilitates new modes of performative expression and participation.
This thesis examines works by performance artists such as Alpha Centauri Kid, who created a blockchain-enabled mimetic experience and distribution system, and Sam Spratt, who uses blockchain technologies to allow collectors to participate anonymously and without mediation with his artworks. Leveraging the decentralized nature of blockchain, these artists push back against the normative expectations of digital and performance art. By exploring the historical context of performance art alongside twenty-first-century digital art and tokenization, this thesis demonstrates how these technologies expand the boundaries of accessibility, ownership, viewership, and interaction in the art world.
I argue that tokenized performance art not only challenges traditional institutional frameworks but also creates a new art economy centered on decentralization and digital interaction. This paper situates blockchain-based performance art within the broader history of performance art and digital art, showing how it represents a distinct subcategory that redefines digital performance art. In conclusion, by shedding light on this emerging ecosystem, this thesis contributes to the recognition of blockchain-based performance art as a development in contemporary art.