Yves Klein sold nine editions of empty space called Immaterial Zones in the 1950s for pure gold. Buyers got a receipt they could keep or burn, and one is expected to resell for $500,000. The video argues Klein invented the NFT concept decades before blockchain.
April 13, 2022
Lennon Bone
Nine
Payment in pure gold
Keep the receipt or burn the receipt (burning represents the space becoming part of the artist and buyer)
Is it possible that this artist was responsible for essentially the first NFT which was sold in the late 50s, early 60s artist Yves Klein? At the end of his life, he sold nine different versions of what he called Immaterial Zone. It's literally empty space that the only way you could buy it is by paying in pure gold. It had two options. You could either keep the receipt. The other option is that you could burn the receipt. Burning the receipt represents this space being a part of both the artist and the buyer. Somebody held onto one of those receipts expected to go up for resale at around a half a million dollars. Kabir Jala wrote, at least in terms of conservation and profit making, Klein draws our attention to the fact that our assets in comparison to our experiences will continue to be traded long after we die. And asks what can we really ever claim to possess? I can tell you that as a grandson to a hard working woman raised in rural Arkansas, I'm keeping that receipt.
