BLAIR
tethered art
Artists Maintain Control of their Copyright and Public Valuation when using Tethered Art
What?
Tethered Art is located in New York, New York focused on allowing artists to safely authenticate their fine art through physical hardware signatures and certificates of authentication. This solution is meant to last indefinitely, long after the artist may no longer be living, taking the authentication concern off their shoulders.
Why?
Provenance and authentication are huge responsibilities within the art world. Not only do they allow art historians to build historically accurate documentation of art, but they drastically impact the valuation of artwork in both public and private markets. From an artist’s written signature to a specific chemical residue unearthed from their canvas; the art world has hundreds of ways they claim to keep track of an artwork’s history and where it came from. However, in order to accomplish this, extremely expensive teams of scientists are needed to cross reference paint, material, chemicals, etc. to confirm a work is authentic. Even the most in-depth documentation can (and has) been forged. The unfortunate reality is without the artist present to verify a piece, these methods can be spoofed thanks to modern technology and professional art forgers.
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Without the artist next to their artwork 24/7 to attest authentication, the question becomes: How do we create a system consistent across all types and mediums of art, securely validated by the artist at creation, and most importantly unable to be counterfeited? While a handful of groups have attempted to solve this issue with similar methods, each has made fatal mistakes keeping them from taking the market by storm.
The solution to this problem lies in the inherent needs of artists, not hypothetical scenarios formulated by a large company. With a system specifically built by and for artists, Tethered Art aims to solve a current need, not create a new one.
How?
The complexity of translating a theoretical concept into a consumer-friendly product required an innovative, novel approach with respect to the ease of use features and applications. Through Tethered Art's attorneys, documentation including detailed system flowcharts, drawings, architecture, and first-to-action status are being reviewed. Recieveing patent-pending status in the United States and Internationally grants Tethered Art the freedom to work alongside artists to assemble a system that fits their needs.
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The patent-pending system utilizes Near-Field Communication (NFC) technology to dual-authenticate each piece of fine art. With a “public tag” installed on/in the physical artwork, and a “private tag” installed on/in the certificate of authenticity (COA), dual-authentication is achieved. Each “public tag” can be scanned with any NFC-enabled mobile device, displaying information of the artwork on the user’s device. Each “private tag” can only be scanned successfully with their approved login credentials. Every artwork has a single “collector account” associated with it. This “collector account” can unlock their “private tag” and update the artwork to a new “collector account” by simply inputting the new collector’s email address. This will remove the original collector as the artwork owner and give access to the new collector for editing.
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All this information and understanding of how the system works may lead to speculation that this system involves Cryptocurrency, Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), or the Blockchain. While Tethered Art believes the future solution to this problem has these areas of technology on the horizon, the current perception and understanding of these areas is nowhere near where it needs to be for that to happen, especially in the fine art world. From unpredictable digital currency prices to short-lived digital art fads, the Non-Fungible Token world is flooded with manufactured hype and anonymity. This is exactly where Tethered Art believes the handful of groups attempting to solve this problem are making fatal mistakes. Each one hopes to leverage Blockchain technology to record and document their records. This inherently decentralized method of record-keeping is unnecessary for the fine art world and arguably adds more confusion to everyone around it.
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With a centralized system of dual verified NFC chips, Tethered Art can steer clear of all the baggage and confusion that comes with using Crypto and NFTs, and provide a service to artists they are comfortable with.
Mission:
Tethered Art's mission is to give every artist the power to authenticate their work in a secure, clear, and professional manner so as to give them control of their public valuation on their own terms. Founded by artists, we understand the concern and stress that comes with copywriting your work and managing your valuation in the public and private sphere. Tethered Art aims to create a system used and run by artists to ensure a hands-on understanding of the current and future market needs.