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Lot Essay
Artist Statement
When NFTs broke into the public lexicon, I very quickly recognized the F in NFT—Fungible. NFTs are non-fungible tokens that confer uniqueness to digital artworks. The term “fungible” resonated differently for me due to its use by scholars of the history of slavery. People are inherently non-fungible. But as slavery became an integral part of developing capitalism, enslavers sought to make people fungible. In the 16th-18th century, the Portuguese and the Spanish used a system called Pieza de India (“piece of India”) through which people were quantified and valued in relation to an idealized slave—or a “piece of India.” Later, in the ledgers of 18th-19th century American slavers, people are referred to as No. 1 slaves, No. 2 slaves, etc.—a means by which unique people, for example a 35-year-old male carpenter could be equated to a 20-year-old woman (possibly unskilled) with two children, and thus turned into commodities.
White Male For Sale takes this history as a point of departure. During much of the history of America, enslaved people were sold at auction. Frequently these auctions would take place on a street corner. The enslaved person would be made to stand on a block as they were auctioned. Advertisements announcing “Negros for sale” were common. White Male for Sale references this.
The White Male for Sale NFT video is a slow motion shot of a generic white male, in typical middle class work shirt and pants, standing, relatively motionless as Black Brooklyn passes by. The video seamlessly loops and this auction goes on forever. This simple “substation” calls into question the whole history of slavery, capitalism and the ideology of white supremacy, with a particular relevance to the US. Extending the conceptual project, the NFT will be auctioned, live, at an art auction house.
Artist Bio
Dread Scott (b. 1965, Chicago, IL) is an interdisciplinary artist who for three decades has made work that encourages viewers to re-examine cohering ideals of American society. In 1989, the US Senate outlawed his artwork and President Bush declared it “disgraceful” because of its transgressive use of the American flag. Dread became part of a landmark Supreme Court case when he and others burned flags on the steps of the Capitol. He has presented a TED talk on this subject.
His art has been exhibited at MoMA/PS1, The Walker Art Center, and street corners across the country. He is a 2021 Guggenheim Fellow and the 2019 Open Society Foundations Soros Equality Fellow and has received fellowships from United States Artists and Creative Capital Foundation. His art is included in the collections of the Whitney Museum and the Brooklyn Museum. His studio is in Brooklyn, New York.
When NFTs broke into the public lexicon, I very quickly recognized the F in NFT—Fungible. NFTs are non-fungible tokens that confer uniqueness to digital artworks. The term “fungible” resonated differently for me due to its use by scholars of the history of slavery. People are inherently non-fungible. But as slavery became an integral part of developing capitalism, enslavers sought to make people fungible. In the 16th-18th century, the Portuguese and the Spanish used a system called Pieza de India (“piece of India”) through which people were quantified and valued in relation to an idealized slave—or a “piece of India.” Later, in the ledgers of 18th-19th century American slavers, people are referred to as No. 1 slaves, No. 2 slaves, etc.—a means by which unique people, for example a 35-year-old male carpenter could be equated to a 20-year-old woman (possibly unskilled) with two children, and thus turned into commodities.
White Male For Sale takes this history as a point of departure. During much of the history of America, enslaved people were sold at auction. Frequently these auctions would take place on a street corner. The enslaved person would be made to stand on a block as they were auctioned. Advertisements announcing “Negros for sale” were common. White Male for Sale references this.
The White Male for Sale NFT video is a slow motion shot of a generic white male, in typical middle class work shirt and pants, standing, relatively motionless as Black Brooklyn passes by. The video seamlessly loops and this auction goes on forever. This simple “substation” calls into question the whole history of slavery, capitalism and the ideology of white supremacy, with a particular relevance to the US. Extending the conceptual project, the NFT will be auctioned, live, at an art auction house.
Artist Bio
Dread Scott (b. 1965, Chicago, IL) is an interdisciplinary artist who for three decades has made work that encourages viewers to re-examine cohering ideals of American society. In 1989, the US Senate outlawed his artwork and President Bush declared it “disgraceful” because of its transgressive use of the American flag. Dread became part of a landmark Supreme Court case when he and others burned flags on the steps of the Capitol. He has presented a TED talk on this subject.
His art has been exhibited at MoMA/PS1, The Walker Art Center, and street corners across the country. He is a 2021 Guggenheim Fellow and the 2019 Open Society Foundations Soros Equality Fellow and has received fellowships from United States Artists and Creative Capital Foundation. His art is included in the collections of the Whitney Museum and the Brooklyn Museum. His studio is in Brooklyn, New York.