What Was the First NFT?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Quantum was created in 2014 by New York-based artist Jennifer McCoy in a video format. The video represents a combination of 179 different frames. The main object represented in the video is an octagon filled with various coloured objects like circles and arcs,<\/strong> amongst others. Some shapes are larger than others and surround smaller ones and pulsate hypnotically in a luminous manner. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The most astonishing aspect of the first NFT is probably the colour palettes<\/strong> used. At first glance, one can see different shades of blue, green, red, orange and purple, all contrasting a black background. But when closely analysed and extracted, the colours begin with oxford, duke and midnight blue moving onto blue sapphire and midnight green. Other colours include liberty purple, indigo dye, cyber grape, Russian violet and lime green. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Another thing, that is generally less discussed, is the meaning of the name<\/strong> behind what was the first NFT, namely Quantum. One can only assume it\u2019s origin as there is no record of the McCoys confirming it. But as per official meaning, a quantum is the smallest unit of something. In physics, it is therefore phenomenon\u2019s smallest unit, and a phenomenon is an observable event, like life itself. As Kevin McCoy said in 2021, \u201cThis code driven work presents an ongoing, abstract, cycle of birth, death, and rebirth.\u201d So maybe it is correct to assume that the McCoys decided to define the representation of life that their NFT is with its unique name, Quantum. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This code driven work presents an ongoing, abstract, cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. It tells this story through color, line and movement. In 2014, I had an idea to use blockchain technology to create indelible provenance and ownership of digital images of this kind. Quantum was the first ever to be recorded in this way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n An image of “Quantum,” the first ever NFT. McCoy prefers to call them “monetized graphics,” or “monegraphs.” Answering the question of what was the first NFT leads us to when it was first introduced. The live presentation for the Seven on Seven conference in New York represents an important event in the history of NFTs. This is a project that pairs seven artists with seven visionary technologists, challenging them to create something new, be it an artwork, prototype or something completely different. At this event Kevin McCoy<\/a> and Anil Dash, who is an American technology executive and writer, came up with the idea of monetised graphics, what is now known as a Non-Fungible Token (NFT)<\/strong>. The way it would work is by linking a non-fungible\/replaceable blockchain marker to a specific work of art through an on-chain metadata by the blockchain Namecoin. At this event, Dash bought Quantum<\/a> for only $4. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHow to picture the moment of creation. A spark, a seed, a particle. We have narratives that describe it as an interval of days or as a cryptic alphabet that divides the earth from the firmament. [Kevin McCoy\u2019s]Quantum takes its place alongside other original icons replacing their aura and gilding with a pulsating luminous heartbeat. To call this a mandala would not be an understatement, since what is a mandala if not an allegory for a universe, its revolutions, breath and winking into being out of nothingness?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Kevin McCoy, 2021<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n The first NFT creator, Kevin McCoy<\/strong><\/a>, grew up in Seattle, USA. Jennifer McCoy<\/strong><\/a> was born in Sacramento, USA. He studied Philosophy at university, whilst she did Theatre Arts and Film Studies. Both met and started dating in Paris in 1990 where they went to relearn French theories on film and popular culture. Afterwards, they both pursued a master\u2019s degree in Electronic Arts at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Upstate New York. In 1996, the couple moved to New York together. As of 2022, Kevin McCoy is an Associate Professor in the Department of Art and Art Professions at NYU. Jennifer is a Professor in the Art Department at\u202fBrooklyn College<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Their website includes over 150 exhibitions that the artists, who made the first NFT, have collaborated on. Over 50 press features are listed there as well which, like the exhibitions, date from as far back as 2000. Included here are 13 awards that they have received, such as the 2005 Visual Artist of the Year from Wired Magazine in San Francisco. Most recently, Kevin McCoy received the 2022 Webby Lifetime Achievement Award<\/strong> alongside Anil Dash, the first buyer of the first NFT ever, for developing what we now know as NFTs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
![\"Variations](\"https:\/\/www.digitalartists.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/variations-of-quantum.jpg\")
Source: McCoySpace.com <\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nWho Made the First NFT?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"McCoys](\"https:\/\/www.digitalartists.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/mccoys-photograph.jpg\")
Source: UnfoldBrics.art <\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n