Sotheby’s Men’s Auction Shouldn’t Surprise Web3

Last week, the legacy auction house Sotheby’s closed the last auction in its NFT initiative just two days after it opened on March 24. The show, titled Natively Digital: Glitch-ismit featured 17 artists from the world of glitch art, an aesthetic known for its distorted images, flashing lights, and erratic compositions.

However, the show quickly generated controversy and was criticized for not featuring a single artist on the auction list.

“Sotheby’s is pausing Natively Digital: Glitch-ism to correct the imbalance in representation within the sale, and will relaunch it with a more equal and diverse group of artists at a later date,” the company said. wrote in a March 26 tweet address the controversy. The move was generally welcomed by the Web3 community, which applauded Sotheby’s willingness to course correct.

Still, the company’s original oversight was anything but surprising.

Web3 can, at times, seem demographically unbalanced when it comes to gender. Where are the women in Web3? The question seems both absurd and rational. Women have been an integral part of the space since its inception; however, the stereotype of his absence persists, even in the eyes of some of the biggest names in the NFT community.

a persistent illusion

To one degree or another, the Web3 space is constantly haunted by the idea that the crypto bro, a finance frat boy turned digital token-loving caricature, dominates blockchain-based projects, initiatives, and organizations. It cannot be ignored that according to some estimatesmen in the US are much more likely to own cryptocurrency and participate in its ecosystems than women.

But to suggest that women don’t exist in space is worse than a fantasy: it’s a harmful lie.

Unfortunately, no one is immune to hallucination. NFTNick — co-host of NFT Morning Show and a well-known figure in the space with more than 140,000 followers on Twitter, found himself in trouble in February 2023 when took to Twitter to list the most influential founders in Web3. None of them women.

Betty, the founder and CEO of Deadfellaz, pointed this out. Nick defended the list, saying that men hold all the top jobs in space.

Even Beeple, one of the prominent names in the NFT community, is susceptible to the mirage. After Beeple Studios opened in March 2023, Web3 commentators noted how packed with men their inaugural celebration had been.

by beeple answer to art net‘s Kenny Schacter on this was less than ideal: “I mean it is what it is, space is all damn dudes. This was just our first event, and as with any art or crypto event, diversity could always be better.” The fact that Beeple, someone who is so intimately familiar with the NFT space, thinks that women are absent from Web3 indicates just how foggy this demographic misconception hangs over the landscape.

Of course, that’s not to say that Beeple is a “bad” person (a vague label in any situation). Even the critics he admits that he seems like a friendly person who wants artists from all walks of life to succeed. But that doesn’t relieve you of the responsibility of having a basic level of understanding of women’s contributions and their place on Web3.

With the Glitch-ism controversy, Sotheby’s finds itself in a similar position. Nick, Beeple and the auction house can (and hopefully will) do a better job fostering inclusive opportunities for the crypto art community, especially with so many Web3 members holding them accountable.

Pushing for change within

One day after Sotheby’s launched Glitch-ism, performance artist Oona took to Twitter to draw attention to the unbalanced nature of the show. Patrick Amadon, one of the artists Sotheby’s had included in the auction, responded to his tweet. Amadon agreed with Oona’s observation and suggested that Sotheby’s might have included several female glitch artists.

Just a few hours later, Amadon removed his artwork from the Sotheby’s auction in a show of solidarity with the women of Web3. The move undoubtedly emphasized the seriousness of the situation and likely influenced Sotheby’s decision to relaunch the auction at a later date in a way that better reflects reality.

Speaking to nft now about the controversy, Amadon stressed that overlooking women’s roles in creating the glitch art community is one of the main reasons he decided to withdraw from the auction.

“Women and non-binary people have played an important role in the digital glitch art movement,” Amadon said. “Their lack of inclusion in what was to be a historic first single ‘failure’ sale at a major institution was a problem. It didn’t feel right for me to continue [while] Knowing this, I did what I felt was right and withdrew from the sale. I did not expect my action to trigger the events that unfolded or the media attention. It was nice to help the community stand out and get some positive press for the digital art space.”

Among the people Amadon suggested to be part of the auction was Empress Trash (Drea Jay), a well-known glitch artist with a large following in the Web3 sphere. Addressing the Sotheby’s glitch art exhibit in a correspondence with nft now, Jay expressed her thanks to the community for asking for her inclusion in the exhibit and spoke about the broader dynamics of women’s representation on Web3.

“I am grateful to everyone who has been involved in amplifying our voices and concerns,” Jay explained. “Inequity in the market as a whole based on identity and socioeconomic status is something I have focused on since I got into the space. While I have seen improvements over the course of my time here, unfortunately [still] seeing and experiencing undervalued women, LGBTQ+ and BIPOC as a whole across all genders for their men [and] anonymous contemporaries.

Jay also noted that while some artists choose to maintain an anonymous identity, such an approach would deny her the ability to truly be herself in her creative practice, divesting herself of the very identity through which she exists as an artist. She believes that choosing to be anonymous as a woman on Web3 acknowledges the problem but at the same time dismisses it rather than addressing it. As someone who is gaining more and more fame and recognition for her work, Jay points to the fact that it means little without equivalent financial growth.

“It is not a lack of quality or historical relevance of my work [that explains] why isn’t it valued more,” Jay explained. “There is a larger social and market dynamic at play […] a part of that is devaluing women, LGBTQ+ and BIPOC in general. This is why I contributed my voice and helped amplify others with the Sothebys protest, not because they didn’t specifically include me.”

A way forward for gender equality in Web3?

Amadon believes Sotheby’s did not act maliciously, and instead attributes the oversight to a cultural blind spot that the auction house simply needs to pay more attention to. That’s an important distinction, one that makes a difference in how Web3 chooses to approach solutions related to gender representation.

“I think Sotheby’s has just made a genuine mistake, and I hope that attention to this issue will result in better dialogue and perhaps more focus on marginalized groups being more fairly represented for their contributions to space,” Amadon continued. “Sotheby’s has since halted the sale and will relaunch it with a revised, more inclusive listing. To their credit, they listened, they’ve turned around, and they’re taking action to do right by those communities.”

Amadon’s compassionate note is crucial. Striking the right balance between holding individuals and organizations accountable for such misjudgments and enthusiastically working collectively on solutions will have a huge effect on what the outcomes of problems will look like. Every actor in Web3 (including this post) has a genuinely exciting opportunity to help ensure that the weary misconceptions of a male-dominated crypto-art space don’t obliterate the much more interesting and diverse reality.

But capitalizing on that opportunity could require a change in the way Web3 enthusiasts, from platforms to collectors, think about value.

“Women and non-binary people have their contributions sidelined and their prices suffer for it,” Amadon stressed of the issue. “And because their prices suffer, they get less attention, and the cycle continues. I think it’s incumbent on the entire community to make sure the narratives we share reflect reality and value each other’s contributions fairly.”

He adds that price becomes a signaling factor, but that it’s not an honest assessment of quality or importance. “More often than not, the price perpetuates the enrichment cycle of artists and collectors who have more privileges and opportunities in the system. I think platforms need to do a better job of identifying this and taking more responsibility to ensure more equal representation and opportunities. Ultimately, it’s much healthier for everyone.”