The Art of Norwegian Bliss
The Art of Norwegian Breakaway
The Art of Norwegian Escape
The Art of Norwegian Getaway
The Art of Norwegian Breakaway
The Art of Norwegian Escape
The Art of Norwegian Getaway
NORWEGIAN CRUISE LINE
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"Flowing Data" by Peeta, one of the works used in Norwegian's NFT collection . (Image courtesy of NCL).
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 "Peeta" (photo courtesy of NCL).
Norwegian Cruise Line (“NCL”) has put itself at the cutting edge of digital art with uction and sale of the cruise industry's first NFT collection.
An NFT is a non-fungible token – a digital asset built using blockchain technology. Whereas a unit of crytocurrency such as a Bitcoin is fungible – one coin is just like another, an NFT is unique. Each NFT relates to a real world item such as a video, music, or art. Collectors buy and sell NFTs, making (or losing) money in much the same way as art collectors buy and sell traditional physical art such as a painting. Inasmuch as digital art can often be downloaded or copied for free on the internet, why do some NFTs sell for millions of dollars? The answer appears to be that NFTs carry a bit of unique code that sets each one apart. It is similar to the way a print hand-numbered by the artist is different than the poster of the same work sold in a museum shop. Buyers often pay for NFTs with crytocurrencies. However, they can also be purchased using more traditional means. The NFTs auctioned by NCL are based on art created by Manuel Di Rita, an Italian artist based in Venice who also goes by the name “Peeta.” Beginning in the early 1990s, Peeta came to the attention of the art world with graffitti art. His compositions utilize geometric forms that often create optical illusions. Thus, a building that is perfectly square may look like it is multi-sided and punctuated with seemingly 3-D forms projecting in various directions. Peeta was selected by NCL to do the hull art for NCL's next two ships Norwegian Prima and Norwegian Viva. The ships of the NCL fleet have long had distinctive murals on their hulls. However, beginning with Norwegian Breakaway, NCL has selected established contemporary artists such as Peter Max, Wayland, and Lebo to design the murals for each new ship's hull. The six NFTs are based upon drawings and concepts Peeta developed while working on the designs for Norwegian Prima. The underlying art will be on view in the atrium of Norwegian Prima. There was a certain amount of risk for NCL in entering the NFT marketplace. After all cruise lines are more often associated with the sale of t-shirts rather than cutting-edge digital art. Indeed, even the art that is sold aboard the NCL ships' is done through a franchisee rather than by NCL itself. However, the first five NCL NFTs sold out within 20 minutes of being placed on sale. The sixth NFT was not included in the initial auction. The proceeds from the NFT sales is to go to Teach America. |
Above: "Relative Coordinates" by Peeta.
Below: "Prima Hull Art Sketch 1" by Peeta. (Images courtesy of NCL). 
Above: Norwegian Prima under construction.
Below: An artist's rendering of what the completed Prima will look like. (Images courtesy of NCL). 
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Cruise ship article - - Norwegian Cruise Line - NCL Auctions Cruise Industry's First NFT Collection