Volumetric and Edible NFTs: Explorations of the Limits of Aesthetic Assetization and Tokenization

Through two experiments with volumetric and one experiment with edible Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) conducted between 2021 and 2022, we will discuss the limits of “assetization” and engagement with speculative future and value. Assetization is a process of claiming or generating “future” value that creates various (not only economic) expectations and incentives. To capture the novel aesthetic expectations and experiences beyond assetization, we will focus on the edge cases, such as edible NFTs and also NFTs related to large volumetric (mesh) data. How can fringe NFTs mitigate some of the negative effects of commodification and market speculation? Our use cases show that a major barrier for assetization and tokenization of alternative and novel values, impacts, and goals are the closed data and software silos, but also the user-unfriendly interfaces for interacting with the blockchain infrastructure. Instead of creating new markets and media ecosystems that generate new sources of income for the creators, NFTS still transform cultural artifacts into speculative investments with detrimental effects.


INTRODUCTION
Two volumetric design and art experiments with NFTs and one edible NFT project conducted between 2021 -2022 explored the limits of "assetization" and engagement with speculative future and value [1].They attempted to transform assetization and tokenization of experiences and performances.Instead of only generating symbolic "ownership" of the future asset, these projects tried to use the NFTs for engagement beyond investment.Instead of defining the participants as investors, patrons, and spectators, the projects actively involved the participants in the processes of defining and reflecting upon the value of certain experience, performance, or event (philosophical lecture, documentary movie, or dinner).
The research explored the evolving interaction between art, design, and blockchain technology beyond market speculations.Edible and volumetric NFTs may represent a significant shift in how we perceive and interact with digital assets, challenging traditional notions of ownership and value.While edible items are perishable and ephemeral, large volumetric data generate visualizations impossible to reduce to one type of metadata (and NFTs).3D volumetric content is aesthetically "sublime" in terms of its almost unlimited possibilities of representation after the initial capture that is closer to a performance rather that "scanning" of a stable and well-defined object.
By examining the edge cases of edible and volumetric NFTs, we can better understand the implications of "assetization, " which have been at the forefront of discussions surrounding digital art, collectibles, and the broader digital economy.This research enables us to critically assess the socio-cultural, economic, and ethical dimensions of these developments, and navigate the complex landscape of blockchain-based creative expression and its impact on our digital future.

VOLUMETRIC NFTS
Two volumetric projects explored how NFTs may serve emerging art practices with a new medium, whereby we tried to transform raw volumetric 3D mesh data into NFTs with limited success.While the use of NFTs seemed like a good choice for supporting production and consumption of novel visual experience with 360 degrees videos, the actual results were disappointing.The reason was the reliance on third-party software to work with such volume of data and transform them into anything useful or reduce the immense volume of data into meaningful metadata.
Given limitations of NFTs (and blockchain storage in general), we could not, in a meaningful way, represent the volumetric data in the NFT itself.In the first volumetric project, we were trying to use the mesh model and data captured in the volumetric studio to support a movie, in which one of the participants became a volumetric "ghost" and character in the movie ("A matter of Life and Math, " film essay and documentary by Petr Šourek, 2021) 1 .Since the topic of the documentary was a critique of computer models and simulations used in policy making and the overall fetishization of data, we were looking into ways how an NFT could be unlocked while viewing the movie.
NFTs can be comprised of different components, including smart contract code, metadata, raw digital assets, and other code used to access the components (e.g.HTML and JavaScript), that are stored across different technological components that have differing degrees of decentralisation [2].Whilst exploring an optimal NFT design, given the mesh data's requirement to be stored and served in a proprietary setting, we could not find a meaningful way to represent the volumetric data into NFT metadata (besides storing a hash).
It was impossible to use the NFT to perform and unlock new content while viewing, for example show something that the character was saying in the documentary: that instead of hypotheses, the models and large data dictate the behaviour of the actors.We did not find a meaningful way to represent the volumetric data of the "ghost" into NFT metadata that would unlock a parallel experience.The whole mesh remained only a visual experience showing a person reduced to data.
The same challenge of assetization of big volumetric data to serve the intentions of the author or artist was also a problem in the next volumetric project "Philosophical Lecture in the Age of Uncanny Volumetric Data".The performance in the volumetric studio by one of the authors of the papers questioned the speculative value of large collections of data points in machine learning but also mesh models.Like some modern-day atomies, these data cause unpredictable "swerves" and deviations -clinamen -in meaning, value, and representation.Both machine learning and volumetric scanning generate large datasets where it remains unclear what do they actually represent.What is unclear is also their ownership structures heavily dependent on third-party access and software.
The metadata could not capture the mesh data points and "translate" them into speculative values without reduction and dependence on intermediaries.It was impossible to tokenize the volumetric data or share it via IPFS and distribute them in any meaningful way that would support creative interaction with such NFTs.The "philosophical lecture" in the volumetric studio that we attempted to turn into a dynamic NFT unlocking various experiences and interpretations became documentation of this frustration.It was a philosophical rant that captured the attempts for total and "true" representation and control staring with Plato's cave and Cartesian coordinate system all the way to immersive data points in the very bright volumetric studio.
Paradoxically, the volumetric data from this performance became the "gold standard" for improving the volumetric system for a while.The R&D team from Mantis Vision studio ignored the actual content and complained about the texture of the striped dress of the speaker.While the speaker was trying to make sense of the artistic and philosophical experience of becoming a 360-degree mesh of "creepy" data that can morph into anything, and think which metadata to use, the R&D team used this capture as a standard dataset.The "girl in a striped dress talking about stuff" became a challenge for the system to deal with the horizontal stripes as "the worst thing you can do to mpeg"2 .The NFT was then reduced to a picture and video of the first philosophical performance in a volumetric studio that used the description of the standard as metadata (Figures 1, Figure 2).In this short philosophical tour from Plato's cave to the Cartesian coordinate system happening in immersive volumetric data space (3D mash) captured with 64 cameras in a 3D, the final metadata thus captured a historical moment, the clash between the interest of the developers and the artist or philosopher.

VOLUMETRIC SUBLIME
Based on this idea to use the "history" of the dataset rather than its material and digital properties led to an attempt to use some log that would accompany the 3D video and stills from the 360-degree performance.The events connected to the dataset, its generation, pattern, and all over the body (front and back)".We tested uploading the NFT on different platforms.use, representation, even consumption offer a context that balances the meaningless although impressive in size large mesh of data.
Rather than attempting to encode the large volumetric data into the NFT-components (discussed above), the focus on logs and historical data enabled the NFT to become concrete in terms of its output and use (video, image, performance).While such "reduced" NFT commemorated the first philosophical performance in a volumetric studio via its metadata, it resigned upon something we will describe as the volumetric "sublime".The aesthetic term "sublime" in the context of digital media and large data [3], [4], [5] captures the awe-inspiring and overwhelming nature of voluminous, raw data, which offers infinite possibilities of representation present in the original dataset.
The volumetric "sublime" represents the vastness and complexity of the data, evoking feelings of wonder and astonishment, much like encountering vast landscapes or powerful natural phenomena [6].In shifting the focus from this vastness of the mesh to logs and historical data, the NFT gained precision, but lost the opportunity to immerse users in the overwhelming and profound experience of engaging with the sheer magnitude of the original data.Just as a photograph of a mountain range might capture its majesty but not the visceral feeling of standing in its presence, the "reduced" NFT captured the essence but not the grandeur of the volumetric experience.In doing so, the connection between the tangible output (like videos or images) and the profound vastness of the original volumetric data was lost.
The NFT captured only a moment and open possible representation of the philosophical tour from Plato's cave to the Cartesian coordinate system and present immersive data points of volumetric data (3D mash) captured with 64 cameras in a 3D studio.Once we deployed the NFT, we reached out to parties interested in philosophical lectures, but it became clear that they did not care about such "proof "of a philosophical argument as a static image or video.Whilst extensive research has be undertaken on the use of NFTs for digital art [7], the only case we are aware of where there is a limited success of NFT using real time volumetric data and responding in a meaningful way to the content is "The Cursed NFT" by Monica Belevan 3 .

EDIBLE NFTS
To pursuit to create NFTs that go beyond speculative financial instruments and captures rich experiences, such as the sublime [8], led us to utility tokens and collaboration on the design of a unique dinner experience over NFTs with BCC Innovation, the Research and Technology Center for Gastronomy of the Basque Culinary Center in 2022.Instead of only commemorating an event, we hoped that such event creating NFT would capture experiences that are both tangible and memorable.
The idea behind the collaboration was to design an NFT that represented not just a static asset or a moment, but a holistic sensory experience that engages the users and buyers.This NFT grants the holder access to a curated dining experience, where every dish, every flavour, and every presentation was generated by an algorithm or smart contact that also authenticated it via the NFT. 3 https://accursedshare.art/the-curse-nft/In essence, the NFT served as a ticket or passport to a world where the digital and physical realms, culinary and technological experiences merged.But it was more than just a ticket, it was also a certificate of authenticity, a testament to the uniqueness of the experience that showed that the users invested in the development of the project.It was a project of algorithmically generated traditional tapas (called pintxos in the Basque region) via a smart contract that served as an invitation to a dinner where people could eat the pintxos they minted on the Polygon blockchain.
NFTs generated random Pintxos combinations within parameters delineated by a culinary team from BCC Innovation.The combinations were subsequently interpreted by Santi Salinas, LABe Digital Gastronomy Lab's chef, where the dinner took place.This established a computer-to-chef paradigm that was novel.Salinas crafted a dinner menu, adapting ingredients suggested by the algorithm to contemporary culinary techniques, all within the progression framework of a tasting menu.
The experience of designing and organizing the NFT dinner around algorithmically generated tapas or pintxos clearly identified UX issues related to crypto wallets -which relates to both bad UX design and users' misconceptions [9].The "foodies" that were interested in the experience and motivated to purchase such Crypto Pintxos to attend the dinner were not able to use the interface.The experience of using Metamask and the entire Web 3.0 ecosystem in its current state is difficult for common users and could be seen to be self-serving and catering to a very small group of a tech-savvy demographic defined by their interest in speculative finance rather than aesthetic or any other experience.
One major barrier that defines the limits of assetization and tokenization of values, impacts, and goals is the simple fact that most interfaces and web applications for interacting with the blockchain infrastructure are user unfriendly.The experience is closer to summoning a demon than communicating with a wallet or service.
Instead of creating new markets and media ecosystems that create new sources of income for the creators and incentives for the public to engage, NFTs transform cultural artifacts into speculative investments with detrimental effects on the creators and the ecosystem.While they promise novel interactions and engagements, they limit them to demographic groups with little expectations about art or design.The demographic groups that would be interested in using dynamic or utility tokens and NFTs or to do something more complex, are not technically savvy so it is not even safe for them to do so.

EDIBLE NFT "SYMPOSIUM"
Our NFT dinner was inspired by the tradition of symposia, philosophical gatherings with friends over food and drink in the late classical period 400 -300 BCE.Gastronomy thus became a method to explore the current luxury form of consumption and ownership involving NFTs.To identify and understand the affordances of NFTs, we designed a smart contract and tokens related to a dinner that was fully defined by generated tapas.The experience of designing and organizing the NFT dinner then helped us map the NFT expectations and disappointments in a group of strangers who used these NFTs for the first time.Pintxos NFT dinner also became a method to translate the speculative media stories about NFTs into embodied and social experiences (of fine dining).To report on the findings, we will combine data from our self-ethnography with data from the interviews of the participants who bought and consumed the NFT tapas at the event (June 2022).
The dinner helped identify UX issues related to crypto wallets (Figure 3), the dissonance between the pragmatic uses of blockchain in food traceability and supply chain and the luxurious, transgressive world of NFTs, the experience of owning and consuming the NFT, the relationship between the utility function and display/ownership in NFTs, and the issues involved in translating the generated recipe into a dish from image layers and data originally designed by an artist and chef (Figure 4, Figure 5).
There were 6 diners that participated in the dinner, on which they tasted 5 final pintxos.The diners were invited based on owning and investing in the NFT tapas or pintxhos (Figure 6) and the pintxos were chosen based on the number likes NFTs got on OpenSea (Figure 7).Their main reason for purchasing Crypto Pintxo NFTs was centred around the innovative culinary concept of owning unique, randomly generated food experiences that could serve also as recipes.One of the participants was particularly interested in Basque culture and supported the project by buying several NFTs as a form of celebration of the famous local cuisine.The appeal of participating in the creative process and voting for the pintxos also influenced the decision to buy the NFT, since participants could decide which pintxos will appear on the table based on the number of likes that pintxo NFT gained on the OpenSea gallery (Figure 7).
Despite this being their initial NFT purchase, the process was too difficult, and the experience did not spark curiosity to venture deeper into the world of NFTs or consider making more purchases in the future.The exclusive dinner invitation played a positive role, including the concept of owning a personalized recipe and experimenting with it.Since the recipes were part of the NFT, they held a certain allure for the participants interested in such personalized culinary experience.
In terms of motivations and interests, the participants valued such support of new dining and food experiences and performing their love for culinary explorations.The algorithmically generated recipe and its potential application in the metaverse were equally interesting, offering the thrill of owning something unique with a promise of integration into digital worlds.Though the aesthetic representation of the NFT and the possibility of building a collection were acknowledged as important, they weren't as influential in the decision-making process.The investment aspect of the NFT held the least appeal for the respondent, indicating that their purchase was driven more by experiential factors rather than financial gains or portfolio diversification.

EDIBLE PIXELS OR PIXELATED FOOD?
Before the NFT meal, all participants expressed high levels of curiosity about the prospect of "tasting the pixels" (as we promoted the event) of the algo-generated tapas.The exclusivity of the dinner also served as an incentive, as participants were eager to meet other NFT collectors.Participants expressed their intention to retain the image and display it as a reminder of the one-of-a-kind dining experience rather than sell it in the future.They found the NFT access to the recipe interesting, but no one planned to reproduce the recipe.They expressed a desire for future NFT food projects to contain other metadata such as chef's notes or suggested wine pairings.
Participants emphasized curiosity on the generative recipes as the most crucial factor in deciding to purchase NFTs and attend the dinner.This highlights the role of novelty and community in driving engagement.Post-dinner, they found that the taste of the tapas met their expectations and identified their favourite algorithmically generated recipe.Generated recipes could serve useful to try new recipes and for inspiration.The participants felt that the crossing between real life and "the metaverse" through NFTs enriched their overall experience from the event and they derived satisfaction from seeing their NFT on the menu.
The dinner left a lasting impression and inspired greater interest in several areas.The participants were curious to taste other tapas that were generated and voiced interest in AI-recommended or randomly generated food, also interest in food events bringing strangers together, and experiences bridging real life and the metaverse.Meanwhile, their motivation to build a collection of NFT tapas or their interest in NFTs in general did not increase.These results indicate that the event provided a unique dining experience and stimulated a broader interest in the intersection of technology, food, and social interaction without leading to specific outcomes related to NFTs.

EDIBLE NFT OBSTACLES AND FUTURE RESEARCH
The main obstacle for most of the participants in this dinner revolved around the user interface and its integration with the cryptocurrency wallet, as illustrated in Figure 6.Utilizing CryptoPinxos website required a multi-step procedure of integrating Metamask wallet, which is difficult for newcomers.Subsequently, users encountered difficulties in connecting to the Polygon chain and obtaining MATIC currency, an essential prerequisite for purchasing Polygon-based NFTs, and understanding the concept of "gas" fees.The intricate, multi-layered sequence of actions creates barriers for individuals lacking familiarity with cryptocurrency technology and exchanges.This interface barrier not only erodes user trust as noted in literature [10], [11] but also hinders novel user experiences and the development of new services that would use NFT beyond financial speculations [12], [13].To improve Metamask and similar wallets, it is crucial to prioritize user-friendly onboarding with clear tutorials and mobile optimization.Users need more support in gas fee management, secure multi-chain transactions, and secure recovery options.To support more complex "future" values and incentives, we need more accessible, secure, and versatile cryptocurrency wallets that would be easy to integrate with the web services and offer more intuitive interaction.

SUMMARY
The article presents initial explorations into the potential of NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens) in the realms of art, design, and culinary experiences outside speculative investments.Whilst the volumetricdata experiments faced significant challenges in effectively capturing and tokenizing large volumetric data, they inadvertently revealed the paradox of trying to encode rich, subjective experiences within data-centric NFTs, often reducing intricate content to visual representations or generic descriptors.
In our "edible NFT" unique dinner experience we explored, Crypto Pintxos utility tokens, algorithmically generated representations of traditional tapas served as invitations to a dinner event, providing a tangible, real-world utility to NFT ownership.While the concept created a novel way to engage with NFTs, the implementation exposed the user-unfriendly nature of current interfaces (Figure 7).
Despite technical difficulties, participants were attracted to the innovative concept of owning and participating in unique, randomly generated food experiences, and valued the novel dining and food exploration experiences.The experiment shows the potential and challenges of NFTs as means to offer unique, personalised experiences.
All three projects tried to challenge the conventional perception of NFTs as mere digital collectibles with fluctuating monetary value.By anchoring the NFT to sublime as well real-world, immersive experience, we were redefining and exploring its values and promises.The experiments revealed that it is not always about owning a digital representation of an artwork or a moment, but about securing a memory, a feeling, an experience that transcends digital space.
Moreover, this approach introduced a novel dimension to the concept of asset ownership.Traditional assets -be it art, property, or even experiences -are often static in nature.But with our edible and volumetric NFTs, we are proposing the idea that assets can be fluid, evolving, and deeply personal.In conclusion, our collaborations and project show the importance of NFT experiments that go beyond speculation and financial games.NFTs have the potential to revolutionize how we perceive value, ownership, and experiences, making them deeply personal, memorable, and, indeed, sublime.

Figure 1 :
Figure 1: A snapshot of the mesh data.

Figure 2 :
Figure 2: A snapshot of the generated image.

Figure 3 :
Figure 3: CryptoPinxos interface demanded Metamask wallet, connection to Polygon chain and MATIC cryptocurrency to generate and buy NFT of a pintxo consumed at the dinner.

Figure 5 :
Figure 5: Chef Santi Salinas interpretation of the algorithmically generated, tokenized, and voted for pintxo.

Figure 6 :
Figure 6: Leaderboard of accounts that got invitation to the dinner based on how many NFT crypto pintxos they purchased.

Figure 7 :
Figure 7: Number of favourites on the OpenSea gallery of the collection decided on which pintxos appeared on the dinner menu.