Analyzing NFT works through Walter Benjamin's aura concept with psychophysiological data harvesting technique

The development of technology and the current situation it has reached has affected the whole world in various ways. Many branches of art have entered the digital world with technological developments that attract the attention of artists with the opportunities and innovations they offer. With the digital transformation, the works of art in the virtual world have been produced in NFT format thanks to blockchain technology and have managed to go beyond being a copy. NFT assets have managed to attract the attention of both audiences and artists thanks to the uniqueness and originality they have gained through technical means. In this study, the concept of aura, which is presented by Walter Benjamin and which artworks have through uniqueness, will be analyzed in a technical, psychological and cultural context. Forty people participated in the study and the participants were shown the most expensive NFT artifacts ever produced and the most appreciated and viewed digital artworks shared on Behance.net. This process was carried out through the eye tracking system with Realeye.io technology and psychophysiological data were collected. Psychophysiological data were analyzed with a semi-structured interview. By basing the collected data on the technical, psychological and cultural context, the results regarding the relationship of NFT works with the concept of aura were found.