⚓️ art basel 2022 recap
⚓️ art basel 2022 recap
winners & losers from someone who didn't attend
gm.
all anyone can talk about right now is AI.
first, it was AI art with DALLE 2. now AI will soon be replacing me as a writer with ChatGPT.
(that’s fine…I was never that good at this anyway; it’ll surely have fewer typos and grammar mistakes than me)
but something AI won’t be able to give you? bad takes on NFTs and NFT events. my incompetence can’t be recreated with *any* computer other than my own.
ALPHA ⚓️
winners from Art Basel
can you really choose winners and losers if you didn’t *attend* the event in question? you’re damn right I can.
I’ve never let “expertise” and actual “knowledge” stop me before, so why should I start now?
also, it’s kind of obvious. coming out of the weekend, there was one clear winner that even non-attendees like me could see…and that was Pudgy Penguins.
they’ve seen their floor price balloon up to more than 4 ETH (starting at just below 3 before Art Basel).
what fueled the run? it seems that Luca Netz, the new(ish) CEO, and owner of the Pengus brand, did a nice job networking at the event (especially with Frank from DeGods).
and boom…suddenly many NFT diehards in Miami started to believe in the power of the Penguin. giant floor sweeps on Monday morning only helped grow the fervor across the entire NFT space.
as we’ve seen countless times, the momentum can build on itself, until soon it’s contagious. you don’t even understand what exactly changed (other than the price)…but you know you want in.
that’s where we are with Pudgy Penguins right now. while “staking” was hinted at during the event, nothing else substantial came from Art Basel…other than that a bunch of people got together and decided that the Pengus rule.
I’ll always root for the Penguins, but I’ll always do so with a raised eyebrow. if history has taught me anything about the Pudgy Penguins is that you can’t *ever* rule them out…but you also can’t trust the hype surrounding them.
BETA ⚓️
losers from Art Basel
granted I’m a 30-year-old man with a kid, but nothing screamed “losers” of the weekend more than those standing in the giant lines for hours to get into the Bored Ape event.
the line wrapped around a few blocks of Miami…after what is being described as a “fog machine incident” prevented new entrants from entering the building.
you lost me at the “fog machine” and “lines” 🤮
for everything that the Bored Apes have done for the space, I’m beginning to wonder if they’re also holding us back now.
“NFT crazies wait until 2 AM to get into room deemed unsafe by Miami’s fire marshall and listen to EDM” just keeps everyone else rolling their eyes at NFTs and their overproduced “exclusive” events.
but again, I’m a lame dude at my core. maybe this is cool and I’m just too washed to “get it”.
GAMMA ⚓️
neutral Art Basel
outside of Art Basel, was there anything notable going on in the NFT space? not from what I can tell.
your NFT mainstays - Sappy Seals, World of Women, Doodles, and Proof - all had events…while there were some notable absences, including my beloved Cool Cats and their fellow felines the Gutter Cat Gang.
and honestly? I’m fine with it. Cool Cats, like myself, exude an “I’m in bed before 11 PM” vibe. not every project needs to have grand installations and lavish parties for their holders.
however, you do kind of need to have *something* to build the brand there. if NFT zealots are out in full force, then you must represent the brand in some capacity…even if it isn’t groundbreaking.
but I suppose there is that fear that it’ll look half-assed, which can spiral into FUD too.
what I’m saying is that it’s hard to win with NFTs…but you certainly can’t win if you don’t try.
sitting on the sidelines and stockpiling your secondary sales doesn’t help generate *any* new sales moving forward.
DELTA ⚓️
cozytimes Mondays and Fridays
want content from someone who *actually* went to Art Basel? personally, I followed @cooltimes’s updates.
(he stood in lines so I didn’t have to)
and to plug me for a sec…I’ve been jumping in Twitter Spaces every Monday and Friday at 11 Pacific time with cooltimes and other friends to talk about NFT art…so please stop by and say hi.
it’s called ‘cozytimes’ and I contribute nothing but bad jokes, but as a listener, I’m learning a lot about the world of Art Blocks and curated collections that I think will help you too.
it’s art szn bb.