VAULTED Art Collector Profile #18 - Absurdeity
Vaulted is a series where prominent collectors in the Tezos ecosystem are interviewed and highlighted.
Vaulted #18 with Absurdeity
Unknown Collector: Can you tell us how your Web3 collecting journey began?
Absurdeity: The very 1st NFT I acquired was a stupid Ethereum chain PFP on the secondary market in June 2022. I was on summer vacation and had some time to explore areas I would not usually take an interest in. I don’t even recall why I decided to venture into Web3, had no idea what I was doing, found the whole wallet thing slightly frightening, and overpaid for that first NFT by an amount almost as stupid as the PFP I acquired.
Over the next few months, I discovered what Adrian Pocobelli now describes as “digital art on the blockchain.” (To be clear, I would definitely not consider that first PFP to be “art” in the Pocobelli sense.) I also quickly realized that I couldn’t afford to collect on the Ethereum blockchain, so I looked for alternatives. That’s how I found both the Solana and Tezos art communities.
For about a year, I stumbled around the various exchanges collecting cheap (and largely derivative) art, without any real sense of what made a work truly compelling or worthy of adding to my collection. Needless to say, I now own a lot of art that I wouldn’t collect today. But I figure that’s the price of my art “education,” since I have no formal background in the visual arts beyond a high school art history course and some university cinema classes.
At some point, I discovered the strategy of looking through the wallets of other artists and collectors to see what they were collecting. Around that time, I started to feel more confident in my ability to recognize what was truly unique versus what was just visually compelling but derivative. In that respect, I am not so different from AI. If you feed me enough data, I will eventually start to recognize what stands out. And with over 15,000 works of digital art collected on the Tezos blockchain alone, I have certainly been exposed to a massive amount of digital art “data.”
Uncommon Fiction by Matías Roldán
Can you share a story about acquiring one of your favorite pieces or any interesting moment in your collecting journey?
Absurdeity: A little less than a year into my collecting journey, I acquired “Uncommon Fiction”, a 1/1 by the artist Matías Roldán. I had not yet collected many 1/1s, and this work was definitely out of my limited budget at the time, but it really spoke to me. Matías, who lives in Argentina, offered to send me the physical work. It was a generous offer, though neither of us realized just how generous it would turn out to be.
As it turned out, the art of Matías Roldán, along with that of other artists native to Argentina, was considered a national treasure and could not be legally exported. After many failed attempts and countless hours spent by Matías navigating Kafkaesque government bureaucracy, the physical artwork finally arrived in the USA almost three years after his initial offer.
Matías’ selfless generosity and dedication added such a depth of meaning to this already visually striking piece that I seriously doubt I will ever encounter another work I cherish more.
What sets Art on Tezos apart in your eyes compared to other NFT ecosystems?
Absurdeity: The playfulness of the art and artists. Perhaps due to the lack of gas fees on this blockchain, which essentially removes the financial risk of minting, artists are more willing to create experimental or simply fun works that would probably never see the light of day on the Ethereum blockchain.
Sure, this may have led to an abundance of so-called #teztrash and the low-effort AI works that clutter the chain. However, in my opinion, the upside far outweighs those annoyances. Artists are able to explore new styles and directions in a low-risk environment, while collectors can engage with these experiments by observing, commenting, and collecting during the evolution of new and unique aesthetic directions.
The result is a supportive culture that encourages wild experimentation and aesthetic divergence. This, in turn, has generated what I believe to be some of the most visually compelling digital art on any blockchain today. If digital art is undergoing an evolutionary phase, then the Tezos blockchain is the equivalent of the Cambrian explosion.
_u n p h a s e d by Ex_Mortal_
Who are your three favorite artists on Tezos from your collection, and what makes their work stand out to you?
Absurdeity:
Oh, this is hard. There are so many great artists who create uniquely compelling art minted to the Tezos blockchain. It was a real struggle to limit this to just three given that and the fact that I collect across many more than just three genres. My apologies to the artists I could not include but wished to. In alphabetical order (because I could not possibly rank these three incredible artists):
I first stumbled across Ex_Mortal’s VaporWave style art in September 2022. As a child of the 1980s this aesthetic appealed to me so I collected my 1st work, “DREAM_PLAZA 011”. Little did I know that this would be the beginning of an addiction to his ever-involving and uniquely textured analog glitch style. I do not think there is an artist from whom I’ve collected more works of art. I never tire of his style, look forward to every mint, and regret it every time I miss one.
DREAM_PLAZA 011 by Ex_Mortal_
I collect very little art that is not created in a fully digital environment. However, I find the mixed media techniques, color palettes, textures, and mark making of Matías Roldán translate to the digital so comfortably that to me they seem almost destined for this medium. Perhaps as important, there is a playfulness in his work exhibited in the manner of the mark making that imbues the art with joy such that I cannot help but smile when I gaze at it.
Undreamed Scene by Matías Roldán
I discovered Xu0xo relatively recently (September 2024), but was immediately captivated by the combination of glitchy, variably textured and vibrant pixelated animation combined with the calming audio that accompanies these meditative works. As with Zen master Huineng pointing to the moon, these works cannot be defined or explained, only experienced.
lonely clouds by Xu0xo
Which three emerging artists on Tezos do you think are worth keeping an eye on, and why?
Absurdeity:
Again, only three?! The Tezos blockchain is simply overwhelmed with promising talent. I almost had to choose randomly among the dozen or so artists that I’m “watching” with great interest.
I first encountered the art of Mstyart just two months ago (in late April), and was struck by the combination of glitchy aesthetic and complex textures. Almost immediately I had to commission a set of “seasons” and have since commissioned a set of “eight worldly dharma” works from this artist.
Summer by Mstyart
I shied away from collecting abstract works of art for much of 2023-2024 as I just didn’t feel I had a sense of what made for “good” abstract art. Well, I’ve leaned in so hard to both the glitch and highly textured aesthetics of digital art that I no longer care. If I find it compelling, I’m collecting it. Well, I’m definitely compelled by the “Oilburger” collection of abstract art by Revolue.
NTNG by Revolue
What could possibly make for a better combination than glitch+texture? How about some on-chain pixel art? Macrogmittrei’s unique style of abstract glitchy textured pixel art often forces an initially raised eyebrow upon first glance, but with further appreciation I’m inevitably left with a satisfying “ahh!” It has frankly required a ridiculous amount of discipline not to just sweep up the many undervalued works still available on primary listing. I’ll hold off for now as I’m sharing, but my patience is not eternal.
Txt by Macrogmittrei
