Gm fren,
Minute 1: As you’ve likely seen, @BiancaMedici69 and I had a bit of fun the last couple of months, as singer/songwriter Sia masqueraded as a Medici!
Thank you all who participated in A Nothing To Something… which included a scavenger hunt, art giveaways, Raids of Kindness on emerging and Ukrainian artists… and of course… 1,400+ Medici accounts taking over Twitter.
And we’re still going!
We’ve committed 64.4 ETH to supporting emerging artists, as we announced the Medici Emerging Collection... and still have ~1/3 left to go.
We have bought a great many works on ETH, so are now primarily seeking artists on Tezos and SOL.
Please keep the lovely recommendations coming, and Ukrainian artists are especially welcomed. We appreciate you.
Minute 2: It’s been a joy to see the community rally around supporting Ukraine.
A special shout out to our frens at @Ukraine_DAO, who raised over $6.7 million dollars. Esteemed collector Rudy Adler donated a lovely blue and yellow ringer, bought by @punk6529 fund for $804,000.
While the big raises are certainly exciting, what impressed me most was the sheer number of community members who rose to the occasion, with thousands of artists, builders and collectors making art, donating art, buying art, coding fundraisers, and organizing auctions.
All who played a part have reason to be proud.
Here are 2 other fundraisers happening now, from 2 incredibly talented artists:
Ukrainian artist @irag_art has created an inspiring 500 edition Ugly Sweater animation
She is donating 100% of the proceeds to support Ukrainian people, via the Official Ukraine crypto donation wallet.
One of my favorite Tezos artists, @rare_force1, has created a study of Picasso's anti-war painting, Guernica. A 500 edition, at a price of just 1 XTZ each.
All proceeds will be donated to the family of NFT artist @i_shkipin.
Minute 3: There are few artists I am more excited about than Sam Spratt. He’s been laying low since releasing his Genesis work, I. Birth of Luci (which I was fortunate to obtain for 50e in a hard-fought auction.)
The way he rewarded those who bid on his initial drop was quite thoughtful:
Each bidder, regardless of whether they won or not, received a “Skull of Luci”.
Remember how I mentioned the importance of an artist having an evangelized crowd behind him?
Sam just gained around 40 excited collectors, in a very thoughtful way.
Follow along here (video is a must watch too, sound on!)
Minute 4: I was honored to be featured in a DeeKay Motion “Let’s Walk” that dropped this week.
… but here’s what I felt was most interesting about his recent drop.
As you know, XCOPY has made his pinnacle work, Right-click and Save-as Guy, public domain.
Since then, some remarkable derivatives have popped up. I mean, just the most astonishing art and creativity I’ve seen in awhile.
DeeKay’s Let’s Walk tribute was one of my favs. And with one selling for around 9e, I believe he may have made the most valuable Right Click Save derivative.
An edition of 20 x 9e = 180e market cap. Love to see it!
That’s not to take away from any of the other derivatives, of course.
If there is one thing I’ve discovered shopping a ton on Tezos these last few months, it is that fantastic art is available at any price. This includes Right Click Save-as derivatives.
If you want to peep my main XTZ wallet, you can see some of those I’ve been gifted. Get ready to discover some mind-blowing artists ⚔️
My ETH wallet has some excellent Right Click derivatives as well, including this piece by Jake The Degen, which changes form when you right-click on it.
Minute 5: Must see documentary: The Price Of Everything. If you’ve ever found yourself thinking NFT prices are outrageous, you’ll love this “behind the scenes” tale of the wacky and lucrative traditional art world.
All my best,
~CdM
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