Thread
Investment case for Chromie Squiggles by @ArtOnBlockchain has never been stronger. 2x’d the squig collection from 1 to 2 dozen in the last week. Together with 117 RGBs, I’m ready to ride the gen art rocket. Some context for the uninitiated …
Generative art has a multi-decade history, as @artnome details in his classic essay.

www.artnome.com/news/2018/8/8/why-love-generative-art.
All of this was interesting even before NFTs went mainstream. Watch @jaredstarbell’s beautiful presentation from 2018 to understand why.

youtu.be/b_-9UWkgDf8
As status seeking monkeys, we could appreciate code as art at a theoretical level, but how could the output be owned?

@artblocks_io brought long form gen art to the forefront with digital scarcity, controlled randomness and community collecting games.

tylerxhobbs.com/essays/2021/the-rise-of-long-form-generative-art
From that peculiar combination of art, market and myth, a whole new generation of collectors materialized.

galaxyrtk.substack.com/p/diaries-of-an-accidental-art-addict
By Aug 2021, annualized Art Blocks GMV hit 20pct of global art market turnover. With not enough supply to feed the spec frenzy, the solution was more supply. As it expanded, prices crashed, and new entrants got hurt. Most blamed AB. But guns don’t kill people, people kill people.
In the aftermath new entrants like @fx_hash_ emerged with zero curation layer to offset the high cost of entry on AB. These platforms have become wonderful on ramps into gen art in their own right, with a critical mass of creatives and collectors.

www.rightclicksave.com/article/the-nft-collector-richard-kim
Fast forward to today, and thanks to the tireless efforts of @artblocks_io, gen art is ready to go mainstream. The collab with @PaceGallery launching tomorrow is the first in a long trend of trad art recognition.

www.pacegallery.com/journal/art-blocks-and-pace-verso-announce-new-partnership-digital-art/
Unlike pfp space, trad art collectors understand why natively digital gen art deserves its place in the art cannon. Just ask Alan Howard, who went straight from Monet to Ringers, and skipped everything in between

www.theblock.co/post/146212/alan-howard-crypto-interview
The biggest roadblock to mainstream adoption to date has been the high USD prices of entry. With ETH now sitting at 1k, the dollar cost of entry into blue chip gen art grails is finally reasonable. And as the first AB set, the squigs will be the currency of this movement.
With ETH beta plus a call option on alpha via mindshare expansion across the gen art complex, the time is now. Minds are simple, and gravitate to colorful firsts. Position accordingly.
Mentions
See All