Becoming a top-end collector of the Art Blocks grail collections is beyond the reach of most of us.
At the time of writing, a floor Fidenza costs 88 eth, Ringers 55 eth, Elevated Deconstruction 30 eth, and Archetype 25 eth.
They all make the Chromie Squiggle look like a bargain at about 12 eth.
But even at 12 eth, that’s way more than most art lovers are able to pay. At today’s price, you’re looking at spending about $18,000. You have to be seriously rich to be able to say, “Hey honey, I’m just going to spend almost twenty grand on an NFT of a colorful squiggle. Trust me, it’s worth it.”
And that’s for the Chromie Squiggle. For the Fidenza it goes, “Hey honey, we have $132,000 to spare in the chequing account… right?”
At this level, unless you were super-early and collected these pieces at mint price or close, this is a game for the very, very wealthy.
For myself, I never got above the level of my Chromie Squiggle… where I was early enough to get it for about $2,000. And at the time, I thought that was crazy.
So, no Fidenzas or even Archetypes in my future, unless I win the lottery.
But this doesn’t mean I can’t be an Art Blocks collector.
I’m extremely happy with my collection.
But what if you want to get started now? What if you’re an art lover and want to build an Art Blocks collection, and you’re not super rich?
Say thank-you to the bear market.
There are some amazing bargains to be had right now, across all three Art Blocks collections… Curated, Playground and Factory. Prices are way down.
Forget the top-end pieces for now, and fire up a tool like EyesFi.com.
Navigate to ArtBlocks >> Projects, and take a look around.
You’ll quickly find some amazing art, from top-tier artists, at bargain prices.
Like… Hieroglyphs by pxlq for 0.09 eth
80s Pop Variety Pack by Daniel Catt, for 0.1 eth.
Gen 3 by DCA, for 0.15 eth.
Alien Insects by Shvembldr for 0.2 eth.
Parade by Loren Bednar, for 0.27 eth.
Neighborhood by Jeff Davis for 0.29 eth.
I’m just scratching the surface here. The point being, you can start putting together a collection of art you love, by amazing artists, starting at about $150 per piece.
If I were just starting out now, I think I’d focus on a more specific theme or concept.
You can absolutely make “Art Blocks” the theme and focus of your collection, and start building with those low-cost pieces.
In my case, I think I’d add one more layer to the theme or concept of my collection.
I love how digital art allows for more than just static, traditional images. Artists can also include motion, and even sound.
I’d consider works like these, which all include movement in some way…
Transitions, by Jason Ting and Matt Bilfield, starts at 0.05 eth.
little boxes on the hillsides, child, by LIA, for 0.06 eth
AlgoBeats by Han and Nicolas David starts at 0.1 eth (Movement + sound.)
Then I might save up for one of my favorites, glitch crystal monsters, by Alida Sun, for 0.38 eth.
There are plenty more artists and works to choose from that include movement, and some with sound as well.
And there are other themes you can choose for a collection… curating by artist, by time period, by gender, by esthetic similarities, and so on.
At first glance, Art Blocks may seem like a playground for the rich… but…
Art Blocks is best known for its top-tier collections, like Fidenza and Ringers.
As a result, it’s easy to get the impression that everything on the platform is beyond the reach of regular art lovers with limited resources.
Happily, this isn’t the case. One layer behind the headlines you can find a lot of great art on the platform at very accessible prices.
[No, this isn’t a paid promotion. No compensation inbound from Art Blocks. Just a fan of the artists they support.]