Acquiring the Future: Conversations with Web 3 Art Collectors
Marveling at masterpieces with Mic333
It is our pleasure to be joined by an understated figure that has a collection that represents the very best of what the 1/1 art space has to offer, a true connoisseur. With a preference for quality and discernment, this individual is one who expresses themselves through the meticulous composition of their collection more so than any rhetoric on social media. Their preference for the unique, the authentic, and the one-of-a-kind blended with a background in finance has led to a highly purposeful (and valuable) selection of fine on-chain art.
Not only is he highly revered by the artists whose work he has acquired, but he is also one of the few, that continuously reinforces the idea that the Solana art world could be the future of 1/1 digital fine art.
With excitement, we present our sophisticated and byzantine friend, Mic333.
What sparked your interest in collecting 1/1 art?
Except for 1 leader in this space, every other leader I have followed into PFP projects has disappointed me in one way or the other. I was going to leave the deception, skimming, and rugs of NFTs until I found the ARTspace.
Meeting real artists, real people with real struggles expressed through their works gave me hope, a place where I could contribute in web3. Most leaders are quite direct and shameless about being driven by money first, ethics, and mission second. Crypto assumes financial rewards drive progress. I prefer the purity of doing something for passion, the duty; I have no problem living a simple life, one bowl of rice is enough for me.
How do you decide which pieces to add to your collection?
When I see artists who are driven by the love of the craft, rather than the money, that’s when I feel connected with their works. In many cases, being a patron means you have little expectations financially towards ART; you enjoy it because ART drives relationships, cultural significance, and learning. When you mix fast money with ART, that’s when things get dangerous; and that’s been my biggest concern that PFP and token Ponzi tactics are becoming more prevalent in the ARTspace. I like artists who are contrarian, have their own worldviews, and are taking risks. I have less preference for those driven by financial goals.
The most important thing for me is aesthetic appeal. Collectors need to be dedicated to the mission of collecting: I can understand the sophistication and depth of an artist's craft a little better than 6 months ago, and continuous learning will allow me to collect more broadly across categories and with conviction.
Can you speak about a piece in your collection that has special meaning to you?
I recently collected “Heat of the Moment” by Laurence Antony. I’ve waited months since I lost his last auction of this caliber. Laurence and I had some heated exchanges on various topics but ultimately he challenged the status quo and his heart was always in the right place. The community he has built in masked warriors was an equalizer for artists, and I’m glad he’s going to put out works of this quality now that the pixel series is near completion. Aesthetically these types of works aren’t common in digital art, and these are the arts you’d see at a national gallery. The depiction of fire and the oblivious roller skater- I find myself fighting fires and envy the one who can tune out the noise and carry on.
How do you envision your collection evolving over time?
I like to follow artists who’ve been grinding months during the bear and works that have both meaning and growth. I believe animations, 3D, gen-art are areas that are very early in the cycle and I’m looking to add more work in these areas. I think each new piece will need to be chosen carefully and selectively, as I’m working with limited capital.
Do you have a particular focus or theme within your collection?
Balance is a key that I try to focus on. I want to collect pieces from broad categories that can contrast and also support each other. I want anyone to be able to visit my collection and feel a wide array of emotions.
How do you balance your personal taste with the investment potential of a piece of art?
I try hard not to succumb to my own biases, I will look at a piece of art I hate and try to internalize why I don’t like it (and consider even buying it) to give all works the fair critique and appreciation they deserve. I think my tastes are changing all the time as I connect with artists, study culture and history. Even though I have a distaste for profit maximizers, my background in finance has provided fairly simple heuristics for how investment returns would work in art. The key to buying art would be “being contrarian and being right”. It’s hard being a contrarian because there is wisdom in crowds. Being an independent creator or collector is a risk financially — how will you make primary or secondary sales when nobody thinks about you? Being early, fading crowded trades (ie hyped artists) are probably two important points to remember.
I collected degen poet and Wayne Nooten a fair time before they became popular; simply by paying attention to the merit of the works and their presence on Twitter. On the other hand, some hyped artists will be out of range price-wise early but will go through a slow period or slump and it’s usually a great play investment-wise. We saw popular series like voxels, and hotheads go through very low periods of demand; the reasons for inflections could not have been predicted using the traditional methods that successful PFP traders or art advisors would take. Blind faith and love of the works are probably the tools not in the playbook of profit seekers and that’s probably my edge.
“Mic 333 is such a legend in the Solana space. It’s truly an honor to be in his collection. I see all the amazing art and artists he has and it’s really cool to be in there amongst them all.
This piece was pretty annoying to mount the hoop. The Joshua tree kept pricking me and I started bleeding all over my shins and arms. But it healed pretty quickly and got the shot.
I’ve met some of the most amazing humans who are also collectors. It’s very important to me to have these connections. Mic’s a busy man though who has a million artists he’s collected from so I know people like him are very spread thin.”
-Douglas Mccurdy
Being early is a privilege, creating value is an art
We are all still very early to the idea of a cultural art movement built upon blockchain technology. Not only does it require those with vision and a discerning eye for trends, but it also depends upon the efforts and faith of all of those that are part of the shift. Individuals like Mic333 embody that through purposeful and positive action.
His eye for undervalued art and artists is an ability that serves a dual purpose. The first in supporting an early and radical idea, the latter in holding an art portfolio that could be worth a fortune in the not-too-distant future.
Finding true collectors in this emerging space is a quest, but Mic333’s presence in the world of 1/1 on-chain art is a declaration of his unchanging resolve.
🖼️Check out Mic333’s Collection and follow him on Twitter 🖼️
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🕊️❤️Veritas en Arte 🕊️❤️
